Tag Archives: Convenience

Giving Evidence to the Economy and Fair Work Committee on Town Centres and Retail

Posted on March 30, 2022 by Leigh Sparks

The Scottish Parliament’s Economy and Fair Work Committee’s call for written evidence for its inquiry into town centre and retail expired on the 16th March and they are now into oral evidence. The Committee posed two questions in its opening … Continue reading →

Posted in "We" towns, 20 Minute Neighbourhood, Car Use Reduction, Climate Emergency, community wealth building, Consumer Change, Convenience, Decentralisation, Government, High Streets, Internet shopping, New Future for Scotland's Towns, NPF4, Place Based Investment Programme, Place Principle, Planning, Retail Change, Retailing, Scotland Loves Local, Scotland's Town and High Streets, Scotland's Towns Partnership, Scottish Government, Sustainable Development, Town Centre Action Plan, town centre first, Town Centre Living, Town Centre Review, Town Centres, Towns | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Queen Bees : Q-commerce, the on-demand world and the changing meaning of online retailing

Posted on December 20, 2021 by Leigh Sparks

Online retailing is now close to 30 years old.  It has seen an almost relentless growth over much of this period, accelerated by events such as Black Friday and Christmas, and more recently super-charged by the pandemic and lockdown.  The … Continue reading →

Posted in Amazon, Availability, Black Friday, Community, Consumer Lifestyle, Consumers, Convenience stores, Customer Service, Dark Stores, Employment practices, Food Retailing, Home, Home Delivery, Internet, Internet shopping, Just in Time, Office for National Statistics, On demand retailing, Online Retailing, Q-commerce, Retailers, Retailing, Shopping | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Independent Retailing During and After the Pandemic: Tell your Stories

Posted on May 12, 2021 by Leigh Sparks

In my last post one of the statements that garnered quite a lot of attention was “As an example, I am hearing of (and locally seeing) quite a lot of local independent businesses opening up, and a better realism of … Continue reading →

Posted in #IndieHour, Bill Grimsey, Collaboration, Community, Convenience, Entrepreneurship, Government, Independents, Local Retailers, Online Retailing, Pandemic, Retailers, Retailing, Scotland, Scotland Loves Local, Scotland's Improvement Districts, Scotland's Towns Partnership, Uncategorized, Wholesaling | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Confidence, Cash and Friction: Shopping in Scotland

Posted on June 29, 2020 by Leigh Sparks

So, shops (well those not cooped up in an indoor shopping centre) in Scotland are now open. The long road back to re-opening the economy has taken another step forward, and one result is a gigantic queue outside a city … Continue reading →

Posted in Cash, Click and Collect, Consumer Change, Consumers, Convenience, Covid19, Employees, Friction, High Streets, Home Delivery, Internet shopping, Lockdown, Online Retailing, Opening Hours, Queuing, Retail Change, Scotland, Scotland's Town and High Streets, Scottish Retailing, Shopping, Shopping Centres, Social Distancing, Town Centres, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Changing Priorities? The End of the (Retail) World as We Knew It

Posted on April 14, 2020 by Leigh Sparks

In the last three posts I have looked at the food vs non-food dichotomy in retailing as COVID19 sweeps through the country.  The figures and situation are astonishing and something no-one predicted a few weeks/months ago. How do we make … Continue reading →

Posted in Availability, Community, Consumer Change, Consumer Choice, Consumers, Contactless, Convenience stores, Covid19, Food Retailing, Grocery, Independents, Internet shopping, Local Retailers, Localisation, Non-food retailing, Online Retailing, Panic buying, Producers, Resilience, Retail Change, Retail Sales, Retailers, Small Shops, Supermarket, Suppliers, Supply Chains, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Trends in Retailing and Leisure in Scotland’s Towns and Cities

Posted on December 1, 2017 by Leigh Sparks

In late November a good audience gathered before breakfast in Glasgow for the Local Data Company/University of Stirling 5th Scottish Retail Summit, and heard presentations and discussions about trends in Scottish retailing and town centres. The infographic at the end … Continue reading →

Posted in Community, Consumer Change, Convenience stores, Data, Food Retailing, High Streets, Institute for Retail Studies, Internet, Local Authorities, Local Data Company, Local Retailers, Places, Policy, Regeneration, Reinvention, Retail Planning, Retailers, Scotland's Town and High Streets, Scotland's Towns Partnership, Scottish Retailing, Secondary Locations, Shopping Centres, Small Towns, Store Closures, Tourism, Town Centre Action Plan, Town Centre Review, Town Centres, Towns, Trends, University of Stirling, Vacancies | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Retail Vacancy and Structural Change in Scotland’s Towns and Cities

Posted on December 16, 2016 by Leigh Sparks

For the last four years, mid December has seen the release of the latest edition of the Local Data Company/University of Stirling Retail report on the situation of retailing in the major towns and cities across Scotland. Last Tuesday saw … Continue reading →

Posted in Academics, Christmas, Convenience stores, Independents, Places, Rates, Retail Policy, Retailers, Scotland's Town and High Streets, Scotland's Towns Partnership, Scottish Government, Scottish Retailing, Services, Shop Numbers, Small Towns, Town Centre Action Plan, Town Centre Living, Town Centre Review, Town Centres, Towns, University of Stirling, Vacancies | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Singapore Swing

Posted on October 26, 2016 by Leigh Sparks

My current dose of warm weather in Singapore and soon in Hong Kong is mainly about meeting and talking to partners of the University of Stirling in my capacity as Deputy Principal for Internationalisation and Graduate Studies. It is good … Continue reading →

Posted in Academics, Consumer Change, Consumer Lifestyle, Consumers, Convenience stores, Experiential, Multichannel, Retail brands, Retailers, Singapore | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

It’s Tesco Again

Posted on October 30, 2014 by Leigh Sparks

I do not know whether to apologise or not for returning to the topic of Tesco – my last post on this generated some really interesting observations – given the acres of news and social media that has been devoted … Continue reading →

Posted in Christmas, Consumer Change, Convenience stores, Hypermarkets, Internet shopping, Online Retailing, Tesco | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Scottish Grocers’ Federation Retail Excellence Awards 2014: Store of the Year

Posted on October 3, 2014 by Leigh Sparks

Yesterday, I was fortunate enough to be at the Scottish Grocers Federation Annual Conference to hear a range of excellent speakers, take part in a debate on the Future of Retailing, present an award for Store of the Year and … Continue reading →

Posted in Community, Convenience stores, Food Retailing, Independents, Local Retailers, Scotland's Town and High Streets, Small Shops | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment