How is the UK high street doing, and what do people really think
about independent retailers?
Today we're delving into the Voices of Retail report with Elyse McAvoy, one
of the authors of the report from Faire.
Today I'm joined by Elyse McAvoy from Faire, and we're getting into a report
I think every independent retailer in the UK should have on their desk.
It's the result of the collaboration between Faire, the wholesale
marketplace, and Spring and Autumn Fair, the trade show.
And what sets it apart is that it merges the retailer perspective and
the consumer perspective together in the same report for the first time.
650 retailers and over 2,000 consumers- The real story of Britain's high streets,
not the one you see in the headlines.
Here's Elyse on how it came together.
So, Faire's had this long-standing partnership with Spring and Autumn Fair.
It's been years now, and I think entering our third year, we were wondering what
could we do to deepen this partnership?
There's so much-- We kind of reach more retailers than any trade
association in the UK, so how can we take that scale and this joint
mission we have around strengthening UK retail and bring something to
our community that's really useful?
So we got in a room, we did some brainstorming and we had this idea
about shining a light on what's really happening on Britain's high streets.
So not the narratives you hear in the, in the news all the time, but, like,
what is the true story and the sentiment?
Uh, and what we did was we merged the consumer and the
retailer perspective together.
So we surveyed six hundred and fifty retailers in the UK and
then over two thousand consumers.
And this is the first time a report of this kind has actually merged
those two narratives together and looked at both sides of the coin.
And yeah, we just had this idea of like, let's bring something to the
community that's really useful.
And the motivation behind it was something I think will resonate with
anyone running a small retail business.
I think what really drove us was knowing that independent retailers don't really
have access to that kind of consumer research or that industry insight.
It's kind of reserved for big brands and big research budgets, so we could
really give them something helpful.
And we wanted to create something that not only is like useful, but also inspires
them to continue doing what they love.
And that commitment to genuine rigor is what makes this report different.
The consumer survey covered over 2,000 people drawn from right across
the UK, different regions, different demographics, different spending levels.
Not just Londoners, and not just the shoppers you might expect to be
already supporting independent retail.
A real representative cross-section of the British high street.
So when Elyse walked me through what they'd actually found,
I was really curious to see what the report had uncovered.
So many things, actually.
I think when I saw the data for the first time, I was-- I left the room smiling.
I was like: I think there's so much that's positive here that independent
retailers will be thrilled to see.
I think one finding that stopped me in my tracks was our AI finding.
So the stat was nine in 10 consumers say AI has made them more likely to see
products in real life and trust a local retailer over an AI recommendation.
I think there's this negative sentiment that AI is actually, like,
prohibiting independent retail, but it's actually the opposite.
So it's a 10-to-one ratio in favor of the human over AI.
I hope that's something that independent retailers will sink their teeth into.
I think there was another stat around the branding gap that
was really exciting as well.
And we expected brand storytelling to matter.
I think we implicitly know that brand matters and marketing matters.
But I think the actual gap was so large, so it's a 19% percentage point difference
between growing and declining retailers who are investing in brand storytelling.
And I think the kicker is that only 30% are actually doing it.
That statistic that says that 71% of independent retailers are growing
or stable is well worth remembering the next time that someone tells
you the high street is dying.
But the finding that really stopped me and I wanted to push Elyse further on
was the AI one, because everything you hear right now positions AI as a threat
to small independent businesses, and this data is saying something quite different.
I think there's this two sides of the coin thing here.
So I think, AI is, I think, helping people reveal that there's products
out there, but I think when it comes to recommendations, like, I think discovery
you can use AI, but when it comes for, like, product recommendations and unique
products, consumers want to get the opinion of a shopkeeper 'cause they
have that-- they're values-driven, and they have all these unique products.
It's not just the same old, same old or you're kind of
dictating what you're getting.
So I think when it comes to, like, true discovery, there's a huge place
for retailers to kind of own that.
And the report had something else to say about what growing retailers have
in common, something that surprised me with how simple it actually is.
It was interesting to see how many successful retailers were using
collaboration or stating that collaboration helped, but then only a
very small percentage of retailers were actually collaborating on a regular basis.
Why do you think that gap exists?
I think retailers are busy, and I think that there's so much that they're doing.
They're wearing so many hats.
They're marketers.
They're also managing their own accounting.
Like, there's so much that they're doing to survive, and
they have very small teams often.
We saw, like, a, there's one to three teams or one to three people
on a team is kind of the norm for a lot of these retailers.
So I think that getting outside the day-to-day and trying something new that
they're not positive will have a return on investment, I think is tricky I also
think there's kind of like a lack of inspiration of like, what do I try that
actually, you know, is outside the box and can drive those, those objectives.
And I think this is something that the report actually helps reveal.
It's what can you be doing that's really simple, and it's a phone call away.
It's not you need to launch massive brand campaigns with other retailers.
It could be a joint social post.
It's very easy things that can build, you can build on as you start to see
that there is a payback or there is a branding win that comes from that.
in the report that we go into all this, but I, I do think there's the things
you can do, but then there's also what are-- And the re- retailers are saying
like, "These are the things we're trying, but we're also seeing an increase in
footfall. We're seeing that we're driving revenue increases from these things."
So it's not just a branding play, but it's also driving lower funnel.
You know, it, it's driving business impact.
And what I love about that is it's not theoretical.
You can see it playing out on any high street where retailers are
building a community, not just a shop.
In fact, some of the most vivid examples of this came up right at
this point in our conversation.
I live right off Upper Street in Islington, and I've seen a ton of
the retailers do like late-night listening sessions where they
have live music or they have wine tastings and stuff like that.
And I think just like little events like that, you know, it's collaboration
but also community building.
I feel like that- Is how we build loyalty long term.
It's like those events that are more than just a shopping experience.
It kind of, you know, makes you feel something for that business.
to ask you a little bit about the percentage of retailers that got less
than 10% of their sales from online, because I know when I've been talking
to retailers, that's a stat that some people have found quite surprising.
What were your thoughts when you saw the fact that the majority of retailers
were getting the vast majority of their sales from their bricks and mortar store?
I wasn't that surprised by that.
I think that you inherently know, like, there's benefit from doing both.
But from the retailers I talk to, like, there's a lot of, you know, it-- People
are busy, and I think they are really dedicated to the store experience, and,
like, that's what differentiates them.
the report actually confirmed my hypothesis on this, that there's retailers
who are doing both and doing it well, and that does drive business impact, and
there's ones who are really doubling down on what makes them special and unique,
which is the in-person experience.
So kind of making a choice not to go that route.
I think we've seen that, you know, you can grow if you do both, but in a
world where you can't do everything, it makes sense to, to focus.
And maybe the AI finding kind of layers on top of that, that if people want
the in-store experience, they wanna get to know you, and the shopkeeper
recommendations are a differentiator, you know, you can focus on that
instead of spreading yourself too thin.
So from the retailer side, the picture is already a lot more
resilient than most headlines suggest.
But the section of this report that I think should give every independent
retailer the most confidence is what consumers themselves are actually
saying, because it is not just vague goodwill towards the high street.
There is real quantified spending intent behind it.
I think this was the most exciting thing to see.
I, I, everything was exciting.
I, I love-- The whole report was, you know, making me so
proud of what I do every day.
But I think the consumer piece was what really should give retailers ammo.
was 96% of consumers want to see more independents, and 95% would
spend more if, you know, the independents were there on the high
street and offering what they want.
And then there's also purchasing power behind that.
It was 145 pounds a month is what consumers are willing to
spend with independents alone.
So all of this is so exciting, and it's not just, you know, the demand
is there, but, like, there's literal, like, purchase power wallet will be
spent on these, on independent retail i- as long as the, the offering is there.
So I think, like, that was so exciting.
I also think that the, the local business versus, like, the large corporate
piece was really interesting too.
So the, the data point was 85% actively prefer spending with
local businesses over corporations.
So
I hope independent retailers are seeing that there's this huge
part for them to play and people do wanna be values-driven if they can.
Like, I think there's obvious benefits to shopping on Amazon and shopping with
these, you know, big box chains that offer convenience and the pricing is right.
But there's a part for local retailers to play too, and it's not
just, you know, competing on price.
All the things we've been talking about, it's the community building,
it's the recommendations and the unique products, and all the stuff
that we know and love I think does give you-- gives retailers kind of a,
a good green space to play in.
145 pounds a month that consumers are ready and willing
to spend with independents.
85% actively preferring local over corporate.
The appetite is there The question is, how do you make sure that it flows to you?
And that is exactly what I asked Elyse next.
Given everything she had seen across all of that data, what would she actually tell
an independent retailer to do right now?
Number one thing I want to call out is investing in your
story before you cut prices.
This is not a race to the bottom.
I think that's so important to keep in mind.
Again, as we saw, investing in brand building is what the big, the growing
retailers are doing, and- If you're competing on price and just lowering
prices, that's the biggest correlation with the declining retailers.
Yeah, I think it's investing in your story and your marketing.
So if there's a story around who you are as a retailer, why you do what
you're doing, why you stock the products you stock and having sort of a, a
brand or a recognizable place in your community, that pays dividends long term.
So, and that also, it's kind of like the difference in getting somebody into
your store once versus building loyalty.
And I think that I have the stores on Upper Street in Islington that I
go to because I know them, and they do these events that I love seeing.
So I think like, and I, and I know the story of why they got started.
So I think like investing in that long term, you know, brand building is what
builds a customer base and also makes you wanna refer those stores to other people.
it can mean a lot of things, but I think it's, it's marketing and storytelling.
Yeah, and that's a really clear distinction that you've seen that the
businesses that are growing invest in storytelling, brand building, and the
ones that aren't growing are the ones more likely to have reduced their prices.
Is that fair to say?
Yes, exactly.
Because I think that's like not where independent retail needs to compete.
And it's not to say like everything needs to be more expensive, but I think,
you know, just trying to compete on price is not why you, you know, are
going into a store in the first place.
And I think there's the big box chains that do that better.
And I think like knowing, sticking to your guns around why you exist and the products
that you're selling feel different than what those other stores offer,
I think is what you should focus on.
I completely agree
I think collaboration, I think that this is something that you
and I both agree is, is huge.
So I would say start one collaboration this month.
I think that's like an easy thing to do.
Give it a try.
Find a, a retailer in your community that you know and admire.
And it doesn't even have to be a formal partnership.
It can just be a conversation with a, a neighbor down the street, and you
could agree to recommend each other to customers, or you could plan one
joint networking event that month.
Could be as simple as that.
Maybe it becomes, it snowballs and becomes something bigger
but just get the ball rolling.
And then I'd say the last is leaning into being human.
I think in a world of AI, you can't avoid it.
I think that this is where independent retail really has a chance to, to own
and kind of become differentiated.
Um, the data point I'll leave you with is 81% of consumers trust
independent retail over an algorithm.
So there's a huge role to play, and I think like your marketing, your social
presence, your in-store experience reflect that I think it'll kind of give
people a reason to pursue your business and love your business and come back.
as the world gets more robotic, then people really want to lean into the human.
Exactly.
Exactly what we're saying.
Well, thank you so much for joining me today, and thank you so much for
sharing all of this incredible insight.
The report is completely free.
You can download it from the Spring Fair website, and I will put a
direct link in the show notes.
If you want to explore Fair as a wholesale market, that link is there too.
Three things I want you to take away from this conversation.
Invest in your story before you touch your prices.
That is what separates businesses that are growing from the ones that are not.
Start one collaboration this month.
It can be as simple as a conversation with the shop next door.
And lean into being human because 81% of consumers already
trust you over an algorithm.
That is worth remembering.
Thank you so much for listening.
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