Media centre

Monday 11 Dec 2017

Edinburgh Waverley stands out from the crowd as station retail sales continue to rise

Region & Route:

National

| Scotland’s Railway: Scotland

• Edinburgh Waverley station retail sales up 6.8% between July and September 2017, a third higher than the national average
• Pubs and bars drive growth with shoppers continuing to value the Scottish capital’s station retail offer
• Network Rail celebrates five and a half years (22 quarters) of consecutive retail sales growth delivering £197m in total sales for the quarter

New statistics released today by Network Rail show that convenience continues to be king for busy commuters and shoppers, with Edinburgh Waverley station recording 6.8% retail sales growth in the last quarter.  

The sales surge at Edinburgh Waverley has been driven by strong growth in its bread category which has risen almost 300% since the opening of a brand new Pret A Manger earlier in the year. The station’s popular pubs and bars also contributed to the growth along with sales of cards and stationery.

David Biggs, Managing Director of Network Rail Property, said: “These figures mark five and a half years of continuous growth, and this is testament to the hard work of our team, our great retail offer, and Network Rail’s continued investment in improving stations as part of our “Destinations Programme”.

“In today’s society people want variety and convenience and our stations offer just that.  They give our busy customers a chance to grab gifts, fashion, and food while on the move, as well as offering a destination for sit-down meals, coffee, and socialising.

“These consistent improvements in results don’t come by accident; they show that we have an effective plan in place to create stations that are destinations in their own right, based on our intimate understanding of what our customers want.”

Across British stations the figures continue the trend of convenience shopping, as people buy more presents, fill up on more food, and socialise more at stations – with gifting (+14.8%), fast food (+9%) and bars/pubs (+6.1%) leading the growth this quarter.

Over 63m retail customers visited station retail outlets around Britain in the quarter and growth was spread across the country, with sales growth in Birmingham (+11.1%) featuring prominently, alongside Manchester (+5.2%) and Edinburgh Waverley(+6.8%).

The figures also include a swell of sales growth at London Bridge (50.3%) and Paddington (46.3%) stations, as regeneration and investment of these key transport hubs continues to have a positive impact on retailers.

All profits from Network Rail retail activities are reinvested back in to the railway and plans are well underway for a programme of retail enhancement in 2018.