Perfect high street has pharmacy, grocer and local chippy according to new research

Researchers polled the nation to reveal which shops and services people wanted on their ‘perfect’ high street, with 62 percent saying it has a mixture of modern and traditional shops, and almost a half (45 percent) believing it’s not complete without a pub.

When it came to the shops consumers most wanted, a pharmacy (58 percent) topped the list, along with a grocer (55 percent), local chippy (55 percent), newsagent (50 percent) and butcher (50 percent). Just under half those polled chose bookshops (48 percent) and florists (45 percent), with over a third (37 percent) voting for farm shops, record shops and vintage second-hand outlets.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, 96 percent of those polled went as far as to say that the pub is a British institution. Whilst the majority (98 percent) think the high street has changed dramatically over the last ten years, and three quarters (74 percent) claiming it has got worse, over half (54 percent) think that a thriving high street is an important part of building a community.

Over half (54 percent) of the 2,000 Brits polled say they worry about the increasing pressure that small businesses are under due to energy costs, with nine in ten (91 percent) seeing local shops close around them. More than half (53 percent) are concerned that more will follow, with bakeries (47 percent), cafes and restaurants (41 percent) and grocer’s (39 percent) considered most at risk.

In fact, 29 percent* of small business owners say they are reviewing business costs this year - with 20 percent* going so far as to say that reducing their energy costs is a main priority. While eight in ten (86 percent**) admit that they can't afford to waste energy.

Victoria Bacon, Smart Energy GB, said: “It is heartening to see people are proactively supporting small businesses on their local high streets. We know business owners have had to work really hard, especially over the past couple of years, to manage their running costs. One small thing they can do is get a smart meter installed, which can help them track their energy use and costs over time, control costs and manage cashflow.”

To help businesses increase sales, four in ten customers (39 percent) go out of their way to support small, independent local businesses, with a further 57 percent doing so whenever they can. Nine in ten (87 percent) even go so far as to say they are happy to pay more to support independent shops, actively opting to go to a small business as many as three times a week.

Three quarters of those polled say (77 percent) they are on first-name terms with local business owners - with eight in ten (79 percent) claiming that they are a fully-fledged friend. Over half (54 percent) say they are visiting the high street less now than they did five years ago, while one in five (21 percent) are making more trips.

THE PERFECT BRITISH HIGH STREET, ACCORDING TO BRITS:

1. Pharmacy – 58%

2. Grocer – 55%

3. Fish and chip shop – 55%

4. Newsagent – 51%

5. Butcher – 50%

6. Hairdresser – 48%

7. Bookshop – 48%

8. Women’s clothing shop – 47%

9. Gift shop – 46%

10. Card shop – 46%

11. Pub – 45%

12. Florist – 45%

13. Men’s clothing shop – 41%

14. Ice cream parlour – 41%

15. A deli – 38%

16. Jewellers – 38%

17. A farm shop – 37%

18. Vintage/second hand shop – 37%

19. DIY shop – 37%

20. Record/music shop – 37%

21. Barber shop – 36%

22. Health food shop – 35%

23. Chinese restaurant – 34%

24. Chocolatier – 33%

25. Travel agent – 33%

26. Artisan coffee shop – 33%

27. Arts and crafts shop – 33%

28. Fishmonger – 32%

29. Off licence – 31%

30. Cheesemonger – 29

Additional data:

*taken from a CensusWide survey conducted in January 2024

**taken from a OnePoll survey conducted in October 2023