A group of wealthy cities such as London and Cambridge are faring relatively well during the UK retail sector’s downturn while shops in poorer and more rural areas suffer, a new report has said.
Shopping parks have also shown resilience as the bricks-and-mortar retail sector loses ground to online services, US real estate investment firm CBRE’s latest look into the sector revealed. High streets across Britain have suffered in recent years as online shopping has rapidly expanded. Brexit uncertainty and a slowing economy have further hurt retailers in 2019, for example by driving up import costs as the pound loses value.
The growth of retail sales slowed in the three months to September, official figures showed this month, amid signs that employment and consumer spending are starting to drop off. Yet London, Cambridge, Oxford, Brighton, Glasgow and Edinburgh have all performed better than the rest of the country during the recent retail downturn, CBRE said today.
“Tourism, affluent catchment characteristics and prevalence of universities have driven performance in these cities, and we expect them to continue to outperform the wider market,” CBRE said. The report said London’s retail sector has led the way, with substantial growth in the values of businesses over the last five years. Shopping parks have also done relatively well in 2019, the US firm said. “Visitor numbers at shopping parks have been supported by the increasing popularity of click-and-collect services and the growth of outlet centres,” said CBRE.
Source: City AM
