Retail centres
A general definition of retailing is the sale of goods or commodities in small quantities directly to consumers, as opposed to wholesaler or supplier who usually sells to another business.
This article summarises Lancashire’s major shopping locations, the growth of alternative retail sites such as transport hubs and charity shops, and initiatives and funding programmes that support local economic development and high street regeneration. This article is not an exhaustive list of retail locations in Lancashire. Sources of further data and information on retail activity, market trends and local retail performance is also included.
Evolution of retail in Lancashire
The retail landscape of the county is constantly changing. Businesses both large and small, new and well-established come and go, whilst various shopping locations undergo expansion or redevelopment. There are challenges of competition both within Lancashire and from outside the county, plus the added factor of online shopping that takes an important share of the market.
There was a time when the shopping experience belonged exclusively on the high street, but now there are no boundaries. The growth of online shopping has transformed the retail industry. Cities, towns, villages, shopping centres, retail parks, transport hubs, farm shops/rural visitor locations and leisure parks all compete for their share of consumer spend with the wide range of methods of purchase now available to customers.
Major shopping locations in Lancashire
Lancashire has a wide variety of major retail locations, including shopping centres, out-of-town retail parks, outlet stores, shopping villages, and historic markets. Modern out-of-town locations, such as Deepdale Shopping Park in Preston and Affinity Outlet in Fleetwood contrast with historic retail sites, such as Ormskirk Market - one of the UK's oldest outdoor markets, and former textile mill retail sites that attract visitors from beyond the county boundary, including Pendle Village Mill and Boundary Mills - the largest mill store of its kind in the UK.
Visit Lancashire provides information about major shopping locations in Lancashire, including major shopping centres and department stores, factory outlets, and markets.
Other retail sites and shop locations in Lancashire
Transport hubs
A variety of large and small-scale transport hubs have been developed to include retail content. Major airports have invested heavily in retail space, whilst large railway stations can attract rail and non-rail users to use the shops, restaurants, cafes and bars for meetings, to purchase goods and to socialise. In Lancashire, the emphasis is on small-scale transport-related locations such as petrol stations. The Blackburn based businesses EG Group (Euro Garages) and The Kay Group own a number of sites in the Lancashire area that combine petrol forecourts with accompanying retail space that target both passing drivers and the local community. A modern petrol station forecourt is no longer just about purchasing fuel but delivering a broad retail convenience offer.
EG Group has the Rivington Motorway Services as part of its portfolio, whilst Charnock Richard, and Lancaster, northbound and southbound, are the other service stations in the county that are only accessible via the motorway network.
Locations of charity shops, betting shops and food outlets
The Charity Retail Association represents the interests of charity retailers. Charity shops can be searched by place name or postcode on their find a shop webpage. Charity shops can trade in 'bought-in' goods, but must sell mainly donated second-hand items in order to retain their "charitable purpose" status. The number of charity shops has grown over the years as charities seek to increase revenues. Nowadays, they have a permanent presence on the high-street and reduce the number of vacant premises. They also help to avoid items being discarded and sent to landfill.
Gambling premises can be found on the Gambling Commission's website. Betting shops represent the most common type of premises and the list can be sorted by local authority name to quickly view details of the individual establishments in the 14 Lancashire authorities. In 2026, there were around 228 licensed premises in the Lancashire-14 area.
The Food Standards Agency (FSA) publishes food hygiene ratings for restaurants, takeaways, food shops and others food outlets not open to the general public, such as public/private-sector establishments that serve food to their staff/clients. Hygiene ratings by local authority can be searched on the FSA website, allowing users to view the details for each of the 14 authorities in the broader Lancashire area. In March 2026, the website listed over 14,000 entries for sites in the 14-authority Lancashire area. Not all are open to the general public, but the number does emphasise their important role within today's retail landscape.
Improving the High Street
Business improvement districts in Lancashire
Business improvement districts (BIDs) are specified areas within which businesses pay an additional tax/levy in order to fund projects within the district's boundary. In Lancashire, examples of these improvement districts cover a number of the core urban centres with high concentrations of retail employment and premises. The BID index on the British BIDs website provides a searchable list of BIDs. Each BID in Lancashire has their own website, with specific content that is relevant to the local retail sector, including Blackburn with Darwen, Blackpool, Burnley, Lancaster, Pendle, Preston.
Place programmes
The Pride of Place programme, operated by Business in the Community, brings together businesses, the voluntary sector and the local council to regenerate the area and develop the local economy. In the Lancashire-14 area, this programme currently operates only in Blackpool. More information can be found on the Business in the Community website.
Future High Streets Fund
The Future High Streets Fund was launched in 2019 by the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government (MHCLG) with the aim of helping high streets to evolve and adapt and remain vibrant places for their communities. MHCLG identified areas eligible to bid to receive financial support and expert tailored advice from the High Streets Task Force (HSTF), which brought together knowledge and research to empower local communities and businesses to work with local authorities.
Accrington town centre in Hyndburn and Friargate in Preston were announced as pilot areas to receive support from the HSTF. Kirkham town centre in Fylde was successful in its bid for funding from the Future High Street Fund, receiving £6.3 million in funding.
High Streets Heritage Action Zones programme was delivered from 2020 to 2024 by Historic England, aimed at bringing underused buildings back into use in the community, was part-funded by the Future High Streets Fund. In Lancashire, high streets in Blackpool, Burnley, Rossendale, Lancaster, West Lancashire and Wyre received support from this programme.
The Future High Streets Fund itself is part of the larger Towns Fund announced in 2019. The Towns Fund aimed to improve skills, productivity, transport and broadband connectivity, provide vital social and cultural infrastructure and boost economic growth, with communities having a say on how the money is spent. In Lancashire, town centres in Blackpool, Pendle, Preston and South Ribble received funding.
Further sources of retail information
Lancashire Insight includes information on the number of employees in the wholesale, retail and motor trades sector (see the employees by industry sector article) and firms that have been established for more than 100 years, which includes a number of retailers (see the 100 year old firms article).
The British Retail Consortium (BRC) is the trade association representing the entire range of large and small retailers. A range of useful facts and figures at the national level can be found on the BRC website, whilst other more bespoke results are available to subscribing members.
The Centre for Retail Research (CRR) publishes a wide range of research and analysis. Details of the market share for online retailing in the UK, retail forecasts and lists of retailers that have experienced trading difficulties over recent years can be found on the CRR website.
British Land is one of the UK's largest owners and operators of retail parks. The retail parks and shopping centres in Lancashire can be found on the properties search on the Complete Retail website.
Revo is the professional body that supports retail-led regeneration and for the management of and investment in shopping locations. The organisation has a number of the regional groups that include the north of England. The northern group includes a number of the shopping locations in Lancashire. More information can be found on the Revo website.
The association of town and city management (ATCM) is one of the largest not-for-profit membership organisations across the UK dedicated to helping town and city centres to be prosperous locations for business and investment, and as focal points for vibrant, inclusive communities. More information can be found on the ATCM website.
The Association of Convenience Stores (ASC) publishes an annual Local Shop Report that tracks the key confidence indicators in the sector based on a survey of a substantial number of independent convenience store retailers. The report can be downloaded from the ASC website.
The Retail Bulletin website is aimed at meeting retailers' need for quick, accurate and up-to-date news about the fast moving retail sector. Colliers International and Sensormatic provide retail estate and market insights.
Page updated 17 March 2026