Businesses need grit, passion and resilience to survive on the high street in 2025

Karen Burton, joint-manager of Bishop’s Stortford BID (Business Improvement District), writes for the Indie

The topic of Bishop’s Stortford town centre, especially its retail offering, often triggers a wave of negativity. It’s not just the infamous keyboard warriors - it comes up in face-to-face conversations too.

I find myself in countless discussions about the highs and lows of our high street with neighbours, friends, family and even the occasional stranger. It’s a topic close to my heart as my own journey as a shopkeeper mirrors the rise and challenges of high street retail over the last 40 years.

My last Indie article, looking back on the BID’s projects and progress over the last 12 months, prompted the predictable: nostalgia for a “golden age” and grumbles about the present.

So, let me take you back to 1987 - the year I opened my first shop in Waltham Abbey, Essex.

Its newly-pedestrianised high street was buzzing with life: a twice-weekly market, an eclectic mix of shops (including a store straight out of Open All Hours), a Co-op department store and even an exuberant Greek restaurant complete with plate smashing and dancing. There were pubs aplenty and, crucially, free parking.

My shop sold cake decorations, equipment for home bakers and made-to-order cakes. Customers travelled from far and wide, drawn in by word of mouth and local newspaper adverts. They came to buy supplies for classes or cakes they were baking or to order cakes chosen from books or photos of my own work. Whatever their purchase, all were appreciative of my expert advice and guidance.

My overheads were straightforward: rent, rates, utility bills and wages. Transactions were made by cash, cheques or the occasional card and my working hours ended the moment I locked up the shop. Life was good - my work and home life neatly divided and the business thriving.

Fast-forward to 2023 when I closed the doors of Karen’s Cakes, by then in Stortford at Northgate End. While my decision was largely driven by the desire to retire from cake making, it was also a way to escape the relentless pressures of modern-day retail.

The work-life balance I once cherished had been shattered. Social media, email and the internet turned the working day into a 24/7 reality. Sundays, once sacred as a day of rest, became just another shopping day.

Challenges had multiplied. Supermarkets and online retailers sold cake supplies cheaper than I could buy them wholesale. Off-the-shelf cakes flooded the market while social media gave home bakers their own global shopfronts.

Meanwhile, the regulations, red tape and customer expectations piled higher every year for bricks-and-mortar businesses. It was exhausting.

It’s true that I miss the simpler days of shopkeeping before the internet. But the genie is out of the bottle and there’s no going back.

We can mourn the high streets of the past and cherish the memories, much like we do with any fond chapter of our lives, but there comes a time to close that book, place it on the shelf and start a new one, one that embraces a 24/7, 21st-century version that brims with potential and celebrates the incredible effort of those keeping the high street alive today.

Take it from someone who ran a shop for almost four decades and witnessed those changes first hand - today it demands grit, passion and resilience like never before. Only the most agile will succeed offering something unique, which can’t easily be ordered online or requires a physical presence or experience.

If we, as a community, choose to rally behind our local businesses and their owners, we can help shape a high street that evolves with the times and one that we’ll still be proud to call our own.