London’s West End still offers the best shopping experience in the UK, according to a retail ranking list compiled by global information company Experian.
Experian’s survey of more than 1,100 shopping locations found that Glasgow dominates the Scottish retail scene, while Nottingham is the leading provincial shopping location for England and Wales.
Norwich is now ranked as the best historic town for shopping, followed by Chester, while Brighton heads the ranks for seaside retail resorts.
Bluewater and Lakeside are listed as the UK’s leading purpose-built shopping malls.
Significant fallers in the rankings were Huddersfield, Sunderland, Tunbridge Wells, Bedford and Canterbury.
Manchester, Cardiff and Norwich have all successfully managed to reverse significant levels of decline highlighted in Experian’s 2000 report.
Retail locations were judged on such factors as floorspace size and the number of major multiple, comparison and quality independent retailers. Negative factors such as the amount of vacant floorspace or retailers vulnerable to supermarket competition is also taken into account.
EGi News 08/03/01
