Two-Minute Tour: London

The Numbers
Carrying more spending power than consumers in New York or even Paris, diverse, globally minded Londoners ranked as the world’s biggest fashion shoppers in 2010, according to London-based Kelkoo’s “Shopping Capitals of the World” report. Residents of the city’s 32 boroughs and central City district numbered an estimated 7.75 million in mid-2009, and will swell to 8.8 million by 2013, per the Office for National Statistics (ONS, Newport, Wales).

The city’s Heathrow Airport consistently ranks among the world’s most-traveled. Combined with an influx of immigrants and 55 percent of infants being born to non-native moms in 2008, London’s diversity is nearly unrivalled across the globe. And because families with children tend to move away from the city, Londoners often live alone, with 31 percent of households having a single member, the ONS reports.

The Pulse
The London 2012 Summer Olympics begin July 27 and the passing of the torch promises an influx of shoppers and retail sales. The Centre for Retail Research (Newark, England) estimates a $1.66 billion increase in retail spending this summer from the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee and Olympics alone.

With an eye to increased foot traffic during these summer events, Sunday trading laws, which restricted larger stores’ hours, are being temporarily relaxed. “It would be a great shame – particularly when some of the big Olympic events are on Sunday – if the country had a ‘closed for business’ sign on it,” British Chancellor George Osborne told the BBC.

The Hotspots
London’s historic West End, including boutique-friendly Covent Garden, big-brand-hub Regent Street and luxe Bond Street, remains an iconic and popular shopping spot, with sky-high rents to match.

On the east side, Olympic development is injecting life into Spitalfields and Shoreditch. Lois Jacobs, ceo worldwide, Fitch (London), calls the latter, a “cool, edgy part of town,” and, indeed, its proximity to Olympic venues has yielded Boxpark, a 60-unit pop-up mall constructed from refitted shipping containers. “The key issue for retail right now is turning visitors into shoppers. Just because the city is busy doesn’t guarantee trade, particularly in times of celebration,” says David Dalziel, creative director, Dalziel and Pow (London).

Obstacles/Opportunities
Fitch’s Jacobs notes draconian branding rules at the games, pointing to “the independent florist ordered to remove an Olympic rings tissue paper display from her window, and the renaming of longstanding Café Olympic in Stratford to Café Lympic to avoid being sued.”

Yet Londoners remain hungry for small, niche shops, often bemoaning homogenized high streets. “We’ve seen enough of the ‘cookie-cutter’ mass-market multiples,” Dalziel explains. “Competition for existing space is keen.”