Cathy Hart

Following an invited presentation at the Thought Leadership event hosted by LDC (The Local Data Company) and CDRC (The Consumer Data Research Centre) at the University of Oxford, the Town Centres Research Interest Group led by Cathy Hart was shortlisted for a Loughborough University 2015 Enterprise Awards.

The current project (fully funded by the Enterprise Project Group) nominated for the award includes the implementation of the most up-to-date research findings on the town centre customer experience in a mobile app. The app (developed in collaboration with Indestinate) is aimed at tracking in real time the consumer perceptions, feelings and behaviours in the context of the town centre. As such, it will provide an easy-to-use vital ‘tool’ relevant to all town centre stakeholders, including town centre managers, retailers and investors.

The preliminary results of the project will be presented at a launch event host by Loughborough University on the 18^th of June 2015. The event will bring together practitioners, academics and stakeholders interested in discussing the importance of using the ‘consumer lens’ to drive the recovery of the street.