If as consumers, we no longer want to physically go shopping for basic goods and services, what do we want to “go to downtown” for? There’s been a massive debate and mountains of research about this but one thing everyone can agree on; in order to survive, the high street has to offer something we want but can never get online. Here are a couple of #interesting repurposing ideas and initiatives.

Indoor Sport and Leisure – With climate change, the UK will see significant increases in rainfall and wet weather days. One repurposing idea would be to create larger indoor recreational facilities to allow more sport and leisure activities to continue, irrespective of the weather.

Experiential Retail – There are a vast array of retail activities and experiences that simply cannot be replicated online. For example, hands-on, live product demonstrations and food tastings or customising your very own trainers in front of you. Other intriguing ideas include unique joint brand ventures and face to face therapy experiences. 

There are no doubt countless ideas – some more practical than others. For me, the best one yet has to be that of Rainbow Rising – re-purpose large department stores to create exciting indoor markets, made up of professional pop-up concessions for local charities and community groups to use. Check out their two massive department store conversions: Debenhams in Wandsworth and Marks & Spencer in Rochdale. Keep those repurposing ideas coming.

Ben Damesh

restoreourhighstreets.com

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