Town bags title as best spot for shopping in Wales

A SMALL seaside resort has been crowned the best shopping destination in Wales.

Prestatyn in Denbighshire took the top spot in Wales this year through rankings that use metrics to evaluate the offerings of towns and cities across the UK, including factors such as retail quality, shopper demographics, footfall and vacancy rates.

Despite many places struggling in recent years, the seaside town has thrived according to vitality rankings, with its successful retail park complementing a diverse mix of retail and hospitality sites on the high street. It’s even managed to attract big names like Marks & Spencer and Next from neighbouring Rhyl, whose high street has faced challenges over the past decade.

While Prestatyn was the highestranked in Wales, it came 134th in the overall UK vitality league table, compiled annually by Newmark’s Consultancy and Analytics team. This is an improvement from its ranking of 143 in 2022.

Wales’ overall ranking was less impressive, with an average rank of just over 700 out of a list of 1,000 town and city centres. However, this still represents an improvement of 47 places compared to the previous table in 2022.

The other locations in the top five for Wales were Cardiff, Monmouth, Ruthin and Blackwood.

James Ebel, vice-chairman of Retail UK and EMEA, said: “Whilst footfall might be slightly lower than pre-Covid levels in some major city and town centres due to hybrid working, sales have recently recovered to or bettered 2019 values for many tenants trading in these areas. Consequently, many prime retail destinations across the UK have experienced a welcome return to the top positions.

“Some locations have been held back in the 2024 rankings. They have seen increased vacancy rates, as high street chains and independents alike have suffered during a tough trading period and left empty units throughout Britain’s high streets, whilst the cost-of-living crisis is constraining shopper expenditure in less affluent areas.”