Shopping precincts and retail parks
Shopping precincts and retail parks are types of shopping centres.
In a previous post we discussed the difference between department stores and shopping malls. We said that there were other sorts of shopping centres. Here we talk about two of them: shopping precincts and retail parks.
In the UK, a shopping precinct is usually an area in a town or city centre. It is likely to contain shops, sandwich shops, hair dressers, restaurants, offices and the other things you would find in a shopping street. Shopping precincts are “pedestrianised,” meaning they are closed to vehicular traffic.. Unlike shopping malls, they are likely to be open-air rather than completely covered. Many precincts were once traditional shopping streets before they were pedestrianised.
Shopping precincts have been popular because they keep people separate from traffic. They have received a lot of competition from shopping malls and retail parks. Shopping malls are usually covered, thus protecting people from the weather as well as the traffic. Retail parks are usually uncovered but often more convenient for people with cars.
Sometimes you will find small shopping precincts away from town centres. These usually contain just a few shops and are designed to serve a local neighbourhood, meaning that people can do their basic shopping without travelling very far.
Retail parks are usually located away from town and city centres. Like shopping precincts, they are open-air. Usually most of the shops in a retail park are large. They are likely to include shops that might not be as suitable for town and city centres – such as garden centres, carpet stores and furniture warehouses. With their large car parks, they are convenient for drivers, who can load their purchases straight into their vehicles ready to take home. They are not so convenient for people without cars, although they might also be served by local bus routes.
Some retail parks are huge and include department stores, restaurants and cinemas. Together with online shops they have, in some areas, provided very strong competition to shopping malls and more traditional shopping areas, which have often lost customers as a result.
Posted by Graham
