08/03/2010

An injection of £25k will kick start a new marketing campaign to position York as the top shopping destination in the UK.  This news comes as The Shambles has just been voted the most picturesque street in Britain in the Google street awards.

The cash, which has been allocated to tourism agency Visit York by the city of York council, has funded a new research survey into the shopping habits of visitors to York, revealing who exactly is shopping in York and why.  And, most importantly, who isn't shopping and why not?  City of York Council has allocated the £25,000 to Visit York to deliver this new piece of research and now follow this up with a hard hitting marketing and PR campaign for York's retail offer. 

Conducted by Feedback Market Research, the survey showed that 48.8% of out of town respondents had been shopping in York over the past 12 months.  Most popular shopping locations for local shoppers were York City Centre (48.3%) or Monks Cross (34.6%).  Out of town shoppers were found to stay longer in York - with 69.6% spending between four-six hours, compared to local shoppers, with 64.8% who spent between 1-3 hours on a shopping trip.

The main likes of York as a shopping destination included the variety of shops (55% of shoppers), the beautiful historic surroundings (23%), the city's compactness (13%),  the range of independent shops (21%) and the history and quaintness'(16%). 12% said they visited for the good restaurants and cafes. Under 10% said that parking was an issue.   Of those people from within Yorkshire, who don't currently shop in York, however, 31% said that they felt it was too far away or too difficult to get to.  The cost of travel and time to reach the city was also factor.    

John Yeomans, Chairman of Visit York said, ‘These new research findings will enable Visit York to target new shoppers more effectively.  What shows through strongly in the research, is that visitors enjoy the range of independent shops and the beautiful historic surroundings and now that the Shambles has been voted the most picturesque street in Britiain, we have a fantastic opportunity to increase shopping visits to York.  The timing of the Google awards couldn't be more perfect for York.'

Roger Ranson, assistant director, Economic Development at city of York council, said, ‘We now have the research findings we need to target new shoppers to come into York, not just to shop but for a fantastic day out.  York is already one of the most successful shopping destinations in the UK, with visitors flocking from London, the South East and the rest of the country to stay and shop here.  Now that the Shambles, Fossgate and Stonegate are all featured in the Google street awards, we have more ammunition than ever for a successful campaign.' 

John continued, ‘York's shopping offer is special, offering many family run and independent shops alongside big retail names. Visit York's new marketing campaign, Shop and the City, will seek to generate more shoppers from across Yorkshire, changing people's shopping habits and bringing in thousands more shoppers from the rest of the region.

Vivienne Westwood recently lent her name to a national shopping campaign run by Visit York to position York as the best place to shop in the UK.  This campaign generated a 26% increase in traffic to the shopping pages of www.visityork.org and over 54,000 hits to www.shopandthecity.org.  Visit York's new ‘Shop and the City' marketing campaign will be launched next week, when full details will be announced.

ENDS