Abstract
Many high streets in the UK faced unprecedented challenges over the previous years,
including the rise of online retailing, out of town shopping and leisure, rising business costs,
subsequent footfall decline and COVID-19. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)
have been especially vulnerable and heavily affected by the pandemic. The need for novel
solutions to evolving high streets has never been greater to ensure the survival of our high
streets for 2022 and beyond. This project seeks to explore how employing digital platforms,
including a mobile application, can help to increase footfall and co-create social value,
bridging the ‘bricks and clicks’ to enhance the high street experience of residents and visitors.
The project starts with an exploratory phase to understand stakeholders’ expectations and
users’ behavioural intentions toward a locally tailored mobile application and online
platform. The key challenges identified were changing the purpose of high streets from
commercial and retail purposes to the centre of local experience and community engagement.
In this sense, effective digital platforms and tools to revive local high streets can play a vital
role. Following the exploratory phase, a series of quantitative studies were conducted to
investigate how a mobile application and its unique features and benefits drive users’
willingness to adopt and engage with the application and ultimately the willingness to visit
the local high street.