Changes in Retail & the Impacts on London (Edexcel GCSE Geography A)

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London's retail area has grown and declined over time
Post-war London rebuilt itself, with key streets returning to be centres of retail and home to many of the UK's recognisable retail brands, such as Tesco, WH Smith and John Lewis
The West End, including Covent Garden, is the largest retail centre in the UK
From the 1970s onwards, shopping outlets moved to edge and out-of-town locations such as the Brent Cross Shopping Centre
With the change to digital music, record stores have suffered, being unable to compete on the high street
However, London still maintains its core retail streets, such as:
- Carnaby Street
- Oxford Street
- Regent's Street
- Covent Garden
London's retail is now of international importance, with around 25% of shoppers arriving from overseas
London is linked to high-end luxury goods, fashion and designer clothing and is seen to have ‘the latest of everything'

Unlike many major cities, London has not seen a major decline in trade from the movement of shops to out-of-town locations
The movement of shops to shopping centres has resulted in the redevelopment of prior brownfield sites
These areas have encouraged growth in trade to core retail streets

Advantages and Disadvantages of Out-of-Town Retail Centres

Advantages

Disadvantages

For retailers, it is cheaper to rent and has larger shop units than in CBD; longer opening hours attract customers

For consumers, they usually have free or cheap, easy parking; multiple shops under one roof with late-night closing

Increased traffic and congestion on the roads

Increased pollution from exhaust emissions

Some shopping centres have been developed on greenfield sites

Expectations of long opening hours mean workers have less downtime

People now expect to be able to shop 24/7
The rise in internet shopping has reduced the numbers of consumers using retail high streets
This has forced many shops to close, leaving city and town centres with empty buildings and declining services for people
To combat this, London's main retail shops open and close later, allowing people the opportunity to shop after work
However, they still cannot compete with the cheaper costs of online shopping
By retaining the concept of luxury, London's high street has remained, although many large household names have disappeared over the years, such as Debenhams, HMV and Topshop

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