City well-placed to ride out rocky road for retail

Most of us do it - see something in a store and then search the internet for the best price to try and get a better deal.

There is no doubt the shift to online shopping is hitting the high street hard and Canterbury is no exception.

Some pretty big names have gone to the wall in the wake of this retailing revolution.

And the danger is that traditional stores will increasingly be replaced by non-retail outlets like coffee shops and places to eat.

But Canterbury is a unique and beautiful city which has much more to offer visitors than many locations.

Its history and many independent shops are its unique selling points and what make it such a draw.

So while there are inevitably some empty shops scattered across the city centre, many businesses still see it as an opportunity to trade.

That is the hope of business leaders and the city council, who are pulling out all the stops to keep the city vibrant.

The enhancement of areas like the King’s Mile, Orange Street, the Cathedral Quarter and, soon, St Margaret’s Street, is an example of this.

The Canterbury Connected Business Improvement District (BID) is also driving efforts to make the city attractive and put on a variety of events, using money from the levy it receives from traders. But landlords need to be realistic about rents and leases too. Ultimately, it is down to us shoppers to keep the city in business - use it or lose it, as they say.

And it’s also down to stores to be as competitive as possible and offer the best customer experience.

The road ahead for retailing is no doubt rocky but Canterbury is better-placed that most to ride it out.