| | Good evening, If there is one issue that most towns and cities share, it is the decimation of the high street as we know it. Already in a slow decline before lockdown due to the rise and rise of internet shopping and the gradual loss of many unsustainable big names, Covid has put rocket fuel under the situation and sent many businesses into an early grave. It’s not simply that fewer people are visiting our high streets but the necessary emphasis on buying online in lockdown simply got people into different habits and many retailers pivoted to suit.
But it’s not all bad. In many ways and as people gradually return, the high street's gappy, empty-shop look is being given a makeover with those businesses setting up shop often local, entrepreneurial and exciting, if smaller in scale.
Those shoppers visiting often do so with more purpose and are gradually discovering the new additions, even if the sight of empty former department stores is off-putting while work is underway to find a solution.
The high street is always evolving and this is a difficult phase - but not an insurmountable one. It's time for the rise and rise of the local business once more. Have a lovely evening, Regards, Nicola | |
