Recommendation 51

Whilst the benefit of being on the high street is clear for service businesses, such as hairdressers, which cannot deliver their services online, research has shown that a presence on the high street can also boost the online sales for a brand within the area surrounding the shop’s location by an average of 6.9 per cent in the weeks following the opening. 99 Having a well-maintained and busy high street with a variety of uses supports local businesses: greater footfall for any reason is likely to lead to more customers, even in the case where the person did not travel to the high street to initially visit the store. 100 In contrast, an unappealing high street and a series of vacant units can deter visitors and risks beginning a spiral of decline for the remaining businesses. 101 Considering this, business owners (whether of private or community-owned companies) operating on high streets in towns and small cities have a vested interest in wider measures that lead to popular and busy high streets.