CITY shoppers are being put off by tartan tat shops and
“charity muggers’, a survey has revealed.
More than half of the 1500 people interviewed by researchers in Edinburgh said the so called
“chuggers’ detracted from the experience of shopping in the city centre.
So despised are the charity collectors that they were placed above beggars, which 46% of respondents did not like.
Sixty per cent of shoppers hated the souvenir shops aimed at tourists and said they would prefer to see affordable fashion stores and department stores on the high street.Edinburgh City centre councillor Joanna Mowat said: “It is quite interesting that the findings of surveys like this are pretty consistent in that people do not like Scottish memorabilia shops and do not like ‘chuggers’.
“I know that the council has tried to do some regulation of charity collectors, but what we really need is someone to manage Princes Street and really get on top of this.
The survey also revealed that people still prefer to shop in the city centre than out-of-town shopping centres.
Denzil Skinner, chairman of Essential Edinburgh, said: “Detailed feedback from shoppers is always valuable and should help shape any strategic approach to expanding the city centre’s retail offering.”
Industry body the Public Fundraising Regulatory Association is in the final stages of discussions with Essential Edinburgh on a voluntary code of conduct for charity collectors, which includes them only working in designated areas and also telling people they are being paid.
