FINAL REPORT. Caerphilly County Borough Council Caerphilly Town Centre Report November 2014

Transcription

1 FINAL REPORT Caerphilly County Borough Council Caerphilly Town Centre Report Park Court Mews Park Place Cardiff CF10 3DQ Tel: ++44 (0) research@strategic-marketing.co.uk

2 Contents Page 1. Executive Summary... 3 Household telephone survey... 3 On-street survey Introduction... 6 Project overview... 6 Research objectives... 6 Household Telephone Survey Methodology... 7 On-Street Survey Methodology Research Findings Household Telephone Survey... 9 Food and grocery shopping... 9 Non-food shopping Shopping in Caerphilly Approval rating Online shopping Demographics Research Findings On-Street Survey Reasons for visiting Caerphilly town centre Travelling to Caerphilly Spending behaviour Likes and dislikes about Caerphilly town centre Demographics Page 2 of 27

3 1. Executive Summary Household telephone survey 1.1 The vast majority of respondents use Caerphilly for their food and grocery shopping (90%). Over a third of respondents purchase most of their food and grocery items from Asda, Pontygwindy Road. 30% also use the Morrisons in Caerphilly town centre. Nearly two thirds of respondents shop once a week. The great majority of respondents begin their shopping trip at home 57% travel by car as a driver, whilst 24% travel as a passenger. Just under a quarter of respondents spend between 51 and 75 on their main food shop. 2 combine their food shopping trips with purchasing non-food items. Over three quarters of respondents undertake top-up shopping in addition to their main food shopping. Tesco Metro in Caerphilly town centre is cited by 15% of respondents as the store they head to for their top-up shopping, compared to 9% in The most popular place for non-bulky non-food shopping is Cardiff, followed by Caerphilly (47% and 2 respectively). Nearly half (46%) of respondents report to buy most of their non-bulky non-food items in Cardiff. This is not significantly different to reports in 2010, when 4 of respondents responded the same. The second most popular location is Castle Court in Caerphilly at 10%. In terms of other centres for non-bulky non-food items, a large proportion (4) report that they do not head to another location. In 2010, a quarter (25%) of respondents reported to shop at Caerphilly Old Town Centre, but this proportion has now fallen to 8%. Instead, Cardiff has taken the top spot with 1 - still less than the 14% reported in The proportion of respondents who say they do not buy bulky non-food items has risen to 35% from 14% in Significantly higher percentages (33%) of respondents say they now buy these types of items from B&Q in Caerphilly compared to 13% four years ago. Almost a quarter do not shop at these locations (24%) including 3% who shop online. 1.4 Almost three quarters (73%) of respondents say they visit Caerphilly for shopping. The majority visit Caerphilly for shopping because it is close or convenient to home. Page 3 of 27

4 The main reason that respondents choose not to visit Caerphilly for shopping is a poor choice of non-food shops. Over half of respondents would be persuaded to visit Caerphilly more by a better choice or range of non-food shops. 2 said there was no particular improvement that would make them use Caerphilly more often. 1.5 At 3 Caerphilly was rated the fifth most favourable place to shop, with 9% stating very favourable and 23% stating fairly favourable. 1.6 A smaller proportion of respondents shop using the internet compared to four years ago (36% report yes compared to 44% in 2010). 1.7 Around seven in ten (7) respondents use the internet to shop for clothing (compared to 50% in 2010) and a similar proportion (70%) shop for electrical goods (compared to 44% four years ago). Page 4 of 27

5 On-street survey 1.8 The main reason that a third of the respondents visited Caerphilly town centre was for food and grocery shopping. Non-food shopping, however, has fallen as the main reason for the visit from 33% four years ago to 23%. The main other reason why they were visiting Caerphilly town centre was non-food shopping, although 28% were doing nothing else. 1.9 Almost all respondents began their journey at home, specifically; over two thirds came from Caerphilly Around a third (36%) of respondents drive themselves to Caerphilly town centre and a similar proportion (3) travel by bus or coach. The most common places to park were the Castle Court/ Morrison s car park (75%) and on-street (10%) Most respondents travel up to ten minutes to get to Caerphilly town centre (56% combined). Just under a third travel between eleven and twenty minutes % of respondents visit Caerphilly two or three times a week, with just over a quarter visits Caerphilly daily Just over a third said that they had spent less than 10 and a fifth (20%) had spent between 11 and The one thing that respondents were most likely to like about Caerphilly town centre was the location and convenience (26%). Others are attracted by the presence of Caerphilly Castle (10%) and 5% have indicated there is nothing they particularly like about the town centre Over two-fifths of respondents (43%, in the other responses) said that they disliked nothing about Caerphilly town centre. Page 5 of 27

6 2. Introduction Project overview 2.1 Caerphilly County Borough Council () regularly conducts market research to investigate the ever-changing shopping attitudes in the major shopping centres in the County Borough area. 2.2 Within the County Borough area, which has approximately 170,000 residents, there are two sub-regional centres in the County Borough, namely Blackwood (pop. 23,000) and Caerphilly (pop. 31,000). Supporting them are four district centres, namely Bargoed (pop. 8,300), Newbridge (pop. 6,000), Risca (pop. 11,500) and Ystrad Mynach (pop. 4,000). The settlement pattern in the South Wales Valleys is such that each of these centres has a much wider catchment than just their resident populations. 2.3 In August 2014 required up-dated information on shopping patterns in the County Borough area, in order to monitor the trends in shopper attitudes and, where possible, to compare with previous waves of the research, which were carried out every three years from 1994 to present. Research objectives 2.4 The main requirements of this project are to establish where and how often residents and visitors are shopping for their food and non-food purchases, as well as investigating the other reasons for visiting the shopping centres, their attitude towards the centres and the means of transport used. 2.5 The specific objectives are as follows: Where residents and visitors are shopping for food Where residents and visitors are shopping for non-food How often residents and visitors are shopping for food How often residents and visitors are shopping for non-food Reasons for visiting the shopping centres Attitude towards the shopping centres Means of transport used on trips Participation in leisure activities Internet shopping 2.6 Mixed research methodologies of telephone and on-street interviews were deemed the most appropriate to use in order to achieve the necessary objectives. Briefly, these involved: A telephone survey of 1,500 households A shopper/ visitor survey at specified locations in six shopping centres of 1,000 interviews Page 6 of 27

7 Household Telephone Survey Methodology 2.7 1,504 interviews were conducted in total during the period 8 th September 26 th September. In Caerphilly 250 interviews were completed, building on the information given in the previous surveys conducted every three years from 1994 to present. 2.8 Interviews were conducted in s in-house telephone unit and were spread across weekdays, evenings and weekends. Questionnaire 2.9 The survey covered a range of aspects relating to shopping habits and in particular sought to establish the following: Town and village/ home location of the respondent Location where respondents buy most of their household food/ groceries Frequency of shop at their main food store Starting location to their main food store Mode of transport used to their main food store Expenditure on a main food and grocery shopping trip Whether respondents combine main food shopping with non-food shopping Whether respondents carry out small scale top-up food shopping and where they go Location where respondents buy most of their non-bulky non-food items (first/ second choices) Location where respondents buy most of their bulky non-food items Whether respondents visit their local area for shopping and the reasons why and why not Main aspect that would increase local area use How respondents rate their local area as a place for shopping Whether respondents undertake any leisure activities, how often and where Whether respondents shop via the internet and the types of goods purchased Demographics: Occupation of chief wage earner/ SEG Age band Gender Page 7 of 27

8 On-Street Survey Methodology ,011 structured face-to-face interviews were conducted in total during September The target audience were males and females over 18 years of age Interviews were conducted in batches of 25 interviews at appropriate points in each shopping centre and were carried out on Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, as these were the days with the heaviest footfall. In Caerphilly 203 interviews were completed at the Castle Court and Cardiff Road locations. Questionnaire 2.12 In order to provide benchmarking comparisons where appropriate and for general consistency, the questionnaire used in the study was loosely based on that used for the previous wave of the research. The survey consisted predominantly of closed questions with allowance made for verbatim comments In particular, the survey sought to establish the following: Date, time, location and weather conditions at the point of interview Main reason for visiting Blackwood Other reason(s) for visiting Blackwood Whether respondents came directly from home, work, or another location to the shopping centre, and where this was Mode of transport used to travel to Blackwood Length of time travelled to get to Blackwood Frequency of visiting Blackwood Expenditure in Blackwood Likes and dislikes of Blackwood Demographics: Occupation of chief wage earner/ SEG Age band Number of cars in the household Gender Page 8 of 27

9 3. Research Findings Household Telephone Survey 3.1 A total of 250 interviews were conducted in the catchment area of Caerphilly over a period, from 8 th September 26 th September A random selection of local residents within the Caerphilly area were asked for their opinions on a variety of subjects relating to their shopping behaviour. This included establishing which centre respondent s use for their food shopping, as well as where they go for bulky and non-bulky purchases. The survey also documents how respondents rate Caerphilly as a place for shopping. Food and grocery shopping 3.2 The table below shows the locations where respondents buy most of their food and groceries, comparing this with the previous waves of the survey. 3.3 The proportion of residents using Caerphilly shows an increasing trend up from 86% in 2010 to 90% this time. Cardiff is used by fewer residents with a fall from 6% in 2010 to 3% and likewise Ystrad Mynach is now used by only. Choice of Town for Food Shopping (% Responses) Caerphilly Cardiff Ystrad Mynach Pontypridd Other Base: 250 (all respondents) Page 9 of 27

10 Q1 Where do you buy MOST of your household food and grocery items? Caerphilly, ASDA, Pontygwindy Road 37% Caerphilly, MORRISONS, Town Centre 30% Caerphilly, TESCO, Gallaghers Retail Park 1 Caerphilly, LIDL, Penrhos Caerphilly, TESCO METRO, Town Centre Cardiff, SAINSBURYS, District Shopping Centre, Excalibur Drive Pontypridd, TESCO, Upper Boat Ystrad Mynach, TESCO, Town Centre Caerphilly, ICELAND, Town Centre Other 6% 3% 6% Base: 250 (all respondents) 0% 20% 40% 3.4 Nearly two in five (47%) respondents do their main shop for food and grocery items at Asda in Caerphilly, this is not significantly different to the 4 who report to shop at the same store in Three in ten (30%) shop at Morrisons in Caerphilly, which is slightly higher than the 24% who did their main food shop at the store four years ago. 3.6 The third most popular store is Tesco in Caerphilly, with 1 of respondents reporting to use it to buy most of their groceries. This was also the case in 2010 when 1 of respondents reported to use it. Page 10 of 27

11 Q7b Where do you buy MOST of your top-up shopping? Caerphilly, TESCO METRO, Town Centre Caerphilly, MORRISONS, Town Centre 15% 13% Caerphilly, ASDA, Pontygwindy Road Caerphilly, TESCO, Gallaghers Retail Park Caerphilly, LIDL, Penrhos Caerphilly, ICELAND, Town Centre Cardiff, SAINSBURYS, District Shopping Ystrad Mynach, TESCO, Town Centre Risca/Pontymister, ALDI Nelson, CO-OP Ystrad Mynach, LIDL, Town Centre 8% 7% 6% Other 47% 0% 20% 40% 60% Base: 191 (those doing top-up shopping) 3.7 Tesco Metro in Caerphilly town centre is cited by 15% of respondents as the store they head to for their top-up shopping, compared to 9% in The second most popular store is Morrisons in Caerphilly town centre, which attracts 13% of respondents compared to 16% four years ago. 3.9 Almost half (47%) use other stores for their top-up shopping including 2 located in Caerphilly, 4% in Bedwas and each in Machen, Trethomas, Senghenydd and Abertridwr. Page 11 of 27

12 Non-food shopping 3.10 Respondents were asked a series of questions about their non-food shopping. Non-bulky non-food 3.11 The table below shows the choice of town for non-bulky non-food items. Due to the increase in popularity of online shopping a separate category has been added to the table for this year s survey and 5% chose this method Fewer Caerphilly residents are using Caerphilly for this type of shopping, with a drop from 30% in 2010 to 2 this year. By contrast, those choosing Cardiff has increased slightly from 44% in 2010 to 47% in Other responses now account for 20%, up from 1 in 2010 and this includes almost one in ten (9%) say that they do not buy these types of goods. Choice of Town for Non-Bulky Non-Food Shopping (% Responses) Cardiff Caerphilly Newport Mail Order Online 5 Other Base: 241 (all respondents) Page 12 of 27

13 Q8a Where do you buy MOST of your NON bulky nonfood items? CARDIFF CAERPHILLY, Castle Court CAERPHILLY, Old Town Centre PONTYPRIDD CWMBRAN NEWPORT Other Don't buy 8% 10% 9% 20% 46% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% Base: 241 (all respondents) 3.13 Nearly half (46%) of respondents report to buy most of their non-bulky nonfood items in Cardiff. This is not significantly different to reports in 2010, when 4 of respondents responded the same Newport has dropped from 7% to of respondents in the last four years, and Caerphilly Old Town Centre has fallen from 14% to 8% Those reporting to not buy non-bulky non-food items have risen from in 2010 to 9%. Page 13 of 27

14 Q8b What other centres, if any, do you use for your NON bulky non-food items? CARDIFF CAERPHILLY, Old Town Centre CAERPHILLY, Castle Court NEWPORT PONTYPRIDD MERTHYR TYDFIL, Cyfartha Retail Park CWMBRAN BLACKWOOD YSTRAD MYNACH RISCA Other No other 1 8% 7% 6% 3% 16% Base: 188 (those buying non bulky non-food items) 3.16 In terms of other centres for non-bulky non-food items, a large proportion (4) report that they do not head to another location In 2010, a quarter (25%) of respondents reported to shop at Caerphilly Old Town Centre, but this proportion has now fallen to 8% Instead, Cardiff has taken the top spot with 1 - still less than the 14% reported in % 20% 40% 60% Page 14 of 27

15 Bulky non-food 3.19 Residents were asked about their purchases of bulky non-food items such as furniture, carpets and DIY goods. Q9 Where do you buy MOST of your bulky non-food items? B & Q, Gallagher Retail Park, Caerphilly 33% CURRYS, Gallagher Retail Park, Caerphilly CARPETRIGHT, Gallagher Retail Park, Caerphilly WICKES, Gallagher Retail Park, Caerphilly 4% Other 24% Don't buy 35% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% Base: 232 (all respondents) 3.20 The proportion of respondents who say they do not buy bulky non-food items has risen to 35% from 14% in A significantly higher percentage (33%) of respondents say they now buy these types of items from B&Q in Caerphilly compared to 13% four years ago. Almost a quarter do not shop at these locations (24%) including 3% who shop online The choice of town Caerphilly residents use for this type of shopping has changed since More than two in five (45%) now use shops in Caerphilly for bulky non-food shopping, up from 35% in Cardiff falls from 23% in 2010 to just 4%. As already mentioned, much of this may be due to the rise in the proportion of residents who say that they do not buy this type of product. Many of those shopping elsewhere (1) say they shop around but some specifically mention Leekes in Llantrisant. Choice of Town for Bulky Non-Food Shopping (% Responses) Caerphilly Cardiff Newport Other Online 3 Don t buy Base: 232 (all respondents) Page 15 of 27

16 Shopping in Caerphilly 3.22 As shown below, respondents were asked a series of questions about shopping in Caerphilly. Q10a Do you ever visit Caerphilly for shopping? No Yes 27% 73% Base: 250 (all respondents) 3.23 Almost three quarters (73%) of respondents say they visit Caerphilly for shopping. While still a high proportion, it is lower than the 8 in Q10b If yes, why is this? Close/convenient to home 69% To visit a particular shop 1 Close/convenient to other location Good public transport Good access/parking Good choice of non-food shops Good choice of food shops Good character/atmosphere Other 4% 8% 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% Base: 183 (those visiting Caerphilly) 3.24 Almost seven in ten (69%) of those who visit Caerphilly for shopping report that they do so because it is close or convenient to home. A further 1 report that they visit Caerphilly for a particular shop. Page 16 of 27

17 Q10c If no, why is this? Poor choice of non-food shops Poor choice of food shops Location / inconvenience Poor access by public transport Poor access by car Particular shop missing Bad character/atmosphere Other 6% 5% 3% 3% 17% 6 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% Base: 67 (those not visiting Caerphilly) 3.25 A large proportion (6) of those who do not visit Caerphilly for shopping believe there to be a poor choice of non-food shops. This is significantly higher than in 2010, when 44% reported this to be the case. Q11 What ONE thing would make you use Caerphilly more frequently? Better choice/range of non-food shops 57% Better choice/range of food shops Improved parking facilities More attractive environment Improved public transport Cheaper parking facilities 5% 4% Other 28% Base: 250 (all respondents) 0% 20% 40% 60% 3.26 A better choice or range of non-food shops would encourage over half (57%) to visit Caerphilly for shopping more often. This is higher than 2010, when a third (33%) cited this Almost three in ten (28%) gave some other response. 2 said there was no particular improvement that would make them use Caerphilly more often. Page 17 of 27

18 Approval rating 3.28 Respondents were asked how favourably they rate Caerphilly as a place to shop, using a scale from very favourable to not at all favourable. Q12 How would you rate Caerphilly as a place for shopping? Very favourable 9% Fairly favourable 23% Neither favourable nor Unfavourable 4 Not very favourable 2 Not at all favourable 6% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% Base: 250 (all respondents) 3.29 Around a third (3-9% very favourable; 23% fairly favourable) rate Caerphilly favourably when it comes to shopping. This is lower than 2010, when nearly half (44%) rated favourably Around a quarter (27%) rate unfavourably, compared to 35% who saw Caerphilly s shopping offerings unfavourably in Approval Rating for Shopping (% Responses) Blackwood Caerphilly Newbridge Ystrad Mynach Risca Bargoed Base: 250 (all respondents) Page 18 of 27

19 Online shopping Q16a Do you shop using the internet? No Yes 36% 64% Base: 250 (all respondents) 3.31 A smaller proportion of respondents shop using the internet compared to four years ago (36% report yes compared to 44% in 2010). Q16b If so, which of the following type of goods do you buy online? Clothing Electrical 7 70% Books Music and video 48% 45% Main food shop 1 Other 20% 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% Base: 89 (those purchasing goods online) 3.32 Around seven in ten (7) respondents use the internet to shop for clothing (compared to 50% in 2010) and a similar proportion (70%) shop for electrical goods (compared to 44% four years ago) The proportion of respondents reporting to do their main food shop online has fallen from 19% in 2010 to 1. Page 19 of 27

20 Demographics 3.34 The breakdown of the socio-economic group, age and gender of those who took part can be seen below: SEG of chief wage earner Base: All respondents Num % Base: All respondents % A/B 18 7% C % C % D/E Refused 7 3% Age group of respondent Base: All respondents Num % Base: All respondents % years years years 9 4% years years 39 19% 65 years or above % Refused 7 3% Gender of respondent Base: All respondents Num % Base: All respondents % Male 73 29% Female Page 20 of 27

21 4. Research Findings On-Street Survey 4.1 A total of 203 interviews were conducted in various locations in Caerphilly during September This section shows the results of this survey. Reasons for visiting Caerphilly town centre Q1a What is your main reason for visiting Caerphilly town centre today? Food and grocery shopping Non-food shopping To visit financial services Visiting/meeting friends/relatives Browsing/window shopping To visit other services To eat/visit restaurant/café/pub Work/business Health services Education Library Other 5% 5% 3% 3% 8% 1 10% 26% 23% 0% 10% 20% 30% Base: 203 (all respondents) 4.2 Food and grocery shopping is the main reason a quarter (26%) of respondents visit Caerphilly town centre, similar to the 24% reported in Non-food shopping, however, has fallen as the main reason for the visit from 33% four years ago to 23%. Page 21 of 27

22 Travelling to Caerphilly 4.3 Respondents were asked a series of question about their journey to Caerphilly. Q4 How did you travel here today? Car / van - as driver 36% Bus / coach 3 On foot 2 Car / van - as passenger 5% Train Bicycle 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% Base: 203 (all respondents) 4.4 Respondents were asked a series of questions about their journey to Caerphilly. Almost all respondents (93%) came from home, which is the same proportion as in Around two thirds (68%) of respondents travelled from Caerphilly with others coming from areas including Cardiff (3%), Ystrad Mynach (3%), Bargoed (), Bedwas () and Llanbradach (). 4.6 Around a third (36%) of respondents drive themselves to Caerphilly town centre and a similar proportion (3) travel by bus or coach. Of those who drive, the majority (75%) park at Castle Court/Morrisons store car park and 10% use on-street parking. Q6. How long did it take to travel here today? < 5 minutes minutes minutes minutes Over 30 minutes Page 22 of 27

23 Q7 How often do you visit Caerphilly town centre? Daily 26% 2-3 times a week 33% Once a week 26% Once a fortnight Once a month Less often First visit 3% 4% 5% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% Base: 203 (all respondents) 4.7 Around a quarter (26%) of respondents visit Caerphilly town centre every day, and a third (33%) visit two to three times a week. This is not significantly different to Page 23 of 27

24 Spending behaviour Q8 How much have you / will you spend on your trip to Caerphilly town centre today? Less than 10 Nothing Refused/ Don t know 3% 3% 7% 6% 9% 8% 5% 20% 35% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% Base: 203 (all respondents) 4.8 Around a third (35%) of respondents spend less than 10 on their visit to Caerphilly town centre, more than the 26% who reported to spend under 10 in Around one in ten (8%) report that they did not spend anything in the town centre and 3% spent more than 101. Page 24 of 27

25 Likes and dislikes about Caerphilly town centre Q9a What one thing to you particularly like about Caerphilly town centre? Location / convenience Centre design / attractive environment Range of shops Choice of shops Compact shopping centre Convenient parking Choice / quality of places to eat / drink Access by car Other 8% 6% 4% 13% 13% 26% 26% 0% 10% 20% 30% Base: 203 (all respondents) 4.10 The location and convenience of Caerphilly town centre is a factor liked by a quarter (26%) of respondents, slightly less than the 33% who reported it to be the one thing they particularly liked about the town centre in Others are attracted by the presence of Caerphilly Castle (10%) and 5% have indicated there is nothing they particularly like about the town centre. Page 25 of 27

26 Q9b What one thing do you particularly dislike about Caerphilly town centre? Difficult to find parking Cost of car parking Poor security (crime / vandalism) The market Poor access by car Centre design / attractive environment Poor choice/quality of places to eat/drink Centre design / unattractive environment Other 5% 83% Base: 203 (all respondents) 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% 4.12 Over two-fifths of respondents (43%, in the other responses) said that they disliked nothing about Caerphilly town centre. Also under other 1 of respondents said that they disliked the lack of food and non-food shops and 7% complained that the town centre is unclean/ litter In 2010 the top responses were nothing in particular (37%), poor range of shops generally (9%) and difficult to find parking (6%). Page 26 of 27

27 Demographics 4.14 The demographic breakdown of those who took part can be seen below: SEG of chief wage earner Base: All respondents Num % Base: All respondents % A/B 27 13% C % C D/E 52 26% Refused 4 Age group of respondent Base: All respondents Num % Base: All respondents % years years years years 29 14% years 28 14% 65 years or above 77 38% Refused 0 0% Gender of respondent Base: All respondents Num % Base: All respondents % Male % Female % Page 27 of 27