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High Streets Data Service and Partnership

The High Streets Data Service (HSDS) is a collaborative data-sharing partnership between the Greater London Authority (GLA), London boroughs, and Business Improvement Districts (BIDs), established in 2021 to support high streets in their pandemic recovery.

HSDS provides its members with access to high-quality data, analytical tools, and reports on spending, footfall, and vacancy, enabling better policy, strategy, and investment decisions for London’s 600+ high streets and 200+ town centres. 

Read more about what our membership includes here.

What Problem Does It Solve?

London is a city of interconnected local towns with high streets at their core, but these areas have faced growing challenges—declining footfall, shop closures, and shifting social habits—exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Without a centralised, affordable source of data, local authorities and BIDs couldn’t gain a comprehensive view of their high streets or act confidently on insights. 

According to Zan Haq from WeAreWaterloo BID, “In the past, we had no tangible way to justify the costs [of projects] to the borough council, our executive board, even some of our businesses. The main question asked is, ‘What is the benefit of going to all this trouble?’” 

HSDS was created to address three key challenges: 

  • The cost problem: “Big data” from commercial providers is expensive. HSDS provides affordable access to high-quality, procured data by pooling resources from our 35+ members, meaning everyone benefits from lower costs.
  • The consistency problem: Previously, data across high streets was often intermittent, project-specific, or delayed, reducing its utility. HSDS delivers reliable, timely data to support ongoing decisions.
  • The coordination problem: Without a unified approach, using data in high street projects was challenging. HSDS offers a shared research agenda, collaborative governance, and standardised insights, creating a common language for evaluating high street performance.

Our Impact

HSDS is pioneering a new model of public-private data collaboration. By combining anonymised big data from private partners like BT, Mastercard, and commercial real estate firms, HSDS unlocks smart data from leaders in the digital economy for local governments and BIDs.

With 35 subscribers and growing, HSDS is establishing itself as a uniquely pan-London, shared evidence base. Currently, 18 London boroughs and 17 BIDs subscribe to the service, each saving up to £20,000 annually on data costs through the collective purchasing model. 

Hundreds of officers across London have used the data to: 

  • Set strategic baselines: Identifying local patterns and comparing to borough and citywide benchmarks as evidence base for initiatives like night-time strategies or local plans
  • Conduct health checks: Using data to guide discussions, clarify myths, and build consensus with stakeholders on local performance and challenges
  • Prepare projects: Developing business cases and de-risking investments
  • Evaluate impact: Assessing the effectiveness of interventions to scale successful initiatives

Londoners are seeing the results at the local level. WeAreWaterloo BID used HSDS data to forecast that reopening Lower Marsh Market on Saturdays would increase local spending. Their successful pitch to Lambeth Council has now brought Saturday trading back to the market. Night-Time Enterprise Zones in areas like Woolwich, Vauxhall, and Bromley used HSDS insights to identify the potential to double footfall post-6pm, leading to permanent upgrades such as new street lighting. 

As a London-wide resource, HSDS data also supports city-scale policy. Key insights include: 

  • “Friday Effect”: Friday office attendance was 15% lower than midweek in February 2020, dropping to 35% lower by February 2024, highlighting evolving work patterns
  • Inner London saw a 94% rise in online sales since COVID, emphasising challenges for traditional retailers and prompting adaptive regeneration strategies (Mastercard SpendingPulse)
  • Spending in London’s 20 largest town centres dropped by 8% since 2019, suggesting a shift to more local, dispersed retail and leisure spending (London Councils). 
  • London at Night: One in every four pounds is spent at night. While Friday night spending peaks across London, Thursday sees the highest spend in the Central Activities Zone (GLA Economics). 

Read more about our London-wide analysis projects here.