The role of place in city centre retailing

Lisa Källström (), Simon Persson and Jakob Westergren
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Lisa Källström: Kristianstad University
Simon Persson: Kristianstad University
Jakob Westergren: Uppsala University

Place Branding and Public Diplomacy, 2021, vol. 17, issue 1, No 3, 36-49

Abstract: Abstract City centre offerings, including shopping, restaurants and cafés, and a lively atmosphere are vital place attributes, which together with several other elements create an attractive place. However, city centre retailing is facing serious competition from e-commerce and external shopping malls, and dying city centres appear to have become a worldwide epidemic in the last decade. To retain visitors in the city centre is a prioritized issue and a current topic, for both retail and place branding research. In the present study the role of different elements of city centre retailing in the promotion of a city as a retail destination is explored by analysing photos published on Instagram by a Town Centre Management initiative. The following research question is answered: What role can the place play in city centre retailing? The study is inter-disciplinary, showing how retail attributes and place elements can reinforce each other and together offer opportunities for unique customer experience in a city centre, for the benefit of both retailing and the city brand. Three dominant visual themes of the place’s role in the marketing of a city centre are identified: the place as a frame, the place as a living room, and the place as a stage.

Keywords: City centre retailing; City centre attributes; Place branding; Social media (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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DOI: 10.1057/s41254-019-00158-y

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