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BARNES, SW13 – THE UK’S HOME SHOPPING
HEARTLAND
Massive gulf between
North and South spending habits emerge
Nottingham, UK, 30 August 2006 - In 2005 it was
Henley-on-Thames but this year Barnes, the affluent village in South West
London, has spent more per head on catalogue and mail order goods than anywhere
else in the UK. Analysis released today
by Experian®, the global information solutions company, mapping out
the UK’s Top 100 home shopping hotspots reveals a stark North/South divide.
Experian’s annual Club
Canvasse Report shows that Barnes’ wealthy urbanites spend £150
a year per head on home shopping for the latest clothing fashions, fine wines
and home furnishings.
According to Experian’s consumer classification
system, Mosaic UK, Barnes’ home shoppers fall into the ‘Cultural Leadership’
group. These people:
·
Are primarily well-to-do professionals, living in
traditional family units located in the exclusive suburbs of London and large
provincial cities
·
Are assured, secure and very discriminating – spending
their abundant wealth very carefully
·
Have little interest in the more brash aspects of
contemporary consumer culture, but do spend large sums on goods and services
which they perceive as having an understated, classic value
·
Do not boast or parade their wealth or their lives
Henley-on-Thames, last year’s home shopping hotspot,
has been knocked off the top spot into second place with per capita spend
falling from £136 to £125. At the other
end of the spectrum, Crewkerne in Somerset is languishing the bottom of the
table in 100th place with a per capita spend of just
£67.
Southern dominance
This year’s Club Canvasse Report from Experian
exposes a huge gulf in catalogue and mail order spending between southern and
northern towns. Ilkley in West Yorkshire
and Dingwall in the Highlands are just two of the 10
towns in the North
of England and Scotland to figure in the Top 100 home shopping hotspots [See
table below], with the rest nudged completely out of contention by the Southern and
Home Counties’ dominance.
Towns in Wales do not feature in the Top 100, but
Milford Haven in Pembrokeshire is the highest-ranked town in 105th
place with a
per capita spend of £67.
Furthermore, home shopping spend in Northern Ireland is just £21 per
head – half of that in England.
Gillian Buttree, Home Shopping Consultant for
Experian, stated: “Ten years ago, home
shopping simply didn’t have the allure for wealthy urbanites and the rural
elite.
“Fast-forward to 2006 and home shopping
companies now offer a diverse range of high quality goods, which provide a
welcome sanctuary for busy professionals who place high value on their leisure
time and don’t want to necessarily spend it on the high street at the
weekend.
“Whether it’s fine wines, expensive gifts or
Jermyn Street shirts, the rise of Barnes and the dominance of the southern
towns shows that today’s cash rich, time poor consumers are using home shopping
more and more to satisfy their very discerning tastes.”
Table: UK’s Top
100 Home Shopping Locations
Experian’s
Data Insight team analysed billions of pounds spent with catalogue and mail
order clients during the 12-month period to June 2006 to identify towns in the
UK where home shopping is most popular.
|
Rank
|
Town Territory Local
|
Spend per 18+
|
Rank
|
Town Territory Local
|
Spend per 18+
|
|
1
|
Barnes
|
£149.81
|
51
|
Haywards Heath
|
£78.34
|
|
2
|
Henley-on-Thames
|
£125.22
|
52
|
Royston
|
£78.27
|
|
3
|
Uckfield
|
£116.84
|
53
|
Dartmouth
|
£77.92
|
|
4
|
Esher
|
£109.55
|
54
|
Corsham
|
£77.55
|
|
5
|
Wantage
|
£103.82
|
55
|
Sherborne
|
£77.15
|
|
6
|
Notting Hill Gate
|
£100.43
|
56
|
Oban
|
£77.13
|
|
7
|
Okehampton
|
£99.51
|
57
|
Cirencester
|
£76.95
|
|
8
|
Cobham
|
£99.22
|
58
|
Fort William
|
£76.78
|
|
9
|
Putney
|
£97.36
|
59
|
East Molesey
|
£76.29
|
|
10
|
Haslemere
|
£96.10
|
60
|
Balham
|
£76.13
|
|
11
|
Amersham
|
£95.40
|
61
|
Reigate
|
£75.96
|
|
12
|
Teddington
|
£95.22
|
62
|
Berkhamsted
|
£75.90
|
|
13
|
Marlborough
|
£95.18
|
63
|
Marlow
|
£75.87
|
|
14
|
Westerham
|
£95.08
|
64
|
Kensington
|
£75.12
|
|
15
|
Chipping Norton
|
£94.28
|
65
|
Lewes
|
£75.12
|
|
16
|
Gerrards Cross
|
£94.02
|
66
|
Tunbridge Wells
|
£75.06
|
|
17
|
Wallingford
|
£93.75
|
67
|
Tenterden
|
£74.65
|
|
18
|
Harpenden
|
£92.92
|
68
|
Dulwich
|
£74.53
|
|
19
|
Sevenoaks
|
£90.81
|
69
|
Devizes
|
£74.19
|
|
20
|
Richmond (London)
|
£90.75
|
70
|
Dorking
|
£74.09
|
|
21
|
Ascot
|
£90.41
|
71
|
Heathfield
|
£74.07
|
|
22
|
Sunningdale
|
£90.21
|
72
|
Fleet
|
£72.89
|
|
23
|
Chiswick
|
£89.86
|
73
|
Princes Risborough
|
£72.80
|
|
24
|
Beaconsfield
|
£89.55
|
74
|
Winchester
|
£72.60
|
|
25
|
Petersfield
|
£89.38
|
75
|
Shepton Mallet
|
£71.76
|
|
26
|
Dorchester
|
£88.96
|
76
|
Tring
|
£71.74
|
|
27
|
Malmesbury
|
£88.72
|
77
|
Twickenham
|
£70.61
|
|
28
|
Hungerford
|
£87.52
|
78
|
Ashbourne
|
£70.58
|
|
29
|
Ilkley
|
£86.07
|
79
|
Tavistock
|
£70.34
|
|
30
|
Weybridge
|
£85.70
|
80
|
Ludlow
|
£70.12
|
|
31
|
Newbury
|
£85.15
|
81
|
Alton
|
£70.09
|
|
32
|
Thame
|
£84.88
|
82
|
Fakenham
|
£70.00
|
|
33
|
Richmond (North Yorkshire)
|
£84.84
|
83
|
Hampstead
|
£69.90
|
|
34
|
Ashtead
|
£84.74
|
84
|
Chesham
|
£69.61
|
|
35
|
Oxted
|
£84.13
|
85
|
Thirsk
|
£69.37
|
|
36
|
Godalming
|
£84.04
|
86
|
Bodmin
|
£69.23
|
|
37
|
Dingwall
|
£83.57
|
87
|
Chalfont St Peter
|
£68.94
|
|
38
|
East Sheen
|
£83.15
|
88
|
Seaton
|
£68.79
|
|
39
|
Wimbledon Village
|
£82.98
|
89
|
Leatherhead
|
£68.63
|
|
40
|
Oakham
|
£81.99
|
90
|
Market Harborough
|
£68.56
|
|
41
|
Farnham
|
£81.99
|
91
|
Cowes
|
£68.36
|
|
42
|
Shaftesbury
|
£81.94
|
92
|
Rye
|
£68.29
|
|
43
|
Saffron Walden
|
£81.27
|
93
|
West Kirby
|
£68.01
|
|
44
|
Muswell Hill
|
£80.85
|
94
|
Witney
|
£67.90
|
|
45
|
Sheringham
|
£80.83
|
95
|
Calne
|
£67.87
|
|
46
|
Woodbridge
|
£80.54
|
96
|
Knutsford
|
£67.76
|
|
47
|
Hale
|
£79.89
|
97
|
Loughton
|
£67.74
|
|
48
|
Cranleigh
|
£79.87
|
98
|
Launceston
|
£67.48
|
|
49
|
Battle
|
£79.61
|
99
|
Stratford-upon-Avon
|
£67.47
|
|
50
|
Kingsbridge
|
£79.23
|
100
|
Crewkerne
|
£67.20
|
ENDS…
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