Fewer products on offer in shopping centres

Greengrocers, garden centres, and shops selling paint, wood and do-it-yourself items are found less and less in shopping centres. On the other hand more and more stores in town centres are selling telecommunications equipment, computers and parquet floors. These conclusions are based on a survey  which looked at the 15 shopping centres in the Netherlands with the largest diversity of shops. In these shopping area 113 types of shops closed down, while 93 types started business.

Types of shops in shopping centres with largest diversity

Less diverse

With 70 types of shops, Haarlem town centre scored highest on diversity, although this was smaller than the 76 types in 1996. Shopping centres in the diversity top 15 mostly have a regional function. The big cities are lower down on the list, mainly because they have more than one shopping area, or because the centre is spread out across a number of districts. Large cities are also more likely to have areas where the same types of shops are clustered, such as a furniture strip. Goes town centre scores high mainly because of the wide range of food shops.

More diverse

The shopping areas of Emmen, Middelburg, Goes, Zutphen and Purmerend encompassed more kinds of shops than eight years ago. The number rose by most in Emmen town centre, where 6 new types of shop set up business.
Of the shopping centres with the most diverse supply in 1996, only Middelburg managed to increase its diversity, and rose from tenth to third on the list. Tiel town centre, still twelfth in 1996 fell to 45th place because the variation in its shops decreased.

Change in shop types in 15 shopping centres, 1996-2004

More telecommunications stores

In the course of the last eight years DIY stores and garden centres have moved out of shopping centres. To a lesser extent specialised food shops, too, such as greengrocers, fishmongers, and game and poultry shops have disappeared from town high streets. Shops selling telecommunications equipment are a new phenomenon, while computer stores are also found in more and more town centres.

Hub Beunen