GB Retail in the Regions - Summary

Introduction

Verdict’s retail in the regions series utilises data from the Local Data Company to profile 708 retail locations across Great Britain, as well as giving overviews of the comparative performance of the 11 major regions. This brief provides a summary of the series - highlighting key emerging trends, performance drivers and regional variances.Features and benefits

• Overview of the performance of all 11 Great Britain regions - including performance drivers in the context of the general economic climate
• Regional data comparisons covering major retail centres, number of shops, gross floorspace, vacancy rates, churn, and % comparison retailersHighlights

The economic downturn and the fall in consumer demand has led to a general increase in vacancy levels across the UK, although some regions have been more affected than others. As well as areas of high unemployment, regions with an oversupply of retail space have also seen vacancy rates rise faster as weaker players are forced out of the market.In a continuation of last year, we are seeing a split within regions between primary and secondary locations. While the larger centres are holding up well, secondary towns are struggling, with their vacancy rates soaring. The opening of larger shopping centres and the greater mix of larger retailers in this area are factors behind this split.A North-South split is becoming more noticeable; with lower unemployment rates and higher average weekly spend in the South of the country. Public sector cuts, announced in the spending review, will only make this gap wider.

Your key questions answered

• Analyse the performance of Great Britain's 11 regions and how they are performing relative to each other
• See what impact future retail developments and economic factors, such as government expenditure cuts, are set to have on Great Britain's regions

Table of contents

OVERVIEW
Summary
Negative economic indicators have inevitably impacted retail vacancies throughout Great Britain
There remains a contrast in the performance of primary and secondary retail locations throughout Great Britain
The North/South retail divide is also becoming more pronounced
Even underdeveloped, lean retail locations have suffered
Southern regions generally more robust
Major retail developments are in the pipeline
Worsening economic factors are set to drive a continued polarisation in performance throughout Great Britain

NATIONAL CONTEXT
Regional comparisons

APPENDIX

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Related research categories

By sector: Retail (in Off-trade)

By market: United Kingdom (in Europe)