A Nation Of Shopkeepers No More?

As retail trends shift, breathing new life into Scotland's ailing town centres could require a fresh approach and some creative thinking

- by MARIE PENMAN

NAPOLEON famously described Britain as "a nation of shopkeepers", but the phrase was actually coined 20 years earlier by that most famous of Scottish economists, Adam Smith, in his masterpiece, The Wealth Of Nations: "To found a great empire for the sole purpose of raising up a people of customers may at first sight appear a project fit only for a nation of shopkeepers."

Although the French military leader may not have intended his remark to be complimentary, Adam Smith was in no doubt that a healthy commercial market system led to greater prosperity for all, and was in favour of small businesses and shops.

Fast forward almost 300 years, and not only are there fewer shopkeepers around, but fewer shops.

Not so long ago, when we needed to buy things such as food, clothes and household items, we simply headed for our local high street and stocked up. Today, we are far more likely to shop from the comfort of home, sitting before a screen.

Retail has changed dramatically in Scotland and the rest of the UK, and there isn't a simple or obvious way back. After all, if a product can be purchased online for less cost and with more availability then why wouldn't you click to buy?

The impact of the internet can be seen and felt on high streets across the country. Once the bustling heart of every town, they are fading fast and badly in need of resuscitation - but can they be saved? Professor Leigh Sparks is head of retail studies at the University of Stirling and the author of A New Future For Scotland's Towns, a major report from 2021 that focuses on ways to improve the country's urban centres.

"There are no simple answers or single solutions to save high streets or it would have been done," he says.

Professor Sparks makes clear that it's not just online shopping that has overtaken the traditional high street.