Connectivity crucial for town centre success
…It may sound implausible right now, but poorly-connected town centres face the real risk of leaking custom to better-connected peers…
When the Stereo MC’s 1990s hit Connected came up on the P-THREE Spotify playlist recently it struck me as the perfect soundtrack for this, the first of a series of Perspectives considering how retail and leisure can best thrive in our town centres. We hear a lot about connectivity, but less often in a town centre context. I think that needs to change. Why? The ability of businesses on our High Streets to function smoothly and consumers to communicate with those businesses is now intrinsically linked to reliable broadband and telecoms networks. If you’re not convinced, our friends at WiredScore, a global connectivity certification leader suggest you just think back to the last time you had an internet outage or your phone ran out of juice.
While office buildings have led the way in adopting better connections, the other types of properties which make up our town centres, including retail and leisure, haven’t been as fast off the mark. Granted, larger shopping centres now offer customer Wi-Fi as standard, though many smaller ones still don’t. And in any case, what customers really want (and businesses should want for them) is seamless connections for the duration of their town centre visit.
Some locations (like Basingstoke below) have already adopted a town centre-wide approach to connectivity, but I believe many more now need to pick up the baton. It may sound implausible right now, but poorly-connected town centres face the real risk of leaking custom to better-connected peers. As WiredScore notes, there is already a growing expectation from consumers and business alike of ubiquitous connectivity across wide geographic areas.
Who will foot the bill for this? Good question! Local authorities are the obvious focus, though constraints in public sector finances may make them reluctant to spend in this area. Alternatively, BIDs may take on the responsibility and charge back costs through their constituent occupiers. Either way, the good news, according to WiredScore, is that the hardware required is likely to be increasingly affordable.
Importantly, in truly well-connected town centres individual retail and leisure landlords and occupiers will also ensure their own properties not only have the best connections right now, but are fitted out as smart buildings that will allow them to easily flex to meet the requirements of future technical requirements.
Better-connected town centre retail and leisure buildings bring with them multiple benefits, including:
for investors: increased footfall and engagement helping to secure long-term income and a more resilient buildings reducing future capital expenditure.
for occupiers: enhancing customers’ experience and allowing for the development of new apps and tools to drive purchases and increase loyalty.
Although it is too early to say definitively and real-life examples are therefore hard to come by, I am convinced (and WiredScore agrees) that, as is already the case with offices, the best-connected town centre retail and leisure properties will command premium rental and capital values.
To illustrate the potential of better-connected town centres, here are a few of P-THREE’s favourite connected locations:
An early adopter of free town-wide Wi-Fi in 2017, Basingstoke benefited from enhanced connectivity thanks to the efforts of the local BID. AEW Europe’s Festival Place shopping centre, which is located within the BID zone, also provides its own free Wi-fi service within the centre.
Photo credit: Basingstoke BID
The former media hubs for the London 2012 Olympics have been transformed into an innovative campus for creative and digital industries, totalling over 1 million sq ft. Owner Delancey continues to ensure that on-site connectivity, including super-fast Wi-Fi, is available to a growing occupier base.
Photo credit: HereEast
MediaCityUK was the first WiredScore certified neighbourhood in Europe. Best-in-class broadband and telecoms infrastructure has persuaded major media organisations like the BBC and ITV Studios to have a significant presence here.
Photo credit: MediaCity
Town centres don’t just need better connections, they also need to be greener. Check back here for the next piece in the Perspectives Town Centre Futures series looking at Healthy Town Centres.
Article by Justin Taylor, Co-founder P-THREE with the support of WiredScore
