Cambridge has been ranked as the top UK hub for shops in 2025, with customers flocking to the compact university city’s bustling streets.
Affluent residents, a growing student population and ‘popular night-time economy’ all helped Cambridge maintain its crown as the most thriving retail hub in Britain, according to Newmark’s latest retail Vitality Rankings for 2025.
Chelsea in west London surged from 10th to second place in the rankings, buoyed by its high-end and ‘aspirational’ mix of shops, pubs and bars.
The findings show the King’s Road and Sloane Square in Chelsea still hold sway with shoppers, with the Saatchi Gallery providing a cultural focus for the area.
Kingston upon Thames came in third place in Newmark’s findings, followed by Bath city centre, Bluewater shopping centre in Dartford, Wimbledon Village and Milton Keynes.
Knightsbridge in London, Leeds, and Westfield Stratford City also made it to the top 10.
The report said smaller cities like Bath, Brighton and Edinburgh continued to rise in the rankings thanks to ‘generally affluent’ customer base.
However, larger cities and shopping centres saw the biggest spike in performance and footfall this year.
Despite an upturn in office attendance, hybrid working is still helping retailers boost their takings, Newmark added.
It said shoppers, particularly those visiting larger cities or shopping centres, were going on bigger shopping trips and spending more, rather than doing top-up shops or simply browsing.
London’s King’s Cross and Canary Wharf saw a ‘significant’ improvements in the retailer hub rankings, thanks to decent transport links and high worker footfall.
Popular: Cambridge came out as the number one retail hub in Newmark’s rankings
The report said Canary Wharf ‘rarely struggled’ to find new retail tenants for its shops.
Newmark said: ‘These workers and passengers help maintain catering and leisure offers that include high-quality and fashionable brands which in turns creates destinations in their own right’.
While some locations saw their place surge in the rankings, others suffered a downturn.
Cobham in Surrey came in 21st place, having slid from second in the rankings a year ago. Oxford city centre fell from 14th to 20th place, while Harrogate fell from 17th to 25th place.
On a geographical basis, more locations in the top 50 shopping hubs were located in the midlands and northern areas this year when compared to 2024. Taking two examples, both Birmingham and Glasgow performed strongly.
Will Chamberlain, associate director of new business at Newmark, said retailers were focusing their efforts on ‘prime high-footfall locations that deliver strong sales and maximise visibility’.
Store numbers are being reduced in smaller locations where footfall is sparse, Chamberlain said.
Providing shoppers with memorable and personalised in-store experiences is another key focus for retailers, Chamberlain added.
Challenges faced by retailers, staff and shoppers
The findings from Newmark provide an overview of the locations where retailers and high-streets are thriving.
However, many retailers and high-streets are struggling, as are millions of shoppers battling against rising costs and higher taxes.
Shops were hit by £7billion in higher costs by the Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ Budget last year and are fearful of further tax hikes at the next one on 26 November.
This month, retail bosses warned businesses are being ‘taxed out’ as jobs in the retail sector hit a record low.
Retailers sounded the alarm after figures from the Office for National Statistics revealed there were 2.78million jobs in the industry in June – down 97,000 on a year earlier. Nearly 400,000 retail jobs have been lost in the past decade.
The British Retail Consortium warned that ‘worse could be yet to come’, while trade body UK Hospitality said pubs, restaurants and other venues were also struggling.
Bosses also criticised Labour’s package of reforms to employment rights, saying it will make it harder to employ young people.
Tesco, Morrisons and Currys are among the major retailers to axe jobs following last year’s increases to employer National Insurance, the National Minimum Wage, business rates and packaging taxes.
And retailers including fashion brands Quiz, Seraphine and accessories seller Claire’s have collapsed.
The hospitality industry is also suffering, with 84,000 jobs lost in the sector since the Budget, according to UK Hospitality.
Chamberlain told the Daily Mail: ‘Reviving the UK’s high streets requires collaboration between government, local authorities, and private stakeholders.
‘The most successful examples, such as Gloucester City Centre, show how public-private partnerships can transform underperforming areas through targeted investment and placemaking.
‘Redeveloping unproductive retail space, especially on the fringes of town centres, into residential, office, or mixed-use schemes helps rebalance supply and create more vibrant, multifunctional environments. This is evident in Gloucester City Centre following investment in the Dock’s Area & King’s Quarter.’
He added: ‘Local Authorities play a critical role in shaping these spaces, ensuring they are safe, attractive, and conducive to retail and leisure. At a national level, reforming business rates is essential. In many cases, rates are now as high as rents, placing unsustainable pressure on occupiers and discouraging investment.
‘A more flexible tax system could better support the long-term vitality of retail centres across the UK.’
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