Cities embrace ‘Alive after 5’ retail campaign

RETAILERS are being urged to adjust their trading hours to meet changes in consumer lifestyles.

The Association of Town Centre Management (ATCM) recommends that town centres look towards evening shopping in order to remain competitive in an ultra-toughretail market.

A study of retail trading hours recently undertaken by the ATCM showed that sales between 5pm and 8pm are typically 50% more than those between 9am and 11am pointing towards the possibility of retailers opening later and closing later to capture extra spend.

The study reviewed shifts in spending patterns in cities which already consider later opening an essential element to attracting more shoppers back to the high street.  The results showed that spend increased by an average 10-12% in major shopping destinations across the UK where this was the case.

The ATCM’s Key Cities group including Liverpool, Belfast, Bristol, Birmingham, Kingston, Leeds, Lincoln, and Sheffield  have joined together to demonstrate to retailers that UK cities offer professional managed, safe clean and vibrant evening economies.

Calling the project “UK Cities Are Alive After 5” the ATCM have sent a DVD and brochure to 400 national retailers demonstrating the value of the evening economy and why retailers are missing out.

Jacquie Reilly, partnership director at ATCM, said: “”Consumers’ lifestyles have changed dramatically in recent years. They want to shop when it is convenient to them. Often this means when they finish work or combining a shopping trip with other leisure experiences.

“Out of town centres have already utilised their ready-made environment to take advantage of evening shopping to increase their market share.”