7.80 The Covid-19 pandemic presented challenges in attracting people into centres with the closure of non-essential retail and more people working from home during periods of higher restriction on movement. It is currently unclear what long-term impact the pandemic will have on Irish shopping patterns, but vacancies have continued to escalate on prime high streets and in shopping centres around the country in recent months. Larger city centres have been particularly adversely affected due to the absence of students, office workers and tourists. However, despite these trends and continued global uncertainty, the Irish economy and the retail sector remained strong and competitive prior to the pandemic and are likely to recover post- pandemic. Investing in the consumer experience is anticipated to be the key to success in securing resilience in retail moving forward, with policy support playing an important role in helping to future-proof city and town centres against the ongoing uncertainty. 7.81 The challenge will be meeting the demand for mixed-use centres and bringing new life into our cities and towns, by supporting retail, and providing for a rangeing of other uses including residential, leisure and recreation, employment, tourism, civic, community, cultural, health and education. The retail industry must be able to adapt to changing circumstances in order to maintainning a strong post-pandemic economy.
Retail Trends
7.79 The retail market has undergone significant changes in recent years, with trends including a steady increase in online shopping evident over the past decade. There is a new focus on ‘experience’ as part of the draw of city and town centres, with a move away from mainly comparison retail (for definition see: Glossary of Terms) to a greater emphasis on leisure, culture, food and beverage.
Retail Hierarchy
7.82 The retail hierarchy defines the role and importance of retail centres and forming the basis for determining the quantum and location of new retail development in the Cork Metropolitan Area. It is based on the Retail Hierarchy set out in the Cork Metropolitan Area Strategic Plan - Cork MASP Policy Objective 16 and the City’s Settlement Strategy, with the role of the various centres outlined on the next page.
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Cork City Draft Development Plan 2022-2028
Volume 1 I Chapter 7
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