Once the heart of each town and city, New Zealand’s high streets have had to overcome many challenges over the years, including the advent of big malls, the rise in online shopping and in working from home, cost of living and inflation. Around the country, Herald reporters set out to find what has changed in the country’s main arteries, and how retailers are adapting. Balclutha’s main drag, Clyde St, hums with the thoroughfare of State Highway 1.
Like many small South Island towns, cafes, retail stores, churches, grocers, and hair salons line the street, intermittently neighboured by empty buildings either for sale or for lease. Stepping away from the State Highway, the side streets are quieter, and real estate signs are a common fixture. At the corners of Clyde and John Sts, at the centre of the main strip, is a large white building, empty save for old desks and other discarded items.
The building used to be a BNZ that closed mid-2021. A passing pedestrian says it’s a shame such a lovely building is still empty. Residents and workers of Balclutha largely agree that things are quieter in the South Otago town, but people remain positive.
A retail worker, who did not want to be named, said they had a single customer in the first three days of the week, and sales were slow. Face, Body and Beauty clinic owner Annalise Mitchell said she and other retailers had had to get creative to not only retain clients but reach new ones in the current climate. “Depending on the indu.