Since the 1990s the UK’s city centre high streets have been losing market share to out-of-town shopping and e-retailing. The shocks of the Global Financial Crisis and COVID-19 have hastened this and precipitated widespread store closures. The experience economy is increasingly promoted as a means to avert the ‘death of the high street’, and this prompts our study of its evolution. An exploration of the literature reveals the experience economy to be an interconnected phenomenon focused on the creation of a memorable event that elicits a sensory response via multi-dimensional innovation and design. Using this to guide our empirical work, we undertake a comparative mixed method longitudinal case study of five UK city centres. We initially chart the changing manifestations of experience uses before analysing supporting interviews and observations that reveal three interconnected layers of the experience economy: in-store commercial experiences; leisure and entertainment-orientated adaptations to shopping centres and department stores; and the wider regeneration of the public realm. Implications for city centre management are discussed.
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