A case was made in the Financial Times recently for a plan to save our high street, built on the creation of a new “National Trust” to spark a change in the way spaces are owned, invested in and run.
The slow decline of many of the UK’s high streets has been an issue for a number of decades. Successive governments have pledged action, but the truth is that none have really made the impact needed.
The connection – between an organisation and its customers, or between people themselves – of course requires more than just bricks and mortar. Any space, whether physical or virtual, is about the experience it enables. In the end, service is what builds connection – wherever that interaction takes place.
Alternative choices create a new normal
Recent retail sales data gives us an interesting insight into how and why our high streets have reached the point they have: online spending in Q2 rose 3.8% on Q1 this year, and 11.7% year-on-year. The proportion of online sales that makes up total spend, which includes in-store, also rose in June to 29.4% from 28.9% the month before, reaching its highest since April 2021 – though interesting at a much slower rate than many predicted!
As more people head back to the office, city centres are once again bustling with people during the week, providing a lifeline for businesses that cater to commuters. But there are still many pressures on retail and hospitality, which can’t be solved by simply competing on price. And while many people still crave the human connection associated with city nightlife, many nighttime venues have been struggling in recent years, making it the experience they offer customers all the more important.
The service dividend – on the high street and beyond
Delivering excellent customer service, across every channel, is critical here. Doing this well requires investment in people and technology: training frontline staff, giving them access to the customer data they need when they need it and trusting them with the discretion to fix problems.
In a country that feels increasingly divided, spaces that bring people with different views and experiences together physically can support societal cohesion. We have seen the problems that social media echo chambers can cause, and finding common ground and common cause with others in your community is surely one of a series of helpful antidotes to this.
And for organisations, there’s also the business and economic imperative. Our latest UK Customer Satisfaction Index shows what connection is worth: customers who score an organisation a 9 or 10 for service are almost twice as likely to recommend it as those who give a score of 8, and 50% more likely to stay a customer. Moreover, three times as many people would pay more for better service as would put price above all else in their choice of organisation, highlighting clearly the bottom-line value of excellent service.
As we look to revive the rate of improvement in customer satisfaction – which has flatlined in the second half of this year – we get a timely reminder of the need to focus on service.
We have started work on our latest piece of Breakthrough research, which will look at the customer of the future. Our wants, needs and expectations are evolving, but our need for personal connection remains. They, along with the organisations of the future, will all benefit from high streets that genuinely serve the needs of local communities, and could help spark some much-needed optimism and growth for the country.
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