The Changing Face of Trafford: Shopping & Retail

Changes to the Retail Sector since 1974 

1974 saw the first of very significant technological changes that would revolutionise retail in the fifty years from the foundation of Trafford. This was the introduction of the barcode and barcode scanner which has transformed the supply, the maintenance of inventories and shopping for goods.[i]

The internet was another innovation which became public in 1991 and entered common use in 1993-4 when websites began to become available. In 1974, therefore, there were no on-line shopping websites for browsing and purchasing, no instant facilities for ordering from a remote location, no ‘click and collect’, or home delivery by fleets of vans and return of goods, apart from groceries, milk, furniture etc. delivered by a local supplier. There was no social media, no reviews nor irritating requests to review items purchased that do not merit a review, and no “influencers”. In 2024 such features as these have significantly altered the pattern of shopping. Now many shoppers prefer to use shops for browsing, and perhaps trying items for size, before seeking a cheaper deal on the internet.

According to the Bank of England website, credit cards were introduced in Britain in 1966 and debit cards in 1987. The first contactless bank cards were introduced in the UK in 2007. These made card transactions even more convenient and usable for internet shopping. The number of debit card transactions overtook the number of cash transactions for the first time in 2017.[ii] In 2024, shoppers can use an ‘app’ on their mobile phone or watch to make purchases. Cash is declining in everyday financial transactions.

In 1974, there was no Sunday shopping as, apart from small corner shops or family run outlets, shops were not allowed by law to open, until the passing of the Sunday Trading Act in 1994. This allowed large stores to open for up to six hours on Sundays between the hours of 10 am to 6 pm.[iii]

The phenomenon that is McDonald’s, first opened in Woolwich, London in 1974. Cheeseburgers cost 21p and a quarter pounder with cheese was 48p. In 1974, the ‘Filet-O-Fish’ was known as a ‘McMariner’ and cost 30p.[iv] It had 17 outlets by 1978.[v] The First Manchester outlet was opened on Market Street in 1984[vi], with the first drive through in the UK opening in Fallowfield in 1986.[vii]

Shopping in Trafford 1974 and 1985

Trafford was well served by outlets for shopping in the mid-1970s. Altrincham had 640,000 square feet of floorspace, Sale had 489,000 and Stretford 416,000.[viii]

In 1974, Trafford Borough Council carried out a survey of shopping habits in the four main shopping centres. In 1985, this exercise was repeated, albeit with some additional questions, in the Trafford Town Centre Shopper which drew comparisons with the survey undertaken in 1974 and provides some data for that year.[ix] These surveys and the surveys carried out in 2007 and 2018 show how shopping patterns evolved over the first fifty years of Trafford.

 

Travel to Shops	Year	By car	By bus/rail	Walk
Altrincham	1974	45%	31%	23%
	1985	53%	27%	18%
Sale	1974	28%	25%	45%
	1985	40%	23%	33%
Stretford	1974	31%	20%	49%
	1985	45%	21%	33%
Urmston	1974	34%	17%	46%
	1985	30%	17%	46%

Table 7 Mode of transport to town centre 1974 and 1985.

Bus and rail travel stays much the same for all centres. There is a decrease in the percentage who chose to walk for all, apart from Urmston. More people used a car to shop in Altrincham than in the other three towns, with more than half its shoppers travelling by this method.

 

 

Frequency of visit per week	Year	2-3 times	Weekly	Less than weekly
Altrincham	1974	52%	28%	20%
	1985	42%	25%	33%
Sale	1974	64%	20%	10%
	1985	62%	25%	13%
Stretford	1974	59%	26%	15%
	1985	47%	31%	22%
Urmston	1974	64%	29%	7%
	1985	73%	20%	7%

Table 8 Frequency of shopping by centre 1974 and 1985.

 Table 8 demonstrates that frequency of shopping decreases in all centres, apart from Urmston, between the years, with ten percent fewer Altrincham shoppers visiting shops 2 -3 times a week.

 

Non car users	Date	Those who would shop elsewhere if they had a car available
Altrincham	1974	17%
	1985	24%
Sale	1974	39%
	1985	32%
Stretford	1974	27%
	1985	33%
Urmston	1974	23%
	1985	35%

Table 9 Non car users 1974 and 1985.

It seems that over a third of shoppers who were non car users and who normally shopped in Sale, would have travelled further afield for their shopping in 1974, if they had access to a car, but this reduced by 1985.

 

Percentage of shoppers travelling to:	Date	0 – 0.5 miles	0.5 – 1 miles	1 – 1.5 miles	1.5+ miles
Altrincham	1974	15%	17%	24%	42%
	1985	9%	18%	25%	50%
Sale	1974	27%	30%	27%	15%
	1985	27%	33%	12%	26%
Stretford	1974	34%	29%	11%	26%
	1985	26%	23%	14%	37%
Urmston	1974	38%	29%	16%	15%
	1985	28%	39%	18%	16%

Table 10 Distance travelled to shopping centre 1974 and 1985.

In 1985, seven out of ten of all shoppers listed in Table 10 lived in Trafford. Altrincham attracted shoppers from a greater distance (with 29.7% coming from as far as Macclesfield and Northwich) than the other centres, which predominantly attracted local shoppers. Urmston did not expand its catchment as the other centres did - most of its shoppers live within one and a half miles of the town.

 

Importance of centre for weekly food shopping	Date	% Share of weekly food shoppers
Altrincham	1974	59%
	1985	46%
Sale	1974	78%
	1985	89%
Stretford	1974	77%
	1985	78%
Urmston	1974	79%
	1985	77%

Table 11 Importance of centre for weekly food shopping 1974 and 1985.

Altrincham declined sharply between 1974 and 1985. Sale was the most important centre for food shopping in 1985, probably because of the large Tesco store in the town. This was followed by Stretford and Urmston who remain much the same in both years.[x]

 

2007 and 2018 Surveys

A similar survey with questions in a different format from the previous two surveys was conducted in 2007 and repeated in 2018. Over the period between the two surveys, the main reason for visiting towns to do shopping, had reduced in importance in all towns apart from Stretford, where shopping remained at the same level:

Centre	Year	1st	2nd	3rd	4th
Altrincham	2007	Shopping (61.6%)	Using financial services and Work in/near to town centre. (7.4%)	-	Social/leisure reasons. (6.4%)
	2018	Shopping (52.7%)	Social/leisure reasons. (11.3%)	To use services (e.g. bank, post office and so on). (9.0%)	Work in or near town centre. (6.7%)
Sale	2007	Shopping (88.0%)	Social/leisure reasons. (4.0%)	Other (2.7%)	Using financial services and Visiting Council offices and Going for a walk. (1.3%)
	2018	Shopping (61.8%)	Social/leisure reasons. (8.8%)	Work in/near to town centre. (7.8%)	Using financial services. (6.9%)
Stretford	2007	Shopping (70.7%)	Social/leisure reasons. (9.3%)	Work in/near to town centre. (5.3%)	Using financial services and hairdressers & opticians and Other. (2.7%)
	2018	Shopping (70.0%)	Work in/near to town centre and social/leisure reasons. (both 6.0%)	-	Using financial services and library. (3.0%)
Urmston	2007	Shopping (70.7%)	Using financial services. (9.8%)	Work in/ near to town centre. (7.3%)	Social/leisure reasons and Other and Don't know. (all 2.4%)
	2018	Shopping (55.7%)	Work in/near to town centre. (9.3%)	Visiting Council offices/job centre. (7.2%)	Hairdressers/Beauty Salons. (5.2%)

Table 12 Main purposes of visits to town centres 2007 and 2018

 

Importance of Food Shopping

Centre	% of people intending to buy food and Groceries 2007	% of people intending to buy food and Groceries 2018
Altrincham	39.0%	55.3%
Sale	73.2%	77.3%
Stretford	66.1%	81.1%
Urmston	85.5%	76.1%

Table 13 Food Shopping

Altrincham was not a major food buying destination in 2007, but this had changed by 2018.

 

Most Popular Mode of Travel to Centres 

Centre	Year	1st	2nd	3rd	4th
Altrincham	2007	Car/van (as driver) (37.9%)	Bus (21.7%)	On foot (20.2%)	Car/van (as passenger) and Tram (7.9%)
	2018	Car/van (as driver) (36.0%)	On foot (19.3%)	Bus and Tram (14.0%)	-
Sale	2007	Car/van (as driver) (33.3%)	Bus (30.7%)	On foot (20.0%)	Car/van (as passenger) (9.3%)
	2018	Car/van (as driver) (30.4%)	On foot (23.5%)	Bus (22.5%)	Car/van (as passenger) (11.8%)
Stretford	2007	Car/van (as driver) (33.3%)	On foot (29.3%)	Bus (17.3%)	Car/van (as passenger) (14.7%)
	2018	On foot (37.0%)	Car/van (as driver) (29.0%)	Bus (21.0%)	Car/van (as passenger) (5.0%)
Urmston	2007	Car/van (as driver) (45.1%)	On foot (32.9%)	Bus (11.0%)	Car/van (as passenger) (7.3%)
	2018	Car/van (as driver) (46.4%)	On foot (36.1%)	Car/van (as passenger) (8.2%)	Bus (7.2%)

Table 14 Travel to Shopping Centres 2007 and 2018

 

Food Prices Comparison 1974 and 2024

A selection of special offers at Tesco, George Street, Altrincham,[xi] with modern equivalents from Tesco’s on-line shopping website.[xii]

Item	1974 Price	Grams	2024 Price	Grams
Quick Brew Loose Tea	16 ½p	227	£1.50	250
Crosse and Blackwell Baked Beans	10p	439	Heinz £1.40	415
Peak Frean Family Assorted Biscuits	17 ½p	453.6	Tesco £2.60	400
Roasting Chicken	19p	453.6	Tesco £3.42	1000
Pedigree Chum	11 ½p	Large
Dairylea Cheese Portions	9 ½p	100	£1.75	125
Heinz Tinned Spaghetti	7 ½ p	439.4	1.25	400
Heinz Salad Cream	22 ½ p	567	£3.90	605
Branston Pickle	16 ½p	453.6	£2.10	360
Golden Wonder Peanuts	8 ½p	Unknown	£3.00	250
Colgate Dental Cream	10p	Large	£4.00	125
Fairy Liquid	20p	Giant Size	£3.00	1015 ml
Fiesta Kitchen Towels	22p	Twin Pack	£2.50	Tesco’s own brand twin pack
Jacop’s Cream Crackers	6 ½p	Packet	£1.70	300 gram packet
Bacardi	£3. 10p	70 cl bottle	£17.75	70 cl
Martini Dry	99p	Bottle	£11.75	75cl
Coca cola	6 ½p	Can	65p	150 ml

Table 15 Food Price Comparison 1974 and 2024

In 1970 only 3% of homes had a freezer. This had risen to 23% by 1975, a year in which food prices rose by 26% owing to the oil crisis.[xiii]

 

The Retail Sector in 2024

Current trends

The retail sector is described in a parliamentary briefing document produced in 2024 as ‘going through a prolonged period of upheaval’ since the financial crash of 2008.[xiv] Sales fell rapidly because of the Covid pandemic, when shops selling non-essential goods were closed. Clothing stores were the worst affected. The internet took over this void but has dropped back somewhat since restrictions have been removed.

However, the UK has a continued popularity of internet-based shopping over ‘bricks and mortar’ retailers and does more business by this means than the US and Europe.  A 2023 report published by the Centre for Cities, argues that the growth of on-line retailing is not necessarily correlated with the declining fortunes of the high street and physical shops, but is more closely related to local factors, such as levels of disposable income and the strength of the local labour market.

In 2023, retail accounted for 4.9% of the UK’s economic output. It employed some 2.7 million people in 2022, a fall of 5% compared to the previous year. Earnings have generally not kept up with inflation of over the last decade and disposable income has reduced and fallen by 3.0% between 2021 and 2022.

The economic uncertainty that followed the UK departure for the EU, has contributed towards flat growth. The increased costs associated with importing and distributing food, now that the UK is no longer regulated by the EU single market, have pushed prices up. However, by April 2024, food price inflation has begun to slow down.[xv]

Another factor affecting this sector is the phenomenon of failing retailers such as Wilco, Debenhams, The Body Shop and the House of Fraser. Companies who have struggled with a reduction in profitability, perhaps as the result of rapid expansion in the 2000s, have rationalised the number of stores they have, and well-known names such as Marks & Spencer has withdrawn its presence from many smaller town centres. Retail parks have generally been more resilient than town centres.

Banks have largely withdrawn from our town centres and many other businesses such as estate agents have moved to a mainly on-line business model. This is clearly illustrated in Trafford.

In 1975 there were sixty-seven branches of banks listed in the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford Official Guide and Industrial Handbook.[xvi] Barclays had fifteen branches spread throughout the borough, Lloyds had five, the Manchester and Salford Trustee Savings bank had twelve, the Midland had eleven, the National Westminster Bank had twenty and Williams and Glyn’s had four.

In 2024, there are ten branches. Barclays has one branch, Lloyds has two, HSBC, incorporating the former Midland Bank has a digital service, the National Westminster has two and the Royal Bank of Scotland has four, one of which is not open every day. Almost all the branches listed are in Sale or Altrincham. Stretford does not have a bank and Urmston has one.

Consumers are changing their food shopping habits. Click and collect has grown. Fewer people do a once-a-week big shop as they prefer to use local convenience stores and many more live in towns than in 1974, rather than in the suburbs. Growing entrepreneurship from the availability of small units on the high street at cheap rents, may also have contributed towards this change of habit.

There has been a massive increase in the number of supermarkets which have gained a substantial monopoly. This has removed most of the independent butchers, grocers, greengrocers, cheesemongers, and fishmongers from our towns. Most supermarkets have taken on a wider offering of small electrical goods, toys, kitchen items, stationery, and clothing.

The rise of the so-called discounters, ALDI and LIDL, that are family-owned companies, without shareholders to satisfy, and who sell a narrower range of goods than the big four, has attacked the monopoly of Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda and Morrisons, which are moving towards the middle ground in an attempt to compete on price.

The major supermarkets have not just concentrated on large superstores. Most have their own branded convenience stores like Tesco Extra and Sainsbury’s Local. Many of them have also acquired the smaller chains of these stores. The Co-operative own NISA stores and supplies the Irish-owned Costcutter chain; Tesco own Londis, Premier and One Stop and Spar is still an independent chain.

The description of the individual towns below, will give some indication about how few supermarkets there were in 1974, almost all of which would be considerably smaller than those which exist today.

In 2024. All of the big four are well represented in Trafford apart from Morrisons. Sainsbury’s has three stores in Altrincham, Sale and Urmston. Tesco also has three in Altrincham, Sale and Old Trafford. Asda has two, one at Broadheath and one at Trafford Park, and is soon destined to have a third as it is taking over the Booth’s shop in Hale Barns. Waitrose has a single shop in Broadheath.

The discounters ALDI and LIDL are well represented, with ALDI having stores at Broadheath, Sale, Stretford Mall, Urmston, Trafford Retail Park, and White City, Old Trafford. Lidl has shops at Broadheath and White City, Old Trafford.

Marks and Spencer’s have Food halls at Hale, Sale, White City, Old Trafford and large clothing and food stores at Altrincham and the Trafford Centre. The Co-operative is also well represented with medium-sized shops at Bowdon Vale, Timperley, Sale, Stretford, Ashton on Mersey and Urmston.

Iceland which concentrates on frozen goods have branches at Timperley, Trafford Retail Park, Old Trafford and White City and own the Food Warehouse shops at Trafford Retail Park and White City, Old Trafford.

As well as independent food retailers, a number of types of shop that were common in 1974 are now rare to find in our towns. There are no longer dedicated post offices in all our towns, nor shops that sell music, second-hand book shops, off-licences, department stores, TV rental shops, hardware stores and ironmongers to name but few.

A feature in the Altrincham Guardian in June 1974 on DIY, had advertisements for Cowsill’s DIY Store on Lloyd Street, Altrincham, Sale DIY on Washway Road/Ashton Road, Sale and Kelwall DIY, Northenden Road, Sale Moor.[xvii] Many will recall with sadness the demise of Jack’s in Sale, which closed in March 2017,[xviii] Rook’s in Timperley and Weetman’s in Hale which closed in 2004. [xix]

These were closed because of the development of large warehouse type premises such as B & Q, which now has only one site left in Trafford in Trafford Park, and Homebase with a single store in Altrincham Retail Park.

In 2024, these independent shops have been replaced by coffee shops, charity shops, mobile phone shops, vaping shops, fancy good/gifts shops, betting shops, nail bars, hairdressers, barbers, beauty salons and gyms.

Article researched and written by Trafford Local Studies volunteer Richard Nelson.

Sources

[i] Barcoding.co.uk [Accessed 12 Mar 2024].

[ii] https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/museum/whats-on/2019/325-years-exhibition/payments-through-time. [Accessed 6 Apr 2024].

[iii] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunday_shopping#England_and_Wales [Accessed 6 Apr 2024].

[iv] https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/food/article-3083473/The-price-Britain-s-McDonald-s-opened-1974.html [Accessed 20 Mar 2024].

[v] https://letslookagain.com/2015/05/a-history-of-mcdonalds-in-the-uk/) [Accessed 20 Mar 2024].

[vi] www.manchester-forum.co.uk [Accessed 20 Mar 2024].

[vii] Manchester Evening News on-line, 3 Jul 2023, https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/nostalgia/manchester-mcdonalds-drive-thru-restaurant-27232325) [Accessed 20 Mar 2024].

[viii] Clark, David, M, ‘Greater Manchester Votes: a guide to the new metropolitan authorities’, Redrose, Mar 1973. Trafford Local Studies, 96698098.

[ix] Trafford MBC, Town Centre Shoppers Questionnaire 1986, Altrincham Shopping, 1897-1986, Trafford Local Studies, 95214585.

[x] ‘Trafford Shopping Study Main Report, September 1986’, Bernard Thorpe & Partners for Trafford M.B.C., Sep 1986, Trafford Local Studies, TRA/4/3/2/2.

[xi] Compiled from advertisements in the Altrincham Guardian, 20 Jun 1974, p.7. and 4 Jul 1974, p.7. Modern equivalents from Tesco On-Line Shopping, https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/ [Accessed Mar./April 2024].

[xii] https://www.tesco.com/ [Accessed 30 Mar 2024].

[xiii] https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5a7f79a1e5274a2e8ab4c678/FF75Timeline-09mar17.pdf Produced by the Food and Trade Statistics Team: familyfood@defra.gsi.gov.uk [Accessed 12 Apr 2024] and www.gov.uk/government/collections/family-food-statistics [Accessed 20 Mar 2024].

[xiv] https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/SN06186/SN06186.pdf dated 22 Mar 2024 [Accessed 24 Mar 2024].

[xv] https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/SN06186/SN06186.pdf dated 22 Mar 29024 [Accessed 24 Mar 2024].

[xvi] Trafford MBC, Metropolitan Borough of Trafford Official Guide and Industrial Handbook 1975, Trafford Local Studies, 526432.

[xvii] Altrincham Guardian 13 June 1974, pp. 13 – 15.

[xviii] Manchester Evening News, 17 Mar 2017 on-line version [Accessed 17 Mar 2024].

[xix] Manchester Evening News, 9 Aug 2004 on-line version [Accessed 17 Mar 2024].