Author: Leigh Sparks
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May 2021 – Journal Articles page updated with two new academic papers in Planning, Theory and Practice, and Sustainability, joining our Ageing & Society paper
March 2021 – Personal Biography redesigned and updated
January 2021 – Updates of Media Commentary and Journal Articles page structures
Top Posts & Pages
- Grocery Market Shares in the UK 2020
- Twenty One Years of UK Grocery Market Share
- London's Welsh Dairies: The Welsh Milk Trade
- Co-operative Tokens, Sports Direct and The Bristol Pound
- Tesco Trails
- Local Convenience Stores in a Challenging Retail Environment
- Waaaagaaamaaamaaa - Tesco and Booker spring a surpise (perhaps)
- Towns, High Streets and Resilience: A Question for Policy?
- Money, Money, Money: Paying by Cash, Contactless Card or Digital?
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Category Archives: Covid19
Towns, High Streets and Resilience: A Question for Policy?
“It is all too easy to talk about “bouncing back to where we were” without asking which “we” is counted and without asking whether “where we were” is a place to which a return is desirable”. (Vale, 2014, p198) Some … Continue reading
Posted in 20 Minute Neighbourhood, Academics, CLES, Community, community wealth building, Covid19, Government, High Streets, Pandemic, Public Policy, Resilience, Retail Change, Retail Policy, Retailers, Retailing, Scotland Loves Local, Scotland's Town and High Streets, Scottish Government, Scottish Retailing, Social Renewal, Sustainability, Town Centre Action Plan, Town Centre Action Plan Review Group, Town Centres, Towns, Uncategorized
Tagged 20 Minute Neighbourhoods, Academic papers, Bouncing Back, Community, community wealth building, Covid-19, High Streets, New Future for Scotland's Towns, Pandemic, Policy, Resilience, Retailing, Scotland Loves Local, Scotland's Town Centres, Scotland's Towns, Scottish Government, Sustainability, Town Centre Action plan, Town Centre Action Plan Review Group, Town Centres, Towns. Vulnerability, Urban Retail Systems
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Scotland’s Towns Partnership: A (Covid) Year in Review
Towards the end of each May, thoughts at Scotland’s Towns Partnership (STP) often turn reflective. As we head towards our Annual Towns Tea Party and our AGM (2nd June), we look back on the year. This year has of course … Continue reading
Posted in Bids Scotland, Covid19, High Streets, Local Authorities, Pandemic, Place Standard, Scotland Loves Local, Scotland's Improvement Districts, Scotland's Town and High Streets, Scotland's Towns Partnership, Scottish Government, Town Centre Action Plan, Town Centre Review, Town Centres, Towns, Uncategorized, Understanding Scottish Places
Tagged Bids Scotland, Covid-19, Pandemic, Place Standard, Scotland Loves Local, Scotland's Improvement Districts, Scotland's Towns Partnership, Scottish Government, Town Centre Action plan, Town Centre Review, Town Centres, towns, Understanding Scottish Places
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“Soaring Vacancies” : perhaps or perhaps not?
The end of last week saw headlines about the number of vacant shops in Scotland. Typical Scottish newspaper examples included: The Herald The Scotsman So, something of a downer to end the first week out of lockdown in Scotland and … Continue reading
Posted in BRC, Consumers, Covid19, Data, Independents, Local Data Company, Lockdown, Online Retailing, Pandemic, Places, Rates, Rents, Retail Change, Retailers, Scotland, Scotland's Town and High Streets, Scottish Retail Consortium, Scottish Retailing, Shop Numbers, Shopping, Town Centres, Towns, Uncategorized, Vacancies
Tagged British Retail Consortium, Consumer Confidence, Consumers, Covid-19, Data, independents, Local Data Company, Lockdown, Pandemic, Retailing, Scotland, Shops, Vacancies
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The Great Re-Awakening?
One week on from the first major easing of retail (and other) restrictions from the ‘Christmas’ lockdown in Scotland and everyone is wondering how it has been and how it is going? For some the sight of people queuing at … Continue reading
Posted in Amazon, Consumers, Covid19, Lockdown, Pandemic, Primark, Queuing, Retail Sales, Retailers, Retailing, Scotland, Scottish Retail Sales, Shopping, Uncategorized
Tagged Consumers, Covid-19, Lockdown, Primark, Queues, Retail Sales, Retailers, Scotland, Shopping
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Aberdeen, No More?
The Covid pandemic has hit retailing hard. Government support (though important) has in no way matched the lost sales and business. Previous trends have been accelerated, most notably in terms of online sales. Retailers of all shapes and sizes have … Continue reading
Posted in 1960s, Aberdeen, Architecture, Bids Scotland, Buildings, City Centres, Closure, Consumers, Cooperatives, Covid19, Department Stores, Internet shopping, John Lewis Partnership, Lockdown, Norco, Online Retailing, Pandemic, Rates, Regulation, Rents, Retail Change, Retail Sales, Scotland's Town and High Streets, Shopping, Social value, Tax, Town Centre Action Plan, Town Centres, Towns, Uncategorized, Waitrose
Tagged Aberdeen, Architecture, Brutalism, Business Improvement Districts, City Centres, Consumers, Covid-19, Department Stores, John Lewis, John Lewis Partnership, Norco, Online sales, Retail costs, Retailing, Scotland's Towns, Tax, Town Centre Action Plan Review Group
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An (Un)Happy Anniversary
On the 16th March 2020 I started working from home. There had been an odd set of circumstances in the run-up to this date. We’d come back from South Africa in late January and I’d felt a little unwell; something … Continue reading
Posted in Amazon, Books, Cardiff, Christmas, Consumer Change, Consumer Lifestyle, Consumers, Covid19, Farmers Markets, Food, Food and Beverage, Food Retailing, Home Delivery, Independents, Internet shopping, Local Retailers, Localisation, Lockdown, Online Retailing, Pandemic, Producers, Products, Retail Change, Retailers, Retailing, Scotland Food and Drink, Scottish Retailing, Small Shops, Stirling, Uncategorized, Wholesaling
Tagged Amazon, Covid-19, Home Delivery, Indepedendents, internet retailing, Local Retailing, Lockdown, Pandemic, Retailing, Specialist retailers
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La Dolce Vita – or perhaps not
I am on annual leave today and tomorrow. These dates have been in the diary for some time; over a year to be precise. Whilst being on leave will be a relief (for me and no doubt some colleagues) it … Continue reading
Posted in Consumers, Covid19, Food and Beverage, Italy, Markets, Pandemic, Retail Economy, Retailers, Rugby Union, Social Renewal, Sport, Uncategorized, Wales
Tagged Consumer Spending, Eataly, Events, Food and Drink, Italy, Local Business, Markets, Rome, Rugby, Six Nations, Sport, Wales
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Money, Money, Money: Paying by Cash, Contactless Card or Digital?
In the UK Government Budget of the 3rd March it was announced that the upper limit for contactless card payments was to be lifted from £45 to £100. This reflects the rapid rise of contactless card payment (which began before … Continue reading
Posted in Amazon, Amazon Go, ATMs, Cash, Cashpoints, Consumer Change, Consumers, Contactless, Covid19, Credit and Debit Cards, European Union, Local Currency, Pandemic, Post Offices, Retailers, Self-Scanning, Uncategorized
Tagged Amazon, ATMs, Banks, Card, Cash, Cashless, Consumers, Contactless, Covid-19, Digital Divide, Money, Retailers
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Retail Sales in Great Britain, January 2021
A couple of weeks ago, the Office for National Statistics produced the monthly retail sales figures for Great Britain for January 2021. This is the first full month of data since lockdown was reintroduced before and around Christmas. The press … Continue reading
Posted in Christmas, Click and Collect, Clothing, Consumer Change, Convenience stores, Covid19, Essential Retailing, Food Retailing, Internet shopping, Local Retailers, Localisation, Lockdown, Non-Essential Retailing, Non-food retailing, Office for National Statistics, Online Retailing, Pandemic, Retail Change, Retail Sales, Retailers, Supermarket, Uncategorized
Tagged Clothing, Conveneience, Essential Retailing, Food retailing, Localisation, Lockdonw, Monthly Sales Figures, Non-Essential Retailing, Office for National Statistics, Online retailing, Panedemic, Retail Change, Retail Futures, Retail Sales, Supermarkets
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“If Not Now, When?” – the Social Renewal Advisory Board Report
The last ten month have been the strangest time; as we all recognise. Our experiences though have not all been the same. I am one of the fortunate ones; I can work from home and had a large garden to … Continue reading
Posted in Community, Covid19, Food, Government, Local Authorities, Pandemic, Places, Public Health, Scotland, Scottish Government, Towns, Uncategorized, Well being
Tagged Communities, Covid-19, Economy, Health, Local Authorities, Pandemic, People, Places, Poverty, Scotland, Scottish Government, Social Renewal, Society, towns, Wellbeing
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