Feature: Guildford Town Centre Shops Adapt as Cafés Boom and Vacancies Fall

Published on: 18 Mar, 2026
Updated on: 19 Mar, 2026

By Hugh Coakley

Guildford town centre continues to change as evolving shopping habits reshape the mix of businesses along its historic streets.

Guildford High Street: “Trading can be tough but Guildford is an attractive place to bring a business,” says one expert

There are nearly as many cafés as clothes shops, and there are more men’s barbers than women’s hairdressers. Vape shops, fast-food takeaways, technology retailers and phone repair outlets sit alongside fashion stores and jewellers.

Despite these changes, the overall picture remains relatively positive.

A survey by The Guildford Dragon NEWS of 482 shops across the town centre last month (February) suggests the number of empty premises has fallen since before the Covid pandemic. In 2019 there were 47 vacant units, 10 per cent of the total. Today that figure stands at 32, roughly seven per cent.

Summary of Guildford town centre shops.

While footfall has not fully returned to pre-pandemic levels, the rapid growth of online retail appears to have stabilised. Figures from the Office for National Statistics show internet sales account for between 25 and 30 per cent of total retail spending nationally, a figure that has remained broadly steady for several years.

Amanda Masters

Amanda Masters, CEO of Experience Guildford, said that 84 per cent of retailers reported trading in line with, or up on Christmas 2024, and 50 per cent of hospitality businesses had a better last quarter of 2025 than in 2024 [from an EG survey in 2026]. She said: “Footfall in Q4 was + 6.3 pr cent whereas the UK footfall was -1.6 per cent year-on-year (MRI Springboard).

“Guildford has evolved and comparing the situation with that of seven years ago (pre-COVID) does not perhaps tell the whole story. Trading can still be tough but Guildford is an attractive place to bring a business, particularly with the residential unit increases yet to come.”

Guildford town centre footfall. Image provided by Experience Guildford.

Clothing shops, once seen as particularly vulnerable to online competition, remain a major part of Guildford’s retail mix. They make up about 23 per cent of town centre businesses, a proportion that has changed little in recent years.

Food and drink outlets, however, are becoming increasingly prominent. Busy cafés and restaurants suggest Guildford remains a popular destination for socialising and leisure.

Six supermarkets now operate in the town centre, Waitrose, Co-op, Sainsbury’s, Marks & Spencer, Oseyo and Poundland, alongside specialist outlets including health food shops, a chocolate store, bakery, doughnut shop, off-licence, Polish deli and sweet shop.

Office for National Statistics (ONS) quarterly data shows internet sales as a percentage of total retail sales looking more stable over the last five years.

Guildford also retains a strong financial presence. Six mainstream banks still operate in the town centre, along with building societies.

Services are increasingly filling high street premises once dominated by traditional retailers. Dentists, hearing aid specialists, a chiropodist, a chiropractor, GP services, counselling practices and an osteopath are all now based in the town centre.

One of only two empty shops in Guildford High Street after Waterstones vacated it and moved back across the road to premises they had previously occupied.

At the more upmarket end, jewellery stores and boutique fashion shops continue to trade, although some retailers report changing customer patterns. One said individual sales values had increased but the number of purchases had fallen.

“Younger shoppers just don’t seem to have the money,” he said. “Most of our customers now are older and have more disposable income.”

Ben Darnton

Ben Darnton, owner of Ben’s Collectors Records in Tunsgate, remains optimistic about the future, saying the redevelopment of North Street and the former Debenhams site could bring significant new footfall. “It will be great,” he said.

Some residents still miss the town’s former department stores, including Debenhams and House of Fraser, which once drew shoppers into Guildford.

Even so, the High Street’s mix of cafés, services, banks and retailers suggests the town centre is continuing to adapt rather than decline.