In-store or online retail
Why do larger retail parks still exist?
While Britain’s beleaguered high streets fight for footfall, larger out-of-town retail parks continue to perform more strongly.
In March-April 2025, compared with the same period in 2024, retail parks saw 2.7% more visitors[1] compared with a rise of just 0.2% on the high street and a fall of 0.7% in shopping centres.
For April alone, the increase was even more pronounced: the BRC figures show 7.5% more people headed to a retail park than the previous year, with the 2025 number boosted by Easter falling later in the year.
At the same time, the proportion of non-food goods purchased online (the ‘online penetration rate’) fell from 36.5% in April 2024 to 36.4% in April 2025, lower than its 12-month average of 36.8%.[2]
While this decline is small, it is an indication that online penetration is relatively stable, and that retail parks are holding their own in terms of market share.
Why are retail parks performing so strongly?
Retail parks have always offered excellent access, both for customers and for logistics providers.
Back in 2004, a landmark survey by MORI on behalf of the Accessible Retail and Shopping Park Investors Forum[3] found that:
- 28% of people blamed town centre shoppers for traffic levels in their area
- 18% blamed supermarket shoppers for traffic
- Just 15% blamed out-of-town shopping centre visits for causing traffic
Similarly, 23% said traffic in their area was caused by trucks and lorries driving through the town centre, something out-of-town retail parks can avoid.
Urban traffic is something MRM also work to prevent. Our warehousing and storage facilities in Market Harborough are in a semi-rural location, giving our delivery vehicles easy access to the road network across Leicestershire, the East Midlands and beyond.
It’s not just about the traffic shoppers encounter en route; it’s also about parking once they get there. The MORI survey found that one in five out-of-town shoppers chose retail parks over high-street shops due to the availability of free parking.
Better access, better choice
The logistics of getting there remain an appealing factor for retail parks. In February 2025, BRC chief executive Helen Dickinson cited[4] free parking as a reason why retail parks saw greater growth in footfall than other locations:
- Footfall increased by 2.0% year-on-year on retail parks
- Shopping centre footfall increased by 0.1%
- High street footfall increased by 0.1%
These figures were even higher in January 2025, at 7.9% for retail parks, 7.4% for shopping centres and 4.5% for the high street.
At the time, Ms Dickinson commented: “Footfall increased for the second consecutive month, with retail parks continuing to outperform other retail destinations. The variety of larger retail outlets and the option of free parking enticed customers to visit retail parks over their local high street or shopping centre.”
She added that the variety of stores at retail parks has been driven by strong investment in those facilities, combined with fewer empty units.
So, retail parks not only give customers easier access to free parking, they also provide a good amount of variety and choice.
A post-pandemic preference?
There has been another driving force behind changes in the retail sector in the past five years: COVID-19. The Coronavirus outbreak saw (in many cases literally) overnight transformation from traditional retail to home delivery and click-and-collect services.
Retail footfall saw an unprecedented fall in March 2020[5] as the UK entered lockdown for the first time, yet for retail parks the drop in numbers was less pronounced.
This may be due to the unique configuration of retail parks, which offer much of the choice, variety and anchor stores of indoor shopping malls, but are neither enclosed like malls, nor as cramped as traditional town centres.
All things to all people
Across the board, retail parks offer unique characteristics that mean they remain a compelling proposition, even against the convenience of online shopping:
For customers
Easy access by car (and often by public transport too) with free parking, fresh air, and a good selection of large, household-name stores.
For retailers
Lower business rates (and often lower rents) on vast, versatile, purpose-built premises designed specifically for retail use.
For logistics providers
Goods delivery access without needing to navigate tight town centre roads, partially pedestrianised high streets or rush-hour urban traffic.
For couriers
Fast and easy pick-up of home delivery orders from an easy-to-find landmark location with good transport links for final-mile delivery.
In many cases, online and mobile app orders (plus click-and-collect orders, via customer pickup) are now fulfilled from the nearest physical retail location, allowing retail parks to bridge the gap between web-based and ‘bricks and mortar’ shopping.
What does the future look like for retail parks?
A CBRE report in December 2022 identified this hybrid nature as one of the reasons why retail parks have a promising future.[8]
“Deliveries will increasingly be made from these locations – especially given the growth in online sales,” the report said. “The shops can be used as ‘dark stores’ with them functioning in part as distribution centres.
“Thanks to their convenient positioning in the urban fringe, retail parks are the ideal springboard for last-mile distribution.”
How MRM can help
MRM’s own warehouse, storage and fulfilment services are designed to support retailers across all locations, from retail parks and shopping centres, to traditional high street shops and online-only operators.
Our central location in the East Midlands enables convenient domestic and international despatch ranging from pallets of bulk materials, to competition prizes and subscription boxes.
We can handle the logistics, such as sourcing suitable packaging, repacking products for delivery and offering competitive rates via our long-standing partnerships with trusted UK couriers.
In this way, as the balance between the high street, out-of-town locations and online retail continues to shift in the years ahead, we can work with retailers to ensure that you have access to all of the handling and fulfilment services you need to thrive.
References
https://www.cbre.co.uk/insights/articles/promising-future-for-retail-parks
– “The online penetration rate (the proportion of Non-Food items bought online) decreased to 36.4% in April from 36.5% in April 2024. This was below the 12-month average of 36.8%.”
– Retail parks perform strongly year-on-year even accounting for late Easter
https://www.ipsos.com/en-uk/out-town-shopping
– traffic/reasons statistics