According to the business turnaround organisation Insight With Passion, empty shops are costing the UK economy £900m in lost wages.
Insight With Passion, calculated the figure based on the lost wages of those who work in the 14.3 per cent of high street shops, which now lie vacant.
To address the problem, the Halifax-based company, which advises commercial property businesses on how to transform their fortunes, is launching a new project to help retailers improve their businesses and win back consumers.
Town Centre Rejuvenation is targeting eight Yorkshire centres in 2012; Leeds, Wakefield, Hull, Doncaster, Batley, Rotherham, Bradford, Birstall and Bingley, following a pilot earlier this year in Huddersfield.
The organisation will hold a series of free seminars for commercial property retailers to gain advice and guidance on how to transform their businesses.
Senior Partner at Insight With Passion, Kate Hardcastle, said: “When we began to look at the issue, it was one that we wanted to make people consider from their own point of view. Empty shops don’t just blight an area they hit us in the pocket. The time now is to say enough is enough.”
“We can’t wait for report after report. Towns and cities across the country need less head-shaking and more action.”
She further added: “It’s not true to say consumers just want to shop online. We crave human interaction in our shopping experience and we have worked with clients in Dubai, Australia and the UK showing that if you change how you interact with customers you can see real results in your turnover.”
One of the worst-hit cities in the region is Bradford, where almost a fifth of commercial property shops in the centre have closed in the downturn. Commercial Street in Leeds will also be targeted by the scheme. Companies who take part in the project will be given a toolkit.
Ms Hardcastle added: “The project is based on our concept of retail theatre. It’s about making businesses stand out, understanding what the consumer wants, how you can appeal to them and also show them how you’re meeting their needs. It’s not about small businesses spending lots of money and getting into expensive consultants. It’s about delivering a better service and better products.”
One of the most important issues that Ms Hardcastle will be encouraging the businesses to address is that of customer service. She said: “Who wants to go somewhere where staff are rude, don’t answer your questions properly, can’t tell you about the product they’re selling? No one wants that. Customer service is the central thing I want to bring back to the high street. It doesn’t cost a penny and it’s easily done.”
Research conducted by the British Retail Consortium (BRC) last week showed that shoppers are abandoning Yorkshire’s commercial property retailers at more than twice the rate of the national average as the UK suffered its worst footfall figures since December’s sharp winter.
Figures showed the North and Yorkshire had the third highest town centre retail vacancy rates last month at 12.5 per cent, only slightly behind East Midlands and Northern Ireland among the ten UK regions.
The BRC said nationwide footfall fell by 4.7 per cent in October as rising fuel bills squeezed consumers’ income levels and the Eurozone debt crisis weakened confidence.
The feeble figures, somewhat caused by consumers delaying buying winter clothes in the warmest October on record, came despite commercial property businesses offering high levels of special offers and discounts.
Gloomy updates have come successively in recent weeks.
Commercial property, Mothercare, slumped to an £80m loss in its first half-year after suffering a seven per cent sales slump and eroding the value of its UK business.
While commercial property fashion store, French Connection said profits for its third quarter were down by £1.8m from last year.
Meanwhile, according to Colliers International, Trinity Leeds shopping development is leading the way when it comes to new retail construction.
The property agent’s shopping Centre Development Pipeline has revealed that, despite having more than 34.2m sq. ft. of new shopping centre floor space in the pipeline, only 1.4m sq. ft. is under construction.
Land Securities is constructing the 1m sq. ft. space at £350m Trinity Leeds, which is expected to be completed by spring 2013.
