There are few more visible manifestations of the changing nature of the British economy than the evolution of our high streets. The rise of online shopping and banking, the squeeze on living standards since the financial crisis and (post-pandemic) the surge in remote working have all taken their toll on mainstays of our town and city centres. 

The dramatic pace of change on the high street is seen clearly in official datasets – such as the Interdepartmental Business Register which provides a detailed overview of all Pay as You Earn (PAYE) and VAT-registered businesses in the UK. Through looking at this data, we can see which types of businesses have been on the ascent and descent in our urban areas.

Banks have declined the most, while hairdressers, beauty salons and restaurants have grown sharply in number

So what have been the growth areas in terms of businesses on UK high streets? The table below points to a number of areas. 

Firstly, there appear to be more shops catering to our image consciousness: hairdressers and beauty salons have more than doubled in number since 2010. 

Secondly, reflecting the rise of coffee and foodie culture in Britain, unlicensed restaurants and cafés have also more than doubled in number. 

Reflecting the rise of e-commerce, across major towns and cities in England & Wales the biggest increase in businesses has been in companies involved in non-store retailing.  These types of business are far less likely to be on the high street of towns and cities, but their growth is a reflection of the changing way that we shop, often to the detriment of high streets. 

In terms of businesses leading the way in disappearing from our high streets, the number of banks has declined by over 60% since 2010 as online banking reduces the need for many of us to go to a branch. At the same time, the number of clothing stores has declined by about 3,600 across major towns and cities. The number of printers, bookmakers, pubs and clubs have all fallen significantly. On the latter two, see Public First’s Night Out Index. 

The regional picture

Critically, high street vibrancy and change differ across the country. To explore the state of store-based high street-type businesses, Public First has created a High Street Index, capturing the per capita number of retailers, restaurants, cafes, pubs, clubs, banks & building societies, arts & culture establishments and personal service firms such as hairdressers.

On this measure of vibrancy, Brighton & Hove leads the pack, while Bracknell languishes at the bottom. As with our night-time economy metric, the story is more nuanced than “North versus South” – for example, many towns surrounding London score poorly on our high street vibrancy measure, possibly reflecting the capital sucking up spending power from surrounding places, especially as people commute there for work. 

Where a North-South divide is more apparent though is in the per capita number of takeaways, with Northern towns and cities tending to lead the way (you can see this in the interactive map below using the toggle buttons in the top right). 

Clicking on individual towns and cities reveals the types of business that have grown or declined the most in number. 

How do the public feel about all of this?

To better understand how the public feel about such a drastic pace of change on the High Street, we undertook a nationally representative poll of adults across the country. This suggests that, while much of the change seen reflects shifting consumer behaviours (such as choosing to buy more online), there is much dissatisfaction with local high streets.

Just over half (51%) of those we polled said that their local high street is in decline, versus just 13% believing their high street is improving. Just under a third (31%) thought their high street was not changing much. 

There are large age and regional variations to this: while just under three in ten (29%) of under 25s thought their high street was in decline, more than twice as many over 55s think this is the case (66% of 55-64 year olds and 62% of those aged 65 and over). Londoners were by far the least likely to think their high street is in decline (27%), while those in the North East of England were the most likely (61%). 

Politically, our poll also highlights some interesting differences. Those that voted Conservative in 2019 were the most likely to say that their local high street is in decline among the major political parties – 56% versus 49% for Labour voters and 43% for Liberal Democrat voters. The points to mileage for Labour in setting out solid plans for improving (dare I say levelling up..) high streets across the country.

Not enough banks, too many nail bars and charities? 

Much of the public seems to believe that the changing face of the high street has left them with an inappropriate mix of stores. Over two fifths of adults think there are not enough banks or clothing stores on their high street – more than any of the other types of store we polled on. Just over a third (35%)  thought there were too many charity shops – the highest of all store types we polls on – followed by nail bars (34%)

But again there are important demographic variations in this – particularly by age. While 21% of under 25s think there are too few banks, this rises to 50% of those aged 65 and above. Similarly, while 20% of under-25s think there are too many nail bars, this rises to over two-fifths of those aged 55 and above. Full survey results can be found here.

Overall, then, it’s older demographics who are most discontented with the changing face of our town and city centres. In an age when the boomer generation, and older, are seen to wield enormous economic power, it is perhaps surprising that our urban spaces are increasingly revolving around the needs and wants of the young.