Digitising the High Street: Beyond ‘Clicks and Bricks’

This project centres on developing innovative digital technologies to attract shoppers back to the high street and, subsequently, increase footfall and spend.

Through using next generation retail ‘Spot Market’ and augmented reality technologies, delivered through multiple channels, including shoppers’ smart phone devices, a complementary and enabling digital layer will be created to support the traditional high street retailing environment. In particular, this will:

• Empower local businesses to issue targeted and relevant offers based on preferences which consumers have agreed to share.
• Generate higher conversion rates and resultant sales for local retailers as a result of this technological innovation enabling greater relevancy and improved referrals.
• Increase footfall to, and provide enhanced navigation of, the high street – especially for businesses not occupying traditionally considered ‘prime retail’ locations – by creating greater visibility of an areas ‘total high street proposition’.
• Define a new business model for the delivery of next generation retail Spot Market technologies.

This project represents a collaborative approach between Kent County Council, Microsoft, Canterbury City Council, Canterbury City Partnership and Think Agency. Additionally, the involvement of both local and technical partners offers opportunities to develop a clear route to market – as well as early market testing opportunities. The project is also fortunate to benefit from the input of one of Microsoft’s top global experts on next generation retail Spot Market technologies – James Whittaker – to support the feasibility and prototype development.

Initial scoping work has demonstrated that all necessary technologies upon which this project is dependent are currently available, and given that this project will be using open standards, the resultant product will be both scalable and transferable to other UK high street locations.