Reviving the High Street- Data Driven Strategies for High Street Vibrance and Resilience

British high streets are in a state of a pickle. As a statistical consultant and educator with a background in health sciences and data analysis, I’ve been fascinated by how data can reveal the underlying dynamics of change and resilience. At StatNova Analytics, my partner James and I often talk about the shifting nature of local businesses we’ve seen in our own neighbourhoods. One small unit, for instance, has been home to a music school, a doggy daycare, and a florist, all within just a few years. These transitions might seem like simple entrepreneurial turnover, but they reflect deeper structural challenges affecting small businesses everywhere.

This white paper is inspired by the doctoral thesis The Vibrancy and Resilience of British High Streets by Abigail Hill, submitted to University College London in 2022. Her work offers an exceptionally thorough and data-rich investigation into the evolution of high streets in Britain between 2017 and 2021. While I aim to speak directly to small business owners and high street stakeholders, I acknowledge Hill’s work as a foundational academic source that shaped my thinking on this subject.

Understanding the Changing High Street

British high streets have traditionally been economic and social focal points in towns and cities. However, their roles have been challenged in recent decades by a combination of economic shocks, rising property and business rates, competition from e-commerce, and more recently, the public health and economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. As Hill points out in her introduction, the 2008 recession exposed long-standing vulnerabilities in retail systems, many of which were exacerbated by subsequent crises. The effects of the pandemic, layered on top of those earlier disruptions, created new forms of instability, particularly for commuter towns that lost daytime footfall almost overnight as remote work became the norm.

Yet even amid uncertainty, Hill’s thesis emphasises that data is more available than ever to track, analyse, and understand high street dynamics. She argues that traditional surveys are increasingly being supplemented or even replaced by richer sources such as mobility data, property listings, and consumer behaviour metrics. These emerging forms of data provide not just snapshots, but ongoing monitoring tools to help local businesses and councils make smarter decisions.

What Makes a High Street Successful?

A key conceptual contribution of Hill’s work is the distinction between vibrancy and resilience. Vibrancy refers to the active character and diversity of a high street, like how many shops are open, what kinds of services are offered, and the balance between independent and chain stores. Resilience, by contrast, is the capacity of that area to recover from shocks or to adapt to changing circumstances, whether economic, social, or environmental.

These two concepts are interrelated, but not synonymous. A high street might appear vibrant with a variety of well-visited outlets, but it could still be fragile if many of those businesses are precariously positioned. Conversely, a quieter or less diverse high street might display strong resilience if it is tightly woven into the community’s needs and can evolve. This distinction is valuable for small business owners evaluating their operating environment and planning for future uncertainties.

Using data from the Local Data Company, Hill analysed hundreds of thousands of business records to create new indicators of vibrancy, such as occupier churn (the rate at which businesses open and close), vacancy rates, and the prevalence of essential versus non-essential services. Her findings suggest that resilience is not just about surviving economic stress but about being situated within a supportive ecosystem, be it community ties, a healthy mix of service types, or alignment with local demographics.

Lessons for Local Business Owners

So what does this mean for high street businesses right now?

Firstly, diversification matters. High streets that perform better tend to include both essential services like pharmacies and grocers, and experience-driven services such as salons and cafes. This variety not only caters to different needs but also creates multiple reasons for people to visit.

Secondly, business owners should monitor leading indicators. Hill’s research suggests that traditional signs like empty shops are lagging indicators of decline. Instead, attention should be paid to footfall trends, changes in public transport use, shifts in local working patterns, and property turnover. This type of insight can help small businesses pivot early rather than react too late.

Thirdly, data is an asset that can be used by businesses, not just policymakers. Hill’s work with Camden Council demonstrated how commercial and open data could be used to refine policy decisions. The same principles apply to small business owners who want to better understand their customer base or evaluate the local market. Even open datasets, such as those from the Office for National Statistics, local councils, or food hygiene rating systems, can provide valuable clues about trends in a given area.

Finally, community engagement remains central to both vibrancy and resilience. Hill highlights that creative interventions like pop-up shops, community co-working hubs, and meanwhile use of empty premises can revitalise high streets and make them more flexible. This kind of innovation can come from the bottom up, not just from government-led regeneration plans.

What This Means for StatNova Analytics

At StatNova, we are committed to helping small business owners and local leaders unlock the power of their data. We believe that high streets are not done for, they are in transformation. By equipping SMEs with practical, easy-to-use tools, we aim to support data-informed decision-making that leads to healthier, more resilient local economies.

The conversations James and I have about the churn of businesses in our own town always bring us back to the question: what could have made those ventures more sustainable? Often, the answer lies in anticipating change, tracking what works, and identifying gaps that data can help fill. It’s one of the reasons we’re investing time in developing services like local business dashboards, data collection templates, and benchmarking tools tailored specifically to high street businesses.

We don’t just want to analyse the past, we want to shape the future. That means helping local business owners understand what success means in a changing environment and giving them the tools to adapt, not just survive.

Moving Forward

If you are a small business owner on the high street, or someone considering launching a new venture, I encourage you to begin collecting and exploring data now. Think about what signals tell you the area is changing. Talk to neighbouring businesses. Check your local council’s open data portals. Or reach out to us at StatNova, where we can help you turn raw information into strategic insight.

Reviving the high street is not about turning back the clock. It’s about learning how places adapt, and how business owners can lead that process through creativity, community focus, and evidence-based strategy.

References

Hill, A. (2022). The vibrancy and resilience of British high streets: A spatial, longitudinal and sectoral study. PhD thesis. University College London.

Carter, S. and Jones-Evans, D. (2020). Enterprise and small business: Principles, practice and policy. 4th ed. Harlow: Pearson Education.