Glasgow named top for shops at Christmas - 6 December 2007
Christmas shopping formula reveals best cities for festive shoppingChristmas shoppers in Glasgow are more likely to experience a perfect Christmas shopping trip than other areas around the UK, according to new research from Yellow Pages, which identifies the best areas for retail therapy outside London.
While record crowds flock to London to tick off everything on their shopping lists, savvy shoppers could consider heading for Glasgow or one of nine other top spots - including Exeter, Newcastle and Edinburgh. The research identified these areas as having the shops and services most likely to give shoppers Christmas cheer as they find their essential festive goodies.
More than 2000 people across the UK were surveyed* on their festive shopping lists to reveal the shops and services deemed most crucial for laying on the perfect Christmas, such as gift shops, off-licences and farmers markets. Yellow Pages’ data analysts ranked people’s preferences and matched them using a weighting system against the number of relevant shops or services listed in each directory area. This “Christmas Shopping Formula**” then identified this year’s top ten locations for the ultimate seasonal shopping experience:
The South West city of Exeter came second behind Glasgow in the rankings, whilst Newcastle ranked third for an abundance of Yuletide shopping outlets in the ‘Toon’. Cardiff flies the Welsh flag - lying sixth in the table - and there are further Scottish bragging rights with Edinburgh also making the top five. However, England still has its fair share of Christmas shopping hot spots with Brighton, Norwich, Chester, Preston and Bristol completing the top ten.
Top Ingredients for Christmas Success
The UK public named Gift Shops and Toy Shops as the most important visits on Christmas shopping trips. When the shopping formula was applied, the Isle of Wight and Ipswich came out top as the best areas to hunt down gifts and toys for adults and kids alike.
Once presents are dealt with, food is next as grocers and butchers came in equal third in the survey. The Scottish city of Stirling is best for Grocers - and Newcastle is top for Butchers and Wine Merchants & Off Licences. The increase in demand for home-grown, organic Christmas fayre is also reflected in the survey, with Farm shops in the top ten and most prevalent in Norwich.
Diamonds remain a girl’s best friend, as Jewellers are the seventh most important shop on the Christmas High Street, with Birmingham, thanks to its jewellery quarter, found to be the top destination for buying the ‘bling’.
Christmas Trees & Decorations and Stationery Shops are also key priorities for creating festive cheer, with Exeter and Oxford the top areas for crossing those off the list respectively. Christmas Day TV would be no fun without chocolates to tuck into and it seems shoppers would agree as Confectionery Retailers also make the top ten, again with Exeter offering the most choice for selecting a selection box or two.
Tom Wright, chief executive of national tourism agency VisitBritain said: “London is famous for being a great Christmas shopping destination, yet it’s important to highlight the qualities of smaller towns and cities that may be less obvious choices but still offer a fantastic range of shops, services and experiences for residents and visitors alike. Glasgow and Exeter are both brilliant locations for shopping and we’re very pleased to hear that they’ve been recognised as such.”
Clodagh Ward, consumer development director at Yell, publisher of Yellow Pages directories, said: “Yellow Pages is packed with shops and services to provide all of those Christmas essentials, and our research shows the areas that best fit the UK’s wants and needs. For those heading out of their home town to one of the top ten shopping locations we’ve identified, Yellow Pages’ online service, Yell.com, can help pinpoint everything from farmers markets, to specialist gift shops, to organic butchers. Our mapping services can also provide directions, find car parks, and even show local cafes for that all-important, post-shopping cup of coffee!”
Top ten Christmas shopping hotspots
1. Glasgow
2. Exeter
3. Newcastle
4. Edinburgh
5. Brighton
6. Cardiff
7. Norwich
8. Chester
9. Preston
10. Bristol
Top ten Christmas shops (and top areas for those shops)
1. Gift shops (Isle of Wight)
2. Toy shops (Ipswich)
= Grocers (Stirling)
4. Butchers (Newcastle)
5. Christmas trees and decorations (Exeter)
= Wine merchants and off licences (Newcastle)
7 Jewellers (Birmingham)
8 Stationery shops (Oxford)
9 Confectionery retailers (Exeter)
10 Farm shops (Norwich)
For further information about this press release, please contact the Yell Press Office.
Notes to Editors:
*Survey of 2194 UK adults carried out by YouGov, 20th-22nd November 2007.
**The Christmas formula is the “Christmas Score” for each area, incorporating 20 separate Christmas related shops/services. Each shop/service is measured on: (importance of shop/service according to survey) x (quantity of shop/service in book area). Eg. AnyTown Gift shops (20 x 138 = 2760) + Lingerie (9 x 159 = 1431) + Toy shops (19 x 25 = 475) + Butchers (19 x 244 = 4636) and so on = final “Christmas Score”. Areas are then ranked against each other to create the top ten.
Please note that importance of shop/service is based on the results of the YouGov survey of 2194 UK adults.
Yellow Pages data experts excluded London and London suburbs directories from the study to discover the shopping hotspots of the UK outside the capital city. London results are available cut by book directory region only.
Yellow Pages
Yellow Pages directories are published by Yell, a leading international directories business operating in classified advertising markets in the UK, US, Spain and Latin America through printed, online and telephone-based media. Yell’s principal brands include: in the UK, Yellow Pages, Yell.com and Yellow Pages 118 24 7; in the US, Yellow Book and Yellowbook.com; and in Spain, Paginas Amarillas and PaginasAmarillas.es. All these brands are trademarks.
Yell.com
Launched in 1996, Yell.com is a leading local search engine and major online advertising medium for UK businesses. Yell.com provides users with a direct route to finding a business or service online using keyword, type of business, or company name and location as search criteria. Users can review relevant search results and quickly determine the right business for their needs.
www.yell.com provides several useful features such as zoom-enabled maps with directions, closest car parks and a personal Yell.com address book facility to keep a record of regularly used businesses.
