City centre never dies – Transforming the High Street crisis into an investment opportunity for SMEs and start-ups: a business design model
This research addresses the decline of High Streets as central urban hubs, driven by shifts in consumer behaviour, suburban retail dominance, e-commerce growth, and the COVID-19 pandemic. These factors have led to widespread business closures and urban decay. Reframing this crisis as a business opportunity, this study proposes a transformative business design model to help SMEs and start-ups adapt to evolving city centre dynamics.
This research’s significance and originality lie in its business-centric approach, a perspective underexplored in current literature. It integrates place branding, the experience economy, and strategic business design. Using a mixed-methods methodology, it combines advanced quantitative and qualitative techniques – including conjoint analysis, geospatial mapping, text mining, sentiment analysis, and case studies – to uncover market trends, consumer preferences, and spatial opportunities. These insights inform the development of a scalable business design model, enabling SMEs on High Streets to assess market conditions, craft tailored strategies, and monitor performance.
Aligned with the "Inclusive Economic Growth" theme, this study highlights the potential of underutilised High Streets as hubs for economic inclusion. It promotes societal equity by equipping SMEs with tools for data-driven decision-making, fostering job creation, and enabling sustainable entrepreneurship. This approach enhances labour market inclusivity, economic vitality, and urban regeneration.
This study bridges academic and practical knowledge, contributing to business strategy and urban regeneration literature while offering actionable insights for policymakers and business stakeholders. By redefining High Streets as dynamic engines of economic growth and social vitalit