The Future of High Street Retail Post-Pandemic

There has been a fundamental change in the way that consumers engage with high street shopping places. Change accelerated by lockdown.

In the early days of the pandemic, when we were asked to limit our travel, we saw the rise of 'Localism' - a behaviour to shop locally that was forced on consumers to stay closer to home. As the pandemic progressed, retail locations and town centres were forced to close their doors. This forced consumers to change their habits and shop online.

However, despite concerns that the rise of online retail could be the end of the high street and the physical store, a recovery has begun. But high street businesses need to do more to win back footfall to 20th Century levels. Shops need to be more creative in ‘wowing’ visitors.

Consumers are more discerning than ever, as they are spoilt for choice online. To entice shoppers back to high street, businesses need to ‘Wow!’ visitors with constantly evolving, fresh, new experiences in order to entice visitation and spend.

If marketed correctly, Helston’s high street can win back footfall. The proposition of visiting the town centre needs to satisfy more than a transactional need. Shoppers want to buy a lifestyle experience.

Helston’s town centre needs to provide an immersive experience across shopping, digital and dining. Daytime shoppers should be enjoy a ‘new’ refreshing physical retail experience. And for restaurants and pubs, they need to work towards securing more of the Twilight Economy with innovative offerings.

Helston High Street .co.uk campaign aims to be more creative in the approach to wining back footfall. It’s not just the retail offering. Additional experiences that can be layered onto the shopping experience will help drive the reason to visit.

Let’s shop local and support our town!

Meneage Street, October 2022