How Glasgow high streets have changed since the pandemic: All the differences in retail and hospitality since 2020 on local high streets

Glasgow has always been a rapidly evolving city - adapting quickly to changes in industry, hospitality and culture - but how did two years of Covid-19 lockdowns affect Glasgow’s high streets?

The pandemic shut down most in-person shops, venues, restaurants and just about anything else on the high street - leading to a devastating effect on local businesses across the world, despite support from the government.

Using data from the British Ordnance Survey, data journalists at the BBC made a ‘postcode checker’ for the UK - so anyone is able to check how Britain’s high streets have changed since 2020.

The resource focuses on retail and hospitality businesses to track how main thoroughfares across the nation were affected by the pandemic. The postcode checker tracks the rise and fall of:

Overall, there were 9,300 fewer retail outlets in the UK in March 2022 than March 2020, as shoppers switched from brick & mortar to online stores.

We used the postcode checker to track how high streets across North, South, East, and West Glasgow to see how the high streets have grown or shrank since 2020. Here’s what we found:

How has the pandemic affected high streets in the Southside of Glasgow?

The Southside has saw a massive new amount of cafes - the biggest increase out of any high street industry in this article. It also saw a sizeable increase in the amount of clothes shop - in fact, the only high street shop there is less of in the South Side now is beauty services.

The streets tracked in the Ordnance Survey in the South Side of Glasgow through the BBC postcode checker are:

How has eating & drinking hospitaliity been affected by the pandemic in the Southside of Glasgow?

In March 2020, there were 152 eating and drinking businesses. There were 29 more in March 2022 - an increase of 19%.

Cafes: 36% increase

Fast food: 18% increase

Restaurants: 12% increase

How has retail in the Southside of Glasgow been affected by the pandemic?

In March 2020, there were 256 retail shops. There were 19 more in March 2022 - an increase of 7%.

Beauty services: 3% decrease

Clothes shops: 24% increase

Pubs and bars: 4% increase

How have high streets in the West End of Glasgow been affected by the pandemic?

The West End has probably saw the most change out of any of the Glasgow districts even before the pandemic - with the gentrification of places like Finnieston, as new generations of students and graduates filter through the West End high streets. Pubs and clothes shops saw a pretty even decrease, while there has been a sharp spike in the number of cafes in the West End.

The streets tracked in the Ordnance Survey in the West End of Glasgow through the BBC postcode checker are:

How has eating & drinking hospitality been affected by the pandemic in the West End of Glasgow?

In March 2020, there were 315 eating and drinking businesses. There were 13 more in March 2022 - an increase of 4%

Cafes: 17% increase

Fast food: 10% increase

Restaurants: 4% decrease

How has retail in the West End of Glasgow been affected by the pandemic?

In March 2020 there were 259 retail shops. There were 10 fewer in March 2022 - a decrease of 4%.

Beauty services: 2% decrease

Clothes shops: 7% decrease

Pubs and bars: 7% decrease

How has the pandemic changed the high streets in the East End of Glasgow?

The east end of Glasgow saw a pretty big bump in the number of cafes since the pandemic - with no decreases across the high street, but the number of clothes shops and pubs have stayed at the same level since 2020, according to the Ordnance Survey.

The streets tracked in the Ordnance Survey in the East End of Glasgow through the BBC postcode checker are:

How has eating & drinking hospitality been affected by the pandemic in the East End of Glasgow?

In March 2020, there were 111 eating and drinking businesses. There were 9 more in March 2022 - an increase of 8%.

Fast food: 4% increase

Restaurants: 14% increase

Cafes: 24% increase

How has retail in the East End of Glasgow been affected by the pandemic?

In March 2020, there were 186 retail shops. There were 5 more in March 2022 - an increase of 3%.

Beauty services: 2% increase

Clothes shops: no change

Pubs and bars: no change

How have high streets in North Glasgow been affected by the pandemic?

North Glasgow saw little change in retail - but the hospitality sector was greatly affected - with less cafes, but far more fast food restaurants - and surprisingly, a pretty bump in the number of pubs in high streets across North Glasgow.

The streets tracked in the Ordnance Survey in North Glasgow through the BBC postcode checker are:

How has eating and drinking hospitality been affected by the pandemic in North Glasgow?

In March 2020, there were 96 eating and drinking businesses. There were 13 more in March 2022 - an increase of 14%.

Cafes: 6% decrease

Fast food: 19% increase

Restaurants: no change

How has retail been affected by the pandemic in North Glasgow?

In March 2020, there were 115 retail shops. There were 5 more in March 2022 - an increase of 4%.

Beauty services: 3% increase

Clothes shops: no change

Pubs and bars: 23% increase

How has Glasgow changed since the pandemic?

Across Glasgow City as a whole, 9.3% of banks have shut since 2020 compared to the Scottish average of 5.8% and the British average of an 8.1% decrease.

There’s also 4% more fish and chip shops across Glasgow - compared to the 6.2% rise in chippies across Scotland and the 2.6% increase in Great Britain.

In Glasgow 6% more beauty services opened in the city, while beauticians rised by 9% in Scotland as a whole. Beauty Services in the UK increased by 2.6%.

In Glasgow, supermarket chains increased by 2.8% - exactly the same as the rise in Scotland as a whole, and 0.3% more than the rise in Great Britain of 2.5%.