Save our Shops - What Has Your Town Done?

Ashley_Price · Apr 23, 2026

Good afternoon all.

So, back in January I started a group to help promotes the shops and traders of the town (to be eligible a business has to physically trade within the town from a shop/studio/stall).

I have ideas of what would help to get traders more customers, but I would love to hear what other towns have done.

Please note: I am NOT after theories, but proven practical actions and support that have been put in place which have shown to work.

Chris Ashdown · Apr 23, 2026

Ask King Canute, he had the same problem fighting the sea rather than town centres. Nothing you can do will change things apart from wasting money trying

SBC Marketing · Apr 23, 2026

From what I’ve seen work in other towns, the real progress comes when you make it simple and rewarding for traders to get involved. A few proven actions that consistently deliver results include:

Ready‑made promo assets traders can share instantly — posters, window stickers, social posts.
Regular spotlight features that show traders the visibility they gain by being active.
Joint themed campaigns that drive footfall across multiple businesses at once.
A clear “you promote us, we promote you” loop so everyone benefits.
In‑person meet‑ups that build trust and make traders feel part of something bigger.
Sharing real success stories so others can see the impact and want to join in.

These aren’t theories — they’re practical steps that have worked in real towns and helped traders actively promote the group to their own customers and networks.

Ashley_Price · Apr 23, 2026

SBC Marketing said:
From what I’ve seen work in other towns, the real progress comes when you make it simple and rewarding for traders to get involved. A few proven actions that consistently deliver results include:

Ready‑made promo assets traders can share instantly — posters, window stickers, social posts.

Regular spotlight features that show traders the visibility they gain by being active.

Joint themed campaigns that drive footfall across multiple businesses at once.

A clear “you promote us, we promote you” loop so everyone benefits.

In‑person meet‑ups that build trust and make traders feel part of something bigger.

Sharing real success stories so others can see the impact and want to join in.

These aren’t theories — they’re practical steps that have worked in real towns and helped traders actively promote the group to their own customers and networks.

Please let me know some of the towns these have worked in so I can contact them.

The "meet ups" rarely work certainly in my town because retailers say they are too busy running their shops to go networking.

Ashley_Price · Apr 23, 2026

Chris Ashdown said:
Ask King Canute, he had the same problem fighting the sea rather than town centres. Nothing you can do will change things apart from wasting money trying

So you're suggesting we don't bother and let all the shops close, people become unemployed and the town becomes run down and dilapidated?

I was hoping for something a bit more positive.

Mark T Jones · Apr 23, 2026

Not personal experience but connections in the industry are working with local councils/town councils on some serious regeneration projects - a central part is creating a specific theme/identity for that town

Foodie
Crafts
Fashion or whatever

They are seeing success in some very run down towns

Ashley_Price · Apr 23, 2026

Mark T Jones said:
Not personal experience but connections in the industry are working with local councils/town councils on some serious regeneration projects - a central part is creating a specific theme/identity for that town

Foodie
Crafts
Fashion or whatever

They are seeing success in some very run down towns

That is something I am going to try and get the local authority to do.

At town level though we often get kick-back from the council saying that the tax payer expects them to buy things at the cheapest possible price. I think many people would actually be happier to see the council spend a little more to support local business.

Shopclicks · Apr 23, 2026

Well this is a thread I can get into. The first thing I'll say is, it takes a motivated organisation to promote a town. Don't try to do it alone. You need a team.

I'm on the executive committee of my local Chamber of Trade. 6 years ago myself and a few associates saw an opportunity to basically take over the running of the Chamber. At the time there were about 30 members in a town with 300 businesses. About half of the 300 are retailers, pubs, hotels & restaurants and the other half are service industry businesses.

About 95% of the businesses are independents and 5% nationals (we've lost 5 banks but just recently got a banking hub). Through our recruiting efforts we now have 210 member businesses (including some of the national brands).

As we are a Chamber of Trade our first duty is to promote businesses within our postcode. We have a very popular website, Facebook & Instagram pages, a monthly newsletter and a tri-annual magazine with a circulation of 10,000. All of our activities are self-funded through membership fees (£40 - £60 annually) and through advertising revenue.

A major part of our promotional efforts are social media based (mostly Facebook). We create (and pay for in part through sponsorship) a number of videos and reels each year, promoting the town and local businesses. We use local people using local businesses as our talent base. We hire a professional videographer for most of these. One of our recent campaigns was a Xmas shopping series of 6 reels which totalled nearly half a million views.

We recently entered 'The UK's most Dog Friendly Town 2026' competition and won. We are working at making this win, work for us.

Other promotions over the years:
1. A post-covid, get back to the shops video series.
2. A post-covid restaurant and takeaway dining experience promotion.
3. A staycation video promotion and competition.
4. A town based charities week promotion and prize giveaways.
5. A local only photographic competition.
6. Multiple shopping and Xmas shopping video campaigns.
7. Local television adverts.
8. This year we are running a local young entrepreneurs competition.
9. We are currently creating a video promotion to align with the World Cup.
10. Next year we have big plans for a Tour de France video promotion.

That's just a small part of what a team of 10 enthusiastic business owners have done over the years. We are not a tourism or industry hub. Just a town with 9000 residents and a thriving, independent business base.

tony84 · Apr 23, 2026

My office is in Bramhall - worth a google as they do a lot.

Monthly(ish) makers markets - ie people who make cakes, honey etc.
Christmas fair where they close the roads down and there is a local radio station who rock up with singers, performers etc (Jason Manford lives locally, he tends to do a bit).
Summer fair, as above but warmer.
They do monthly nights in the summer where all the bars come together, put on music in the square etc
There is a facebook group where business owners get to post their business once a month.
Events can be posted once a month.
A flower society - they do (believe it or not) flower boxes to make the village nice and to give the local teens something to do (ie break them)

There is a very big vibe about buying local which helps.

I come from a council estate so to live in an area where all this goes on is really nice to see. The effort that goes into it but its not just from the businesses. The local rotary club is involved, Bramhall trust, the local town centre owner - they are not the best, but they are putting some effort in.

Chris Ashdown · Apr 24, 2026

Ashley_Price said:
So you're suggesting we don't bother and let all the shops close, people become unemployed and the town becomes run down and dilapidated?

I was hoping for something a bit more positive.

Not at all shopping needs to meet todays expectations, which is out of town shopping with free or very low cost parking

Shopclicks · Apr 24, 2026

Incidentally, the High Street Task Force arrived in town a couple of years ago. They held a couple of meetings which we sent a delegation to. Nothing happened. This has now evolved into a Community-led Plan which recently held a Visioning Day attended by 200 local people. The suggestion board was full.

Shopclicks · Apr 24, 2026

Chris Ashdown said:
Not at all shopping needs to meet todays expectations, which is out of town shopping with free or very low cost parking

Our closest Big Box retail park is 7 miles away. We do have a B&M, a Homemaker Centre and car dealerships in town which means you rarely need to leave on a shopping expedition.

tony84 · Apr 24, 2026

Chris Ashdown said:
Not at all shopping needs to meet todays expectations, which is out of town shopping with free or very low cost parking

Im not sure how much I agree with this. I think it depends how big the town is/how far away the alternatives are.

20p parking for example, not a lot - but do you have 20p in change? If not, its a PITA.
The apps - I have never downloaded a parking app. If my Mrs is with me, she has 3-4, we are fine. If shes not, then I am parking somewhere else or not parking. If there was 1 app that did them all, fine. But there isnt. If the machine takes a card payment thats fine and ideal for me - but everyone will be different.

Our village is a relatively affluent area. People go for food/drinks and also buy bits - its the food/drink that drives the people I think (I could be wrong).

pentel · Apr 24, 2026

tony84 said:
20p parking for example, not a lot - but do you have 20p in change? If not, its a PITA.
The apps - I have never downloaded a parking app. If my Mrs is with me, she has 3-4,

What bugs me is when there is the option to pay cash or use an app and the app charges more than paying cash, and the cash / card function is not working The law re not charging more for paying by card should apply to this scenario too. The car park operator saves money by not having to buy, operate or maintain machines so should stand the cost of the app.

Lucan Unlordly · Apr 25, 2026

Small businesses stop advertising when things get tough, the very time when they should be advertising more.

6 months ago a local business in the middle of town shut down having traded for less than a year. Out of those I spoke to in our family that were all potential customers, including myself, just one knew they existed - because they only used TikTok. The retailer misplaced lots of views and likes for quirky videos as bona fide advertising.

In short, the business owners got what they deserved.

Shopclicks · Apr 25, 2026

Lucan Unlordly said:
Small businesses stop advertising when things get tough, the very time when they should be advertising more.

The advice I've given in the past is 'Advertise when you don't need to'. If you're busy and your advertising is working, double down. You build your reputation, your brand and footfall, when you're busy. Not when you have a quiet period.

Over the last 7 years, my town has seen at least 20 new businesses come and go. They are nearly always, under-funded, half-arsed attempts to get into business because they think they have a good idea. They don't ask for advice, have no marketing skills and no plan.

Mark T Jones · Apr 25, 2026

pentel said:
What bugs me is when there is the option to pay cash or use an app and the app charges more than paying cash, and the cash / card function is not working The law re not charging more for paying by card should apply to this scenario too. The car park operator saves money by not having to buy, operate or maintain machines so should stand the cost of the app.

The extra charge is usually VAT - parking is exempt(?) But apps are a service that attracts VAT

pentel · Apr 25, 2026

Mark T Jones said:
The extra charge is usually VAT - parking is exempt(?)

On street only, off street is standard rated.

VATGPB8640 - Other local authority activities: miscellaneous (A to E): car parking - HMRC internal manual - GOV.UK

www.gov.uk

Lucan Unlordly · Apr 25, 2026

Shopclicks said:
The advice I've given in the past is 'Advertise when you don't need to'. If you're busy and your advertising is working, double down. You build your reputation, your brand and footfall, when you're busy. Not when you have a quiet period.

Yes, agreed, but it's a hard sell as suspicious customers think the salesman is trying it on.
With minimum staff levels becoming the norm some don't want extra footfall when busy as they can't handle it.

Shopclicks · Apr 25, 2026

Lucan Unlordly said:
Yes, agreed, but it's a hard sell as suspicious customers think the salesman is trying it on.
With minimum staff levels becoming the norm some don't want extra footfall when busy as they can't handle it.

I don't believe I've seen this happen. In the main because anyone without the foresight to prepare to be busy, most likely doesn't have a marketing plan which includes both organic and paid advertising. They just never get 'too busy to cope'.

fisicx · Apr 26, 2026

Do we need a high street any more? Last time I went into town was to pop into boots. Most of the time we shop at Lidl which is out of town and next to some big box retailers. We get the bus (cos we got bus passes). Everything else is done online.

It’s not helped by the fact parking is rubbish in town, expensive and not easy to get in and out of. And the lifts are always broken.

Mark T Jones · Apr 26, 2026

fisicx said:
Do we need a high street any more? Last time I went into town was to pop into boots. Most of the time we shop at Lidl which is out of town and next to some big box retailers. We get the bus (cos we got bus passes). Everything else is done online.

It’s not helped by the fact parking is rubbish in town, expensive and not easy to get in and out of. And the lifts are always broken.

Aldershot is definitely a great argument against high streets

On the other hand, if you go to Farnham or Guildford you'll see ones that are buzzing & vibrant each with a distinct feel and theme (whether its your thing or not)

Shopclicks · Apr 26, 2026

fisicx said:
Do we need a high street any more?

The key to a successful High Street is the mix of businesses. The right balance of retail, services, coffee shops & pubs/bars. While we can't necessarily dictate who opens what & where, the established businesses thrive because they know what works.

People still like a community. They still like to eat out. They still like to try a pair of shoes on. They still like a chat with the barber or hairdresser. They like a coffee or a beer. And they like to meet up with friends.

A lot of our local businesses are online as well as the bricks & mortar. You wouldn't pay £5k for a diamond ring online. But you would walk into a Jewellers.

Mark T Jones said:
On the other hand, if you go to Farnham or Guildford

I was born in Guildford and remember it as a kid. What I found amazing was, I spent 46 years in another country and when I went back, the High Street looked exactly how I remembered it. But busier.

Gecko001 · Apr 26, 2026

Nobody has mentioned more on-street parking. The shopkeepers who are left seem to think that it is important.

fisicx · Apr 26, 2026

Mark T Jones said:
Aldershot is definitely a great argument against high streets

On the other hand, if you go to Farnham or Guildford you'll see ones that are buzzing & vibrant each with a distinct feel and theme (whether its your thing or not)

Not Farnham any more. And even Guildford is getting a bit run down.

Aldershot is the council and planners not talking to each other as a result all the shops closing. But you can your nails done and a Turkish shave.

Paul FilmMaker · Apr 26, 2026

We filmed a scheme ages ago which massively increased footfall. Somewhere in the Midlands. The local council created a load of cycle parking where people wouldn't get their bikes nicked. I can't remember if there were decent cycle lanes but think there were a few. But just the cycle parking was massive for local shops.

Footfall massively increased, browse times increased. Local shopkeepers talked about how they'd increased their sales significantly.

We're just video production, nothing to do with retail but we were interviewing the shopkeepers, cafe and restaurant owners on camera. I'll try to dig out the vid.

But I guess it's just common sense. Just make it more accessible. Because if you can't park, you can't shop. So providing a massive amount more parking just increases the amount of shoppers coming in and shopkeepers revenues.

MikeJ · Apr 26, 2026

Chris Ashdown said:
Ask King Canute, he had the same problem fighting the sea rather than town centres. Nothing you can do will change things apart from wasting money trying

Pedantic, but Canute never tried to stop the sea. He did recognise he couldn't win a fight against it though.

Shopclicks · Apr 26, 2026

Gecko001 said:
Nobody has mentioned more on-street parking. The shopkeepers who are left seem to think that it is important.

I wonder if pedestrianisation has played a part in the downturn in footfall? We don't have any pedestrian only former streets. Parking certainly could have an effect. We have disc-only street parking which is great for locals and they are handed out free of charge. Public transport is great and well-used.

Parking in any of our council carparks is expensive but people pay for the convenience:
Up to 30 minutes costs £1
Up to 1 hour costs £1.60
Up to 2 hours costs £3.10
Up to 4 hours costs £4.90

tony84 said:
20p parking for example, not a lot - but do you have 20p in change?

Why do they bother?

WaveJumper · Apr 27, 2026

MikeJ said:
Pedantic, but Canute never tried to stop the sea. He did recognise he couldn't win a fight against it though.

Correct he did it to prove a point

WaveJumper · Apr 27, 2026

Unfortunately it is a sign of the times ( this from someone who was a retailer small and large format) why would I travel 20 minutes to town pay a fortune to park when I can go online buy the same product (sometimes cheaper) its delivered the next day. In the meantime I am getting on with my life doing something else.

For many I suspect the days of trudging round a town centre for something to do is dead. Out of town venues with free car parking designer shops seems to be more in line with peoples choices.

As an aside had a trip to the dentist on Thursday in Colchester and I suppose was not surprised to see even more empty units, the "lanes" there are looking very sad. Parking charge for less than 2 hours was £3.50.

The bottom line, is the bottom line the costs of leasing and running a unit these days as we know is astronomical.

Before I go just one other observation, I visited a garden centre twice over the weekend, we say 'garden centre' but they sell a whole range of items these days, throw in the restaurant and coffee shop the place the was heaving.

Paul Kelly ICHYB · Apr 27, 2026

I run a local business groupand have helped the locl council with some ideas/initiatives.

The initial problem is getting the local businesses on boardand involved. I find too many are complacent and happy to criticise rather then be part of a solution, but that could be more of a London/city thing.

So, the first thing is to get the local council on board - many Economic Development teamsare good, bur restricted with funds.

You needto get the basics right and access/communications is key. If the roads are a pain and there isn't anywhere to park, you are already fighting a losing battle.

Everything is driven by footfall, so, if the shops are not attracting visitors on their own,you need to get the people there with additional events and attractions.

Doing collective marketing is the next big thing to focus on, however, as most chains only market at a national level, this will probably be driven by the local small businesses and council. Having a single website and SM identity is probably the best way to focus attention, collect data and broadcast information.

You couldalso look at creating a BID, which will collect contributions business rates payersand create funds to employ a team to focus on strategy and development.

Gecko001 · Apr 27, 2026

Shopclicks said:
I wonder if pedestrianisation has played a part in the downturn in footfall? We don't have any pedestrian only former streets. Parking certainly could have an effect. We have disc-only street parking which is great for locals and they are handed out free of charge. Public transport is great and well-used.

Parking in any of our council carparks is expensive but people pay for the convenience:
Up to 30 minutes costs £1
Up to 1 hour costs £1.60
Up to 2 hours costs £3.10
Up to 4 hours costs £4.90

Why do they bother?

I think pedestrianisation has driven people out of the town centres in some cases. Councillors are far too easily impressed with artists impressions of people sitting outside cafés surrounded by a large scattering of trees, scrubs and street entertainers. But the reality perhaps is different, if it means that prospective customers have fewer places to park, and go to out of town malls instead.

Shopclicks · Apr 27, 2026

Gecko001 said:
I think pedestrianisation has driven people out of the town centres in some cases. Councillors are far too easily impressed with artists impressions of people sitting outside cafés surrounded by a large scattering of trees, scrubs and street entertainers. But the reality perhaps is different, if it means that prospective customers have fewer places to park, and go to out of town malls instead.

Exactly right.
It works well in tourism heavy towns where people are visiting for the day or a weekend but is a hinderance to market towns.

Lucan Unlordly · Apr 27, 2026

Shopclicks said:
I don't believe I've seen this happen. In the main because anyone without the foresight to prepare to be busy, most likely doesn't have a marketing plan which includes both organic and paid advertising. They just never get 'too busy to cope'.

If I reflect on my business, yes I could cope with extra business if I worked 7 days a week, but I couldn't employ somebody, train them, trust them and rely on them for what may be a short uplift from advertising.

Shopclicks · Apr 27, 2026

Lucan Unlordly said:
but I couldn't employ somebody, train them, trust them and rely on them for what may be a short uplift from advertising.

Are we talking about a retail shop? Or a service shop?

Lucan Unlordly · Apr 27, 2026

Back in the day most high streets were underpinned by clothing retail. It was the main reason people ventured into town. Back in the day suits and smart dress were popular and essential for those working in many occupations, particularly office based and customer facing roles. Now, many employers allow casual dress.

With pubs, nightclubs and the like shutting down and folk getting away with casual dress 24/7 the need for high street clothing retail is greatly diminished. The holes can be plugged by restaurants and vape shops but shopping enjoyment is lacking.

Lucan Unlordly · Apr 27, 2026

Shopclicks said:
Are we talking about a retail shop? Or a service shop?

My business doesn't directly fall into either category, I was simply analogising the difficulty in getting busy through advertising and being unable to cope.

fisicx · Apr 28, 2026

In my local town there is no direct access from any carpark to the high street. The multistory gets you to the shopping mall but there isn't really much there - apart from boots all the chains have gone. If you do venture out into the high street all there is are discounters, vape, mobile phone bitz, turkish barbers, charity shops and a few cafes and coffee shops. Nothing to get excited about.

Chris Ashdown · Apr 28, 2026

fisicx said:
In my local town there is no direct access from any carpark to the high street. The multistory gets you to the shopping mall but there isn't really much there - apart from boots all the chains have gone. If you do venture out into the high street all there is are discounters, vape, mobile phone bitz, turkish barbers, charity shops and a few cafes and coffee shops. Nothing to get excited about.

Our town Great Yarmouth also has a 70's built mall but the main large shops have moved on so its empty of any real footfall, the only road that has any footfall is the road to the beach and that naturally just seasonal tourist traffic

WaveJumper · Apr 28, 2026

BID's we could probably start a whole new thread on that topic. Couple of points I would make depending on the size of the town the actual fund pot is not always as big as one would think and the BID managers salary obviously eats into this.

Larger city centres will obviously attract more of a larger fund pot allowing for a little more scope. Having been involved in several over the years the one thing that becomes pretty clear, pretty quickly is yes the council may support / encourage a BID but I often wonder their real motivation.

I say this as you suddenly find the council wish to suddenly stop undertaking various projects / works they have done in the past and expect the BID to pick these up. This I can tell you has generated a lot of work in the past establishing what the council has statutory obligation / duty to actually undertake, and they have in my experience not been to happy in having the spot light thrown onto this.

So suddenly those flower displays, chewing gum removal, seating, marketing events and even Christmas lights, parades and the festive light switch on are suddenly not the councils remit amongst a whole list of other activities.

Yes they can help but quite often get tugged completely in the wrong direction picking up the slack on projects a local council have dropped. One BID I was involved with ( outer London) funded two police officers in the town centre due to no cover as the MET decided reactive policing was the way to go and if officers were required in town they would come from inner London, it was a complete joke.

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Save our Shops - What Has Your Town Done?