Shoppers give their views on Tralee’s stores
AROUND 60 shoppers have answered the call of Tralee Chamber Alliance and taken part in a study of shopping in the county capital.
On Monday night the chamber, in association with research students from IT Tralee, held a public forum and focus group session to examine what can be done to make Tralee’s shopping experience more attractive to locals and visitors alike.
The event, which was held over two hours at the Ashe Hotel on Monday night, saw the shoppers take part in discussions on a range of topics relating to the retail sector in the town and how it can be improved.
Retailers were barred or at least strongly discouraged from attending (although at least one did) in order to ensure the members of the public taking part would not be afraid to give their honest opinions on the town and its shops.
Many topics were discussed with parking, the state of footpaths, cluttered shops and public order issues in the town park and town square all highlighted over the course of the evening.
The feedback from the forum, along with survey sheets, will be analysed by two Lithuanian Masters business students who are currently guest researchers at IT Tralee.
They will be helped by ITT enterprise development expert Breda O’Dwyer who chaired Monday night’s meeting.
Once that analysis is complete it will be combined with the results of footfall surveys taken in the town centre last week and the full findings will be presented to retail members of Tralee Chamber Alliance at another meeting next Monday night.
Tralee Chamber Alliance said the aim of the research is to help their efforts to make Tralee Kerry’s top shopping destination. Some of the people who answered a questionnaire for shoppers at the Tralee Chamber Alliance ‘Shopping in Tralee Forum’ in The Ashe Hotel, Tralee on Monday evening. Front, from left: Cindy Walsh, Caroline Simpson and Lisa O’Donoghue. Back: Anne O’Donoghue, Cllr Norma Foley, Kieran Ruttledge of the Chamber Alliance, Amanda Tarrant and Tish O’Flaherty. RIGHT: Orlagh Winters, Richard O’Halloran and Margaret Brick.