A team of mystery shoppers and town centre assessors have given Rhyl the thumbs up in a survey aimed at improving the town’s overall retail experience.
Throughout October and November, a professional team carried out the Location Model project, designed by Skillsmart Retail, the Sector Skills Council for Retail, to see how well Rhyl performed in a number of different areas, from shop standards to town centre cleanliness.
A mystery shopping test evaluated the performance of 42 independent retailers in the town, producing a score of 86.4%. This is well above the 80% benchmark, placing Rhyl 16th out of almost 90 towns which have so far been assessed.
An impressive 31 of the 42 shops recorded individual scores above 80% and nearly three-quarters had their customer service rated either as good or very good. This performance meant that in 77% of the cases mystery shoppers would return to the shop and 76% would recommend it to a friend.
The best performing shop in Rhyl was a tie between Detour Woman on Sussex Street and Model Railway on Wellington Road which both scored an almost perfect 97.4%. These were closely followed by Doorworld on Marsh Road and Jean Emporium on Sussex Street (both 96.2%).
The team also interviewed 111 shoppers in the street to ask their opinion of Rhyl. 40% of those interviewed felt the town was clean and tidy and half (48%) said public facilities were easy to find. The variety of independent shops scored well (58%). The general feeling of safety in the town was also a very positive 82%.
Half of those questioned (47%) said they had seen definite improvements to Rhyl over the past two years, and nine out of ten (94%) said the shops were close enough to make a convenient shopping trip.
Of suggested improvements, shoppers said: “Needs modernising”, “Improve the seafront area” and “Too many £1 shops and card shops.”
The final part of the Location Model was a town centre assessment which found that car parking was free from congestion, public toilets were clean, safe and smelt fresh and disabled access was rated as very good.
Rhyl Going Forward the regeneration programme taking place in Rhyl and co-ordinated by Denbighshire County Council, were responsible for recruiting the local shops were impressed by the number of retailers who volunteered.
Mark Dixon, Principal Regeneration Manager at Denbighshire said: “Scoring above the benchmark of eighty per cent is a great achievement for Rhyl and shows that the centre can more than hold its own.”
“The results of the Location Model give us and all traders in the town a real feel of where we stand compared to other similar towns across the country and the reports given to each individual retailer will help them pinpoint what improvements can be made.”
“I think it is now safe to say that Rhyl is a good place to shop and has a great retail offer, both for our residents and tourists.
“Of course, we will not now let the good work fall away and all the partners who were involved in the Location Model will now get together to work out how we can make the town’s shopping experience even better and hopefully address some of the shopper comments.”
There is more good news for retail in Rhyl. Coleg Llandrillo Cymru has become the first National Retail Skills Academy in Wales. This means locally there is a unique opportunity to access a range of specialised retail training packages. This includes the highly rated series of Mary Portas Masterclasses – Your Guide to successful retailing. This training programme is only available through the Coleg Llandrillo Retail Skills Shop.
Tim Peel, the Skills Shop Manager said: “Our role as a Skills Shop is to support local business to increase productivity through training and development. There are a number of ways we can help and the team look forward to hearing from retailers across North Wales.’
For further information and business support contact Tim Peel Coleg Llandrillo Retail Skills Shop Manager on 01745 354797 Ext 836 or e-mail [email protected].
