Category Archives: Digital

The Need for a Digital Tax

Posted on May 13, 2020 by Leigh Sparks

The origins of this post lie in early March when we were delighted, in what now seems another era, to host Helen Dickenson, the Chief Executive of the British Retail Consortium, at our Retail Futures event. She spoke on the … Continue reading →

Posted in Amazon, BRC, Competition, Covid19, Digital, High Streets, Internet, Internet shopping, Local Authorities, Online Retailing, Places, Reinvention, Retail Change, Retail Economy, Retail Policy, Retail Sales, Social Inequality, Social Justice, Spaces, Tax, Town Centres, Towns, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Food, health and data: developing transformative food retailing

Posted on January 14, 2019 by Leigh Sparks

In early November 2018, a book on Case Studies in Food Retailing and Distribution was published, edited by John Byrom and Dominic Medway.  Amongst the very wide ranging and interesting chapters, was an effort by myself and two colleagues from … Continue reading →

Posted in Academics, Behavioural Economics, Books, Data, Diet and Health, Digital, Ethics, Food, Food Retailing, Health, Loyalty, Loyalty Schemes, Retailers, Social Change, Uncategorized, Well being | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Business Rates vs Online Tax

Posted on October 26, 2018 by Leigh Sparks

The upcoming Budget has as normal seen a flurry of ‘advice’ for the UK Government’s Chancellor.  Much of this is special pleading, especially in the light of the so-called End of Austerity.  Within this though the issue of business rates … Continue reading →

Posted in Barclay Review, BRC, Digital, Government, High Streets, Internet shopping, Large Store Levy, Local Retailers, Online Retailing, Rates, Retail Failure, Tax, Town Centres | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Healthy Ageing in Scotland (HAGIS) and Online Shopping

Posted on February 9, 2018 by Leigh Sparks

We are all getting older, even if many of us are feeling younger than our chronological age.  The ageing of the population is a recurrent theme cutting across topics and activities.  But, in all of the discussion, there is a … Continue reading →

Posted in Academics, Consumers, Digital, HAGIS, Healthy Ageing, Institute for Retail Studies, Internet, Internet shopping, Older consumers, Online Retailing, Retail Change, Retailing, Technology, University of Stirling | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Turning Around another Supertanker; Marks and Spencer

Posted on November 20, 2016 by Leigh Sparks

It has been a while since I have written about Tesco, Marmite excepting, and the last few times I did, I used the analogy of a supertanker and the relative slowness at which lumbering retail giants see their strategies take … Continue reading →

Posted in Consumer Change, Digital, Food Retailing, Internet shopping, Marks and Spencer, Property, Retailers, Shop Numbers, Simply Food, Store Closures, Turnaround | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Unlocking the Potential of Scotland’s Towns

Posted on November 15, 2016 by Leigh Sparks

For most in Scotland, November 9th will probably be recalled as the day President Trump became a reality.  The irony that that day was the 27th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall will not be lost on some … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Creative Places, Digital, Fife, Government, High Streets, Places, Planning, Proactive Planning, Regeneration, Retail Change, Scotland's Town and High Streets, Scotland's Towns Partnership, Scottish Government, Small Towns, Town Centre Action Plan, town centre first, Town Centre Living, Town Centre Review, Town Centres, Towns, WTLS16 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

No (digital) place like home?

Posted on August 20, 2015 by Leigh Sparks

Over the last few years I have had several very interesting conversations with Simon Baldwin about the role of digital and social media in the development and maintenance of places, towns and BIDs. In response to my last post on … Continue reading →

Posted in Communications, Digital, Home, Internet, Places, Scotland, Social media, Towns | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Scotland’s Towns Conference 2014: Quick Reaction

Posted on November 24, 2014 by Leigh Sparks

The flagship national event of Scotland’s Towns Week is Scotland’s Towns Conference, held this year on the 19th November, in the magnificent Paisley Town Hall. Organised by Scotland’s Towns Partnership – Scotland’s ‘go-to’ organisation for Scotland’s Towns – this year’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Digital, Entrepreneurship, Government, High Streets, Public Realm, Regeneration, Retail Policy, Scotland's Town and High Streets, Scotland's Towns Partnership, Town Centre Action Plan, Town Centre Review, Town Centres, Towns | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments