Retail space, reclaimed
Between just two retailers, Debenhams and Arcadia (Topshop, et al) there’s 15m (that’s million) square feet of empty retail space. Thanks to a major global event (cheers, Covid) the high street landscape is changing at a rapid pace. What will happen to these once bustling spaces and what can be done to turn the tide and encourage us all to put down our phones and step away from our keyboards and hit the pavement?
MEANWHILE…
The rise of abandoned retail space hasn’t been a knee-jerk reaction to a huge event like the pandemic. Any economist can tell you the high street has been slowly dying for years, and this was just the final nail in the bricks and mortar coffin. Bleak, right? Instead of this dour picture we’re seeing what imagination, creativity and innovation can do.
Since 2012, the Meanwhile Foundation encourage ‘the use of vacant property for projects that deliver economic development and social or environmentally led regeneration’. Their mission is to rejuvenate local neighbourhoods that have been drained of vitality from the closure of these spaces. They act as tenants and enable people to make use of them in a way that supports the local community. They’ve seen spaces transform from everything to community activity centres to start up and retail destinations like Queens Parade in Willesden Green, voted by Time Out as one of nine best shopping locations in London after just two months of opening.
Shoppers are keen for something a bit left of centre, giving them something remarkable and a reason to visit is crucial to seducing them back. What’s really exciting to consider is if this could lead to a more integrated high street landscape, where not just the chain stores occupy vast amounts of space, where pockets of independents can thrive amongst retail goliaths.
MIX IT UP
The answer could lie in mixed purpose units – spaces that contain residential, retail, eateries, office space and activity spaces. Is this some sort of eutopia? 15 million square feet is a lot to take on, even for a thriving brand. Given the sheer volume of space to occupy this could be a less risky strategy. Isn’t it a retailer and restauranteur’s dream to have live-in clientele?
Ponce City Market in Atlanta is a living breathing example of how it’s possible to reimagine space and make it a vibrant community hub. Inhabiting a disused Sears, Roebuck & Co. department store and distribution centre, sits this exciting urban village. It comprises a food hall, various shops, offices and flats as well as a rooftop event space in one of Atlanta’s most cherished neighbourhoods.
On a slightly smaller, but no less impactful scale, retailers could think of how they can offer passers-by and loyal customers more, like Winn-Dixie’s WDs Taproom. We created the branding for this exciting innovation which saw craft beers, wine and snacks being served to hungry shoppers during their grocery runs. Its cool vibe and perfectly pulled pints made it a big success, with seven new locations popping up across the American southeast. It shows that going beyond retail is definitely worth it to make an impact and draw punters back through your doors.
BRING ONLINE, OFFLINE
Some 85,000 online businesses were created since the start of the pandemic. A way we can reimagine the high street is to fill it with some of these amazing brands that currently only exist online. Rental costs can be a huge barrier to anyone starting a new business, especially given what we’ve all come through. Enter Side Hustle Heroes, an amazing initiative from Westfield shopping centres in London. They are using some vacant windows to display the work of small social media brands that have started life during the pandemic. It will give them huge exposure to the millions of shoppers that flood the doors of two of Europe’s largest shopping centres.
“Whilst the pandemic has been a tough time for many it has also simultaneously presented an opportunity for the nation to turn their hobbies and passions into their very own businesses launching online over the past 12 months,” –
Westfield marketing director Harita Shah.“With people craving physical experiences more so than ever before and 49 per cent of consumers wanting to buy more locally sourced products, we’re bringing these online brands offline into a physical space for the first time.
“We’re delighted to be able to hero and support these London entrepreneurs giving them direct exposure to the millions of shoppers who visit our centres each year”.
It’s in this spirit of real experiences that will draw us all out of our cloistered coaches at home and into the sparkling shelves of department stores like Selfridges, whose new Health & Wellbeing space in their Foodhall features on demand 3D printed vitamin gummies. You read that right.
It’s experiences like this that you just can’t get at home, so instead of seeing space after space go dark, it’s time to get back out there and support shops IRL. You could always click and add to basket, wait a day or two, but witnessing a tailor-made gummy form right in front of you, that’s something you’ll just have to see for yourself.
Tell us your view, will the high street have a newfound revival post pandemic? What innovations would you like to see? We’d love to know your thoughts. Share with us @weareticketyboo on Instagram and Twitter.