Portsmouth shoppers have their say on the state of the high street

The News, Portsmouth

Is the High Street fading away? We hit Commercial Road to find out what shoppers think about the current state of their beloved local shops. With major stores struggling and temporary closures, is there hope for a revival?  Locals share their memories of bustling shops like Woolworths and express their disappointment with the current vacant spaces. Many prefer in-person shopping but are drawn to the nicer aesthetics and variety of options in larger shopping centers.  What will it take to bring back the vibrancy and attract shoppers again? Is it new stores, better maintenance, or a combination of both? The future of the High Street hangs in the balance.  #HighStreetDecline #RetailCrisis #ShopLocal #FutureofRetail

Transcript

00:00With some prominent High Street units still vacant, as well as the amounts of stores such

00:07as River Island and Poundland struggling nationally, alongside the temporary closure of H&M for

00:12refurbishment, we went to Commercial Road to get shoppers forts on the state of the High Street.

00:16So obviously we've seen quite a few shops closing in Commercial

00:21Roads. What's your thoughts on the state of the High Street?

00:24Not good. I know they're trying to build a uni block or something but it just looks like a, you know,

00:34they're demolishing slowly and it just looks ugly. So there's a lot of space that is not used and it

00:41could be used to bring more jobs, more money. It's pointless for me.

00:46Yeah. Do you prefer shopping in person or do you shop online as well?

00:49Personal, definitely.

00:50Yeah?

00:51Yeah.

00:51Perfect. Hopefully some more clothing shops and things like that.

00:54Absolutely, yeah.

00:56So yeah, obviously there's quite a few vacant shops around and there's obviously been some

01:00news about some other high street chains struggling such as River Island. I mean,

01:04what's your thoughts on Commercial Road? Do you come here often?

01:06Yeah, I've been here since I was a young kid. When Woolies and Woolworths and CNA were here.

01:12All the shops down there are Devons and Olders but now it's all gone.

01:15Do you still come down here as much or?

01:18Not as much as I used to.

01:19Yeah. Do you do a lot of your shopping online or do you prefer it in person?

01:23Just go and shop down here but not as much as I used to.

01:27Yeah. Okay, okay. What sort of shops would you like to see? Would you like to see those

01:30old ones return or is there new ones that you'd prefer to see here?

01:33Um, probably Woolworths. That's a good shop.

01:36Yeah.

01:36Okay. Okay, yeah. Oh, yes, it's closed up there.

01:40Do you think there still is a future for the high street? Do you think those sort of days will return?

01:44Um, hopefully, yeah. Hopefully they get some more shops down the side of it.

01:48Yeah.

01:48Because then people will come back.

01:50Yeah, so you think it's more the shops that need to come first before the people come back?

01:53Yeah.

01:54Okay. So, obviously, there's a few vacant shops. We've got the old Debenhams here.

01:58Um, H&M's now going to be closing for a few months.

02:00Oh my gosh, I didn't know that.

02:01Yeah. And, um, since River Island's in trouble. So, what's your kind of thoughts on the high street?

02:07Do you come down here often?

02:08Well, there used to be loads of shops down here when I was younger, but as you've just said,

02:12I think, as time's going on, a lot of the shops are closing, which is really sad. I don't go to

02:16M&S at H&M all the time. I didn't know it was closing. So, yeah, um, it's just a shame, really.

02:22Yeah.

02:22I'm not too sure why they're closing. Um, and yeah, I think as time's gone on, it's got a bit,

02:26it's a bit dirtier here as well.

02:28Yeah. Do you think the state of the high street's not kind of what you want it to be?

02:30No.

02:31Do you, um, do a lot of shopping online, or do you prefer shopping in person?

02:34I prefer shopping in person, but I always go to West Quay instead, because there's nothing here.

02:37Oh, really?

02:38If they've had a Zara here, I'd be here all the time.

02:39Oh, okay. So Zara.

02:40Bring a Zara to Portsmouth.

02:42There we go.

02:43We'll make them a lot of money.

02:44Yeah. Okay. What else do you kind of, what other sort of shops do you go for? West Quay,

02:47why prefer is there?

02:47Oh, West Quay, so obviously the Zara, that, yeah.

02:50I think they have a Mango there as well.

02:52Right.

02:52Mango would be really good here. River Island, but we've got River Island here.

02:55But I find all the clothes in West Quay are just a bit nicer, because it's all,

02:58yeah, not as nice clothes there.

02:59Is it, again, is it mainly kind of the state of the high street in terms of the cleanliness and

03:02things like that?

03:02Yeah, I think West Quay just looks nicer. Here it's a bit, yeah, just a bit dirty. It doesn't

03:07look as nice. It's not kept as nice as West Quay. So, yeah, I think the aesthetic of somewhere

03:14is really important, you know.

03:15Yeah, yeah, absolutely, absolutely. But do you still come down here quite a lot, or not really?

03:20I do more now, because I have Fridays off watch, so yeah, I do try and come down here when I can,

03:25you know, to go to Boots, and we're going on holiday soon to, so maybe just looking at a couple,

03:29you know, bits like I've got, but I do try to avoid it, obviously.

03:33Okay, fair enough, fair enough.

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