Towards a research agenda for high street atmospheres

Atmospheres – the vibe, mood, or feel of a place – are increasingly manufactured in cities to attract visitors and investment. Atmosphere has been a longstanding theme of interest in the field of marketing since Kotler's work in the 1970s on using atmospherics as a marketing tool. Over recent years, there has been renewed interest in the topic across multiple disciplines, such as marketing, consumer research, human geography, sociology, architecture, and tourism. This research has investigated the atmospheres of a range of places, including retail stores, markets, hospitality venues, sports stadia, festivals, and events. One place, however, that has been neglected in such work is the high street – the main street in a town or city providing retail, leisure, and services for local communities and visitors – despite experience being recognized as playing a crucial role in high street vitality (busyness) and viability (longer-term sustainability). This chapter, therefore, foregrounds high street atmospheres by conceptually reviewing the existing research in this area. In doing so, it identifies the key learnings from this area of study for both academics and practitioners working in the areas of marketing, retail, and place management, and offers directions for future work into high street atmospheres.