Author: Leigh Sparks
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January 2024 – Roll over of some areas for new year, plus The Economics Observatory piece on Christmas trading (see commentaries tab)
May 2023 – Two new articles and a book chapter noted on the Journal Articles page
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Tag Archives: Retailing
Celebrating 40 years of the Institute for Retail Studies at the University of Stirling
Anyone entering the library at the heart of the University of Stirling in recent weeks can not help but notice the latest use of the exhibition space. It’s been taken over by us retailers, to celebrate 40 years of retail … Continue reading
Posted in Academics, Alumni, archives, Branding, Brands, Exhibitions, Food Retailing, Institute for Retail Studies, Private brands, Products, Retail brands, Retail Change, Retail Degrees, Retail History, Retail Research, Retailer Branding, Shopping, Stirling, Uncategorized, University of Stirling
Tagged Alumni, Archive, Exhibition, History, Institute for Retail Studies, Library, MBA in Retailing, Packaging, Professor John Dawson, Retail Branding, Retail History, Retail Research, Retailing, University of Stirling
4 Comments
How is consumer spending around Christmas 2023 likely to affect retailers?
Retailing has been going through a challenging time in the last three or four years. The restrictions and disruption of Covid have given way to an extreme cost-of-living crisis and an almost apocalyptic sense of uncertainty on a geo-political level. … Continue reading
Posted in Christmas, Consumer Change, Consumers, Cost of Living, Economics Observatory, Energy Costs, ESRC, Government, Inflation, Office for National Statistics, Pricing, Retailers, Retailing, Sales, Uncategorized
Tagged Austerity, Christmas, Consumers, Cost of Living, Economic Observatory, ESRC, Inflation, Pricing, Retailers, Retailing, Sales
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Is it the End for Self-Checkouts?
A few weeks ago, an announcement by Booths (the north west of England supermarket chain) sparked a lot of media interest and column inches. They had decided to remove self-checkouts from all bar two of their stores. Was this the … Continue reading
Posted in Academics, Booths, Checkouts, Consumers, Customer engagement, Customer Service, Employees, Marks and Spencer, Retailers, Retailing, Self-checkout, Self-Scanning, Self-Service, Technology
Tagged Booths, Customer loyalty, Marks and Spencer, Retailing, Self-checkout, Self-Service, Self-service checkouts, Staffing, Tills
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Power, Heritage and Place: Battersea Power Station
The Sir Giles Gilbert Scott monumental Battersea Power Station on the south bank of the Thames in London is an iconic building, and not just due to Pink Floyd. Designed and built between the 1920s and 50s it produced a … Continue reading
Posted in Architecture, Art Deco, Battersea Power Station, Buildings, Heritage, London, Regeneration, Retailers
Tagged Archeology, Architecture, Art Deco, Battersea Power Station, Buildings, Commerce, Gilbert Scott, Heritage, London, Mixed-use, Pink Floyd, Preservation, Redevelopment, Residential, Retailing, Rome
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“Shopping without Stopping”: When did self-service retailing start in the British Isles?
The answer to the question posed in the title of this post has been the subject of quite a lot of discussion over many years. Most of the debate have centred on the operations of Cooperative stores, mainly in the … Continue reading
Posted in Advertising, Amazon Go, Cafeterias, Consumers, Cooperatives, Food Retailing, Government, Historic Shops, History, Retail Change, Retail History, Retailing, Self-Service, Uncategorized
Tagged 1920s, Adverts, Cafeteria, Consumer Education, Consumers, Grocery, Ideas, Knowledge Transfer, Retail History, Retailing, Self-Service, Shopping, Shopping without stopping, United Kingdom, USA, Womenswear
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Towns, High Streets, Resilience and Place Governance
I was very pleased to be invited to speak (Trans Pennine Express willing) at the Institute of Place Management Conference being held in Manchester on the 19th and 20th April. My presentation is on the 20th and so today, as … Continue reading
Posted in 20 Minute Neighbourhood, BIDS, Car Dependency, Car Use Reduction, community wealth building, Governance, Government, High Streets, Internet shopping, Local Authorities, Manchester, New Future for Scotland's Towns, Non-domestic rates, Online Retailing, Out of Town, Places, Retailers, Scotland's Town and High Streets, Scotland's Towns Partnership, Social Renewal, Town Centres, Towns
Tagged A New Future for Scotland's Towns, BIDs, Car Dependency, Government, High Streets, Institute of Place Management, Local Government, Non-domestic rates, Online retailing, Out of Town, Resilience, Retailing, Scotland's Towns Partnership, Taxes, Town Centres, towns
2 Comments
Let them eat Turnips
Therese Coffey’s comments were crass, ill-informed, tin-eared and risible in many regards but did at least shine a light on aspects of our food supply chains. And in one small sense she has an unpalatable point; we’ve got used to … Continue reading
Posted in Agflation, Brexit, Consumers, distribution, European Retailers, European Union, Food, Food Quality, Food Retailing, Greenhouse, Pricing, Rationing, Retailers, Seasonality, Sustainability, Sustainable Development, Vegatables
Tagged Brexit, Cheap Food, Cost of Living, Energy prices, European Single market, Food Chains, Media, Quality Food, Rationing, Retailing, Shortages, Tomatoes, Turnips, Weather
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Walking the Talk: Town Centres and Retailing in a Car-dominated Economy
Today (March 7th), I am presenting at a Living Streets Seminar. I was asked to talk about retailing in car-dominated places and what follows is a summary of sorts (and the overheads) of my presentation. In responses to the climate … Continue reading
Posted in 20 Minute Neighbourhood, Active travel, Car Dependency, Car Parking, Car Use Reduction, Community, community wealth building, Consumers, Just Transition, Local Retailers, Neighbourhood, New Future for Scotland's Towns, NPF4, Places, Retail Change, Retailers, Retailing, Scotland's Town and High Streets, Scotland's Towns Partnership, Scottish Retailing, Stirling Council, Sustainability, Sustainable Development, Town Centres
Tagged 20 Minute Neighbourhoods, A New Future for Scotland's Towns, Car dominated places, Car Use Reduction, Climate Emergency, Just Transition, Living streets, NPF4, Out of town retailing, Retailing, Scotland's Towns Partnership, Stirling Council, Town Centres, Walking, Wheeling
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Independent Thinking – interview with Alexandra Forrest
In late last October I presented at a session here at the University of Stirling on Retailing, towns and healthy ageing. After my presentation I got into conversation with one of the audience members, Alexandra Forrest, as she had been … Continue reading
Posted in Community, Consumers, Creative Places, Entrepreneurship, Healthy Ageing, Independents, Places, Retail Planning, Retailers, Retailing, Small Shops, Town Centres, Towns, Uncategorized
Tagged Active travel, Ageing, Community Action, Entrepreneurs, High Streets, Independent Retailing, Planning, Retailing, Shopkeepers, Taxation, Town Centres
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Internet sales as a percentage of retail sales in the UK
I recently (21st February) published a piece on The Conversation about internet retailing in the UK and in particular the trends in the percentage of internet sales as a proportion of all retail sales. The original can be found here. … Continue reading
Posted in Amazon, City Centres, Consumer Change, Consumers, Costs, e-commerce, Internet, Internet shopping, Office for National Statistics, Online Retailing, Retail Sales, Retailers, Shopping, The Conversation, Towns, Uncategorized
Tagged Amazon, Christmas, Costs, Covid, independents, Internet, Internet Sales, local shops, Office for National Statistics, Primark, Retailing, Strikes, Sustainability, towns
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