Understanding and Enhancing the Community Value of Traditional Retail Markets in UK Cities, 2018-2020

This dataset has been supplied by the project ‘Understanding and Enhancing the Community Value of Traditional Retail Markets in UK cities’ (Project Reference: ES/P010547/1) conducted by the University of Leeds, the Open University, the National Market Traders Federation, and the New Economics Foundation. The dataset contains interview transcripts, workshop notes, and focus group transcripts that are applicable for qualitative analysis, and survey data that is applicable for statistical analysis. The qualitative dataset includes transcripts of interviews, workshops, and focus groups about the community value of Traditional Retail Markets (TRM); the context and particularities of Bury Market, Grainger Market, and Queen’s Market; and the market users’ everyday life experiences of these three markets. The quantitative dataset includes the responses of Bury Market, Grainger Market, and Queen’s Market users regarding the economic, social, and cultural value of these markets from a user perspective. Supporting documentation for the qualitative data includes a Data listing, Information sheets, Consent forms, and Topic guides (Full list in ReadMe file). Supporting documentation for the quantitative data includes Recruitment leaflets, Information sheets, Questionnaires, and Variables description (Full list in ReadMe file). More information about the project can be found at https://trmcommunityvalue.leeds.ac.uk/.

Traditional Retail Markets (TRM) have played a significant role in UK’s towns and cities for centuries but their central community role is threatened by radical changes in retail trends, public sector cuts and, more recently, the increased pressures created by the COVID-19 crisis. Our study provides a new way to understand the community value which traditional markets offer, which we have defined as constituted by three interconnected dimensions: 1. Economic: TRMs as places that provide affordable food, products and services as well as create opportunities for low-cost business start-ups. 2. Social: TRMs as platforms for social mobility and the development of community ties and trust leading to better social inclusion. 3. Cultural: TRMs as spaces for experiencing a diversity of cultures and ethnicities and provide a sense of place for migrants, ethnic minorities and generally vulnerable citizens. Between February 2018 and September 2021, this project has collected and analysed qualitative and quantitative data to propose a new understanding of the community value that markets can bring about. In addition to reviewing industry, academic, community, media and policy publications to understand the current national and international public discourse around traditional markets, we developed a mixed methods, collaborative and action-oriented research approach. We interviewed over 50 experts and ran workshops with policymakers, market traders, market operators and managers, and representatives from charity organisations and community groups. In order to gain an in-depth understanding of market users’ experiences, we surveyed 1500 market users and run 6 focus groups in three case-study markets: Bury Market, Grainger Market, and Queen's Market. To extend the potential of this study and have a real societal impact, we have co-produced our research with non-academic partners from the TRM sector (National Market Traders Federation, NMTF) and experts in community economics (New Economics Foundation, NEF). In this way, we have developed usable outputs and tools to support the work of all the groups we have worked with.

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