What makes a world-class shopping destination? Most people would say that the presence of a wide range of retailers is a must, which indeed it is, but this barely scrapes the surface of all the other factors that combine to push a location from being a regional or national shopping destination into having global clout.

We examined the factors that make such locations a success in our Global Retail Destination Index research, carried out in partnership with the New London West End Company. Seven destinations that are all key for international visitors and where shopping is a major tourist activity and/or part of their appeal were studied: New York, London, Milan, Paris, Hong Kong and Singapore.

Taking these cities, we examined quantitative factors such as visitor flow and spend, volume of retail sales and the occupational costs to retailers, to get what we termed a ‘physical’ score for each city. On this basis, London rules the roost: its reputation and accessibility to visitors from around the world attracts new international retailers, which in turn improves the quality and variety of its retail environment, thereby attracting even more high-spending shoppers in a virtuous circle.

But this is only part of the picture: numbers alone do not necessarily a top shopping city make. As many of the fashion retailers who appear on the streets we studied will tell you: the way a brand (or in this case a place) is perceived is often integral to its success. We therefore also examined a number of qualitative factors such as the welcome and service extended to visitors, facilities, problem areas, marketing activity, events and general satisfaction in each city via surveys distributed to over 1,500 retailers. When we look at this ‘perception’ score in isolation, New York came top.

So what happened when we combined both scores to find an overall winner? New York pipped London to the post taking first place in our rankings, followed by London second and Hong Kong third.

Source:  Savills Research, The Retail Group, Oxford Economics, MORI
 

London looks to maintain its top physical score boosted by the current exchange rate, arrival of Crossrail and improvements to the British visa system for Chinese nationals, who are the largest source market for international tourists and spend globally.

But what can be done to boost London’s perception score, and thereby leapfrog New York overall? The survey results indicated some challenges related to the public realm, the quality of service, facilities, and operational difficulties associated with opening stores.

The New West End Company is aware of the challenges faced, and, in terms of the former, recognises that public realm investment offers London an opportunity to improve its perception score. New York should therefore start looking over is shoulder.

Further information

Read more: Global Retail Destination Index 2016