Survey finds Scots support for the High Street, but…
THE vast majority of Scottish shoppers would be ‘sad’ to see the death of the UK high street, according to new research.
Commissioned by professional services company, Accenture, the research found that, among those adults in Scotland who had visited their local high street in the last year, nearly eight in ten (77 per cent) of them said they would “feel sad” if their local high street was no longer an option for shopping.
Some 2,000 adults, UK-wide, were surveyed, of whom 149 were Scots.
Over one in four (26 per cent) said they will always want to shop on their local high street, and half of Scottish consumers said they are unlikely to stop visiting their high street in the next year.
However, around half of respondents (66 per cent) feel that the high street doesn’t have everything that they need to do their weekly shop.
They also agreed that the high street was no longer relevant and needs to change (56 per cent). If a store on the high street, which was part of respondents’ regular shopping routine, were to close, a majority (60 per cent) said that they would shop online instead, compared to just under one in three who would either switch to another high street brand (32 per cent) or drive to find the same shop somewhere else (32 per cent).
Says Accenture, in a media release: “This concern over the high street’s relevance could explain why nearly three in ten (28 per cent) warned they may stop shopping there in the next five years, increasing to over a third (37 per cent) in the next ten years.
“When asked what they use their high street for, food shopping was by far the most popular option (79 per cent), followed by eating and drinking (53 per cent).
“Almost half (46 per cent) said they would like to see more food shops on their high street, while a similar percentage said that they would like to see more high street banks and post offices (50 per cent), clothes shops (58 per cent) and general retail stores (65 per cent). Office spaces (22 per cent) and beauty services (34 per cent) were the least popular outlets to see more of.
“The Scottish figures aligned closely to the overall UK findings.”
Pictured: Oban, Picture credit: Place Design Scotland
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