Changing shopping habits

Quiet trip to Quakers Friars

- Ellie KENDALL

WALKING through Cabot Circus on a cloudy January weekday, we counted only a handful of people shopping or basking in the delights of this part of town. Just across the road in Broadmead, a similar scene was unfolding.

During a workday, you wouldn't expect to see many people out and about, but this is an increasingly common sight - even during peak shopping times.

And the recent number of closures in quick succession, paired with buildings or units that have been empty for years, are evidence our high street shopping habits have not changed back to the physical kinds of old or, at least, pre-Covid.

Quakers Friars, once known as being the more ‘upmarket’ extension of Cabot Circus sits deathly still. While you can visit the likes of Harvey Nichols, Six By Nico, AllSaints and Oliver Bonas here, just walking through the space feels like something of a ghost town.

The unit which once housed designer brand Michael Kors, has now been empty for six years. It was one of the outlets to get the chop in March 2019, two years after the management of Michael Kors announced they were on the verge of closing more than 100 stores worldwide.