City centre spend figures provide lessons for future - Kevin Buckle

With December spending only five per cent up on the last week of November and just 29 per cent ahead of February it makes dismal reading. However the number that really jumped out at me was the figure for the spending of city centre residents before the first lockdown which was one per cent.

With 49% of spending coming from the city suburbs that meant that exactly half of all spending came from outside the city. Even during the last week of December with a new lockdown in place city centre residents only accounted for three per cent, with the suburbs accounting for two thirds of spending and surprisingly those outside the city still making up 30% of a much reduced spend.

City centre residents’ spend is small in most cities of course but not normally this small and it would be no surprise to find out that the figure for Edinburgh’s visitors from outside the city has a larger percentage than normal from further afield.

Unfortunately what this means is that no matter how well meaning the council’s encouragement to shop local has been it could never be more than a sticking plaster over a gaping wound.

Moving forward it is clear that Edinburgh needs to cater more for local residents to improve such a low figure while at the same time accepting that visitors to the city are essential to Edinburgh’s economy and no recovery will be possible without them returning in the numbers previously seen.

While the news of Jenners closing was not a great surprise to many, and unlike the other large buildings that will become empty on Princes Street, it should still have a retail future of some kind, it really does signify a major change in how Edinburgh’s premier shopping street will be viewed.

The biggest worry is that if councils decide that retail is finished it will become a self- fulfilling prophecy and no matter how things look just now there are many opportunities for retail to flourish again in the future. The Edinburgh St James Quarter will undoubtedly face a tricky opening but it is still going to be a major draw for people in the future.

The Waverley Mall is even better placed to plan for the new normal if it takes on board the need to become a shopping destination for locals as well as visitors with commuters as a bonus.

With rooftop building plans already in place it can adapt to the new retail landscape while the closure of Oasis and Gleneagles at the Waverley Bridge entrance is a fantastic opportunity to make a real statement of intention.

Hopefully I’ll still be there to see it all happen!