Birmingham’s shopping offer tempts consumers back to bricks and mortar

CONSUMERS in the West Midlands are returning to shopping in-store as their purchasing habits evolve, according to sector analysts.

Representatives from BDO, the Mailbox and Lambert Smith Hampton meet in Birmingham to discuss retail sector trends and the impact it was having on the city.

The meeting (LSH) discussed the return of shoppers to the high street and out of town stores in what was a landmark year for retail in the Midlands.

The conclusion was that major renovations to the Mailbox and the new Grand Central shopping centre had exemplified the returning importance of bricks and mortar stores to consumers.

Sophie Michael, head of retail and wholesale at BDO UK, said: “The way that people shop continues to change at a rapid pace. While there is no doubt that online retail has become key to how consumers purchase goods, the growth of online has given the store an evolving role for the convenient collection of online orders and increasingly as a beacon of inspiration.

“This is of particular focus to those retailers where the buying process cannot be adequately reproduced online and the consumer therefore receives value from visiting the store to experience the product before buying.”

This is a trend that is supported by recent figures from the British Retail Consortium which suggest footfall at retail stores in the West Midlands is on the up.

Richard Jones, head of Midlands retail at national commercial property consultancy LSH, said: “While e-commerce is undeniably a threat to bricks and mortar stores, there is definite evidence of a fight back in the West Midlands market.

“Vacancy rates have fallen from 15.4% in January 2015 to 9.4% in January 2016 a decline of 6% and, at LSH, we’ve noticed a dramatic improvement in take-up regionally in the last 18 months, suggesting that confidence is really starting to grow among retailers.

“Footfall at both retail parks and on the high street is also up, with the latter seeing a rise for the first time since July 2013.”

Turning to the year ahead, the analysts have concluded that the sector faces challenges from the likes of the National Living Wage and impending EU referendum.

Nevertheless, David Pardoe, Retail Manager at the Mailbox, said there were still reasons to be positive.

“Birmingham is now the only city outside London to boast all five major UK department stores [Debenhams, John Lewis, Harvey Nicholls, House of Fraser and Selfridges] and can now offer a true leisure experience to shoppers from miles around,” he said.

“And it is the quality of this experience that will see consumers returning time and again.”

Other trends suggest the continued growth of social media will be an important tool for retailers to engage with their customers, who in turn will focus on building loyalty to shops and brands that they trust.  
 
The meeting was part of the Real Estate Network, which hosts a yearly programme of events, alternately staged by BDO, LSH and law firm Shoosmiths.

Pictured from left: Gary Rouse (BDO), Richard Jones (Lambert Smith Hampton, David Pardoe (The Mailbox) and Sophie Michael (BDO).