decline of town centers

With regard to the problem of the deterioration of town centers, a deadlock has recently developed. Due to the different roles they serve in the society, town centers are frequently portrayed as being the most significant component. However, since their position has evolved, it has become necessary for them to adopt fresh strategies in order to continue to be relevant in contemporary society. They have been under constant attack from a variety of factors, and their future is dismal. The debate on the decline and change of role of town centers is both controversial and impassioned because of their historical significance such as cultural, economic and social hubs. Furthermore, town centers are falling because of issues such as hikes in tax, increased the level of unemployment, higher costs of living and depressed wages. Nevertheless, it would be wrong just to conclude that the economic consequences of the recession are the main contributor to the decline of town centers. It is because the financial hardships just facilitated the problem, which has been there for many years. Many factors are contributing to the decline and change of role of town centers such as new technology, out of town competition, aging population, the rise of the product aggregators and the development of e-commerce.

There is a need for planning for the future to help the town centers and their emerging new roles. It is a belief that the future should not be left as passive forces, which take part on their own instead the future should be used as an active process of thinking that would make the future better. All authorities are required to produce business plans for their town centers that are compressive and practical. Similarly, they should view town centers as community hubs including arts, housing, education, entertainment, leisure, business health. Retail is an important aspect of both our economic and social life. That is because retail is one of the fastest and largest sectors, which are growing in both regional and local economies. It creates many jobs for people of all ages and different levels of skills. This paper will, therefore, access the future role of retail within small town centers prospects by looking at factors that contribute to the change in the role of town centers and eventually their decline. Likewise, it will also consider the role of research in understanding the potential emerging at the level of the individual city center.

Factors Contributing to the change of Roles in Town Centre

Apart from the chain stores leaving town centers, there are more real causes of the decline of the town centers other than that. There is a need to recognize the most likely influence of a multitude of factors like the lifestyles that are changing, economy, an aging population, the rise of highly effective convenience led retailing and technological advancement. Those factors in collaboration have changed the way people shop, live and even socialize. The town centers have not, however, adapt to the changes leading to its failure and change in their future role. The factors in details are as follows.

Economy

After most of the world economies entered recession in the aftermath of the global financial crisis especially the United States of American, the growth of town centers has failed to gain steady stability. The recovery from the recession is one thing that many countries are finding it hard to overcome. The economic woes of the recent past have a great impact on the consumers. The customers have faced problems such as high taxes, huge job shedding from both the public and private sectors, the inflation rate is on the rise, weakness in the housing markets and reduced benefits. These factors have led to reduced spending especially in town centers making retail sales to record low growth rate in the past years. Consumer spending has decreased as they reduce on big spending such as various holidays that are expensive, transport expenditure, recreation, and culture. However, they continue to spend on other items that are necessary.

The majorly affected were the stores dealing with household goods, whose sales volume felt and it reflected the weak housing market, and also food stores were affected because consumers started to shop carefully by preferring cheaper food stuff and buying less. In summary, consumer confidence that is declining and disposable income with no doubt have affected the viability and vitality of twin centers operators. Some of the possible outcomes are losing jobs and in a case which is extreme businesses failure as experienced in the past.

Governance

It is not easy to assess the real impact of governance such as legislation and regulation on town centers. Many researchers give different options on the role of governance in town centers. One study shows that civic organizations believe that councils are too weak to counter developers instead of the local population. Alternatively, another study by London School of Economics indicates that the costs of development of the retails are very high and suppress the sector. Both the studies suggested that restrictive planning policies have reduced the productivity of town centers by about 20%. Regulations like the Town Centre First Policy (National Planning Policy Framework) in Britain failed in promoting vibrant town centers and much more in the United States of America.

Another governance policy, which has been criticized heavily for not being productive is the Town center management strategies. It has been criticized for either being inconsistent or non-existent leaving numerous centers at a comparatively disadvantaged position against closely controlled shopping centers, supermarkets and out of town parks. Local authorities are therefore asked to come up with real plans that will help the town centers with the emerging reality.

Spatial

The concept of large town centers being the only places for shopping has been eroded. There is an emergence of out of town shopping centers with large parking spaces and access to customers. It has given way to modern retailing concepts, which are clean, secure and convenient. The notion has elevated shopping centers to be a leisure activity instead of one that is purely borne from distress or necessity.

The outcome of the development is that various town centers are less attractive places for both business and consumers. In particular instances shops, value retailers’ fast food outlets and bars have occupied the spaces that are left by other merchants. Such outlines are always there because they fulfill local needs. Another factor that has led to the decline of town centers is their inaccessibility that has been a recurring problem year in year out. The limited parking spaces together with high fees for parking tickets make out of town shopping centers to be favorable. It is because people find out of town shopping centers to be accessible as they have more parking spaces than town centers.

Competition

The retail market has faced important structural changes over the past decades and consumers have embraced alternative shopping options. Shopping centers that are built for specific purposes are easily accessible, offers many choices for their customers and cater to the requirements of the modern time poor value driven consumers. Some town centers have failed to adapt to the contemporary change making them irrelevant leading to their decline. Furthermore, the rise of supermarkets has brought a variety of choices to their customers, value, and convenience to the retail sector. Their growth has also led to the decline of traditional shopping centers.

Likewise, supermarkets are not only groceries as they were in the past but they offer a selection of goods and services like beauty and health, household and clothing products. That has had a potential impact on traditional town centers operators. Consumers have also incorporated out of town centers locations. Town centers are, therefore, expected to fall further in the coming years. Finally, the trend of town center homogenization in which towns have begun to lose their characters that are unique because of the existence of a vast number of multiple retailers have frequently been quoted as a major challenge. The issue of similarity has made town centers not only struggle to distinguish themselves from recent competition but also from one another.

Technology

Technology is considered as one of the primary causes of the change of role of town because it has impacted the way most people live and consume goods. The emergence of new technology like the m-commerce (Sales done over mobile phones) and e-commerce have offered consumers more choices than the traditional town Centre could provide. For example countries like the United States and the United Kingdom has one of the highest penetration of internet in the globally majorly it is broadband. That has led to the substantial growth in sales that is done over the web. Whether it is from the websites of major players such as the Amazon or retailers with physical locations such as brick and motor. Most of the retailers are now offering a variety of choices such as both online services and physical locations services. That means goods can be bought online and picked in their physical stores.

Internet shopping services have the potential of being carried out anywhere at any time, which is also a significant threat to the traditional town centers. It offers consumers variety of benefits such as price, convenience, and choices that were not provided in the traditional town centers. Technology has, therefore, posed a significant threat to the traditional town centers, and it caused the decline of music, video, and book sectors in town centers. New phenomena, which are currently experienced is the influence of social media on town centers. The emergence of group deals shopping websites such as Groupon and Living Social in which a group of people at a particular location is offered a deal of purchase also has influenced town centers in both negative and positive ways. However, their actual effects are still unknown as it is too early for that discern them.

Future Economy

Many people in the world are still struggling after the most severe and prolonged recession in the recent past. It has led to high taxes, heavier indebtedness, and tighter lending rates. All those factors have kept town centers at a standstill compared to previous years. Consumers have also faced severe economic situation reducing their spending rates, and in turn, town centers are affected negatively. The inflation has primarily impacted the moderate consumer spending rate. It has made consumers saving rates to increase reducing their spending rates by a considerable margin. It is, therefore, true to say that consumers purely contribute a significant factor that is leading to the decline of the town centers and change in their role regarding their spending rates, which are considerably reduced as compared to the past years.

With the reduced spending by the consumers, town centers are expected to fall further or remain in a state that is depressed. They are required to adapt to the fact that most consumers will have less disposable wages and also their shopping pattern is likely to be affected. If they can be tailored to those particular factors, then they can at least remain relevant for some time. The consumer expenditure has been depressing with huge unemployment rates, especially among the youths together with a decreased disposable income. Future town centers need to adapt to the new reality in which the anticipations, circumstances, and behavior of the general public have substantially changed as compared to the past years.

Another factor that has led to the decline of town centers is the aging population. The aging population has made the town official to put strict requirements for town centers to meet the growing needs of aging population. The requirements include the provision of excellent health services, easy accessibility, public convenience among others. In general, it has led to a growing demand for local places that are cleaner and safer one for leisure and socializing activities, which has put the focus on activities such as community centers and cafes. This numerous requirement has led to the decline of town centers and their roles as many businesses prefer to set their premises in out of the town centers. The anticipated decrease in young consumers in a population is also another challenge as many of the services, which appeal to these group of people may also decline. For example, it can lead to less demand for services such as bars that appeal to this particular group of individuals.

In summary, the future role of retail within small town centers future is affected by the specific factors. However, the effect of future retail trends and groups on town centers will be varied from one town to another depending on their particular makeup of the population. Nonetheless, all future town centers will be impacted most by the following factors, which are majorly on the consumers. First is the aging population. It will lead to particular demands for specific services and facilities as well as an attractive and safe environment for them to shop and socialize. Second is the ever increasing choice on demand. It will increase pressure on town centers operators to break from traditional models of business to satisfy the complex need of their consumers for convenience. The third is the continued rise of the e-commerce. With the increased internet connection, there has been a steady growth of electronic commerce sites, which are better than the traditional brick and motor shopping centers. Future town operators are, therefore, required to embrace technology soon as it will be embedded in consumers lives shortly if not at present. Fourth, the town center operators should know that the demand for value is here to stay and there will be an increased demand for real value goods and services yet quality services and products. Finally, leisure time will continue to be significant, and the expectation of people will continue to be high as the countless options will continue to strive for their attention. If town centers are to compete and thrive, they will be required to offer individuals with a viable alternative where they can eat, shop, and even play in a unique exciting cultural and social environment.

Role of Research in Understanding the Potential Emerging at the Individual Town Center Level

Research defines town centers as multifaceted and varied multi-functional locations as well as retail shops. The research has different roles when it comes to understanding the emerging potential of the city centers. The research is used as follows.

Demographic Indicators

The population size will upsurge the overall demand for town centers services and will progressively increase the general size of the market in those regions. In the United Kingdom, for example, an approximation of 137 town centers is expected to experience a population growth, which will be more than 10%. Likewise, the data also suggest that about 98 town centers will experience no growth or a population decline. These demographic research data can be used to plan for future town centers for them to adapt to the modern changes. The data will help in determining the size of the town centers to be built or increased; it will also assist in identifying the particular services, which will be relevant to the current population.

Local Economy Indicators

The Tiwb center economic indicators are grounded on forecasts, which are provided by Experian Economics and refer to the Local Authority District where the town Centre falls instead of its residential area of the catchment. The research on local Economy suggests that the welfare cuts will take an unreasonably higher toll on the economy. That will, in turn, affect the growth of Town Centers. According to the local authority district level projections, The towns in the Great Britain’s town centers can anticipate being in areas with an average increase of total workforce jobs in the area of 6-7%.

Area resilience 2011

Experian’s Local Authority District resilience score assist people in understanding the likelihood of an area experiencing challenges going forward. Thus each town Centre has been allotted a resilience score based in the Local Authority District in which it falls. The data from Experian measure resilience across four main themes such as Business, People, Place, and Community. They have variables ranging from the health of the business, skills and the levels of employments of the local cities and the suitability of the environment to stay. In general, these score helps in determining the current position of the town centers and the future potential for growth. Likewise, the data helps people to calculate how likely a town center will struggle shortly.

Consumer 2018

By the application of in house customer data from Experian segmentation system Mosaic, together with the recent forecast of the population, Experian was able to develop pen portraits for seven main future groups. By following the data, it has become possible to approximate the amount of different consumer household types anticipated to exist in every town center catchment in 2018. By using the research data those who are in charge of the development of the town centers should ensure that they meet all the needs of the consumers’ households. That will help them make more profit and stay relevant in the contemporary times.

Adapting to Change

For the town centers to be appropriate, they should be able to adapt to changes. It is, therefore, the responsibility of the town center management to ensure they adapt to the modification. As those who will enable the change Town, teams are required to cooperate with local people, landlords and business to implement specific strategies to form vibrant, sustainable locations that can meet both short term and long term needs of the society as a whole. The research data will help them in great detail in selecting impactful and well-conceived strategies with greater sureness. The following are thus some of the most relevant actions to be taken for the town centers to take for them not to continue declining.

Ageing Population

The goods and services in the future town centers should be provided in a way that will favor both the old and young people in the society. Apart from that future town centers should offer easier accessibility be it public transport or parking space, create an environment that is attractive and safe for people to do their shopping, and bringing significant private and public services on to everybody in town centers.

Economic uncertainty

Many of the economic uncertainty such as unemployment, depressed household expenditure, and low-income growth has led to change of roles in town centers. However, through forwarding thinking, many of these problems can be minimized. Actions such as the provision of the town centers based retracting opportunity, supporting local business, achieving a favorable balance between mass, budget, and premium retailers and finally setting up town centers business and mentorship schemes for entrepreneurship.

Technology

From the many research conducted, it is still not clear on how the increased use of technology will continue to affect the role of traditional town centers. However, many other opportunities can be taken from the use of technology. Technology has become part of the consumer’s life, and it should not be disregarded instead retailers should adopt it. The greater number of retailers in the town center should use technology in their daily activities to be more convenient, especially for the technology savvy consumers. Likewise, they should also be able to market themselves and suitable hubs for picking the goods, which are ordered online through the use of dedicated spaces. Town centers should take all the possible opportunities that are provided by technology especially the use of mobile technology that has come up with interesting inventions such as the m-commerce.

Conclusion

From the above, it can be concluded that many factors have led to the change of future roles of town centers. The factors are majorly economic, age, and technology among others. Local authorities should, therefore, take note of the factors and through research develop plans for town centers that will make them sustainable in the future.

References

Brody, Jacob A. “Prospects for an aging population.” Nature 315, no. 6019 (1985): 463-466.

Clark, Charlotte, and David L. Uzzell. “The affordances of the home, neighborhood, school, and town center for adolescents.” Journal of environmental psychology 22, no. 1-2 (2002): 95-108.

Cook, Ian R. “Private sector involvement in urban governance: The case of Business Improvement Districts and Town Centre Management partnerships in England.” Geoforum 40, no. 5 (2009): 930-940.

Council, Bromsgrove District, Briar Hill, Camp Hill, Danes Camp, Wootton Fields, and Rothersthorpe Ave. “Town Centre.” (2016).

Eustace, Clark. “The intangible economy-impact and policy issues.” Bruselas, Comisión Europea (2000). 45

Laudon, Kenneth C., and Carol Guercio Traver. E-commerce. Pearson, 2013.

Lian, Jiunn-Woei, and David C. Yen. “Online shopping drivers and barriers for older adults: Age and gender differences.” Computers in Human Behavior 37 (2014): 133-143.

Page, Stephen J., and Rachel Hardyman. “Place marketing and town center management: A new tool for urban revitalization.” Cities 13, no. 3 (1996): 153-164.

Slottje, Daniel, and Brendan Rogers. “Some Thoughts on the Economics of Ageing, Geriatrics, and End-of-Life.” Journal of Health & Medical Economics2, no. 1 (2016): 7.

Warnaby, Gary, David Bennison, and Barry J. Davies. “Marketing town centers: retailing and town center management.” Local Economy 20, no. 2 (2005): 183-204.