The profitability of motorway retailing has come under significant pressure from rising costs and high street deflation. However, operators are hoping that a recent wave of investment, higher quality standards and the introduction of new brands will help them drive up sales and overcome public hostility over perceived overpricing. Some of them are also hopeful that a review of regulations regarding motorway retailing currently being conducted by the Highways Agency will allow expansion of their retail businesses.
In railway station retailing, there are signs of a recovery in service reliability and continued growth in passenger numbers, together with the emergence of the first fruits of recent investment in major schemes like the West Coast Main Line. In the face of buoyant demand, retailers are continuing to look for potential ways to exploit this growing flow of customers, even if they are heavily constrained by lack of new shop space.
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