High streets across the UK have weathered years of disruption - from economic uncertainty and declining investment - to the rapid rise of online retail. For many independent businesses and local authorities, adapting to this shift has often meant relying on instinct to guide their strategies, rather than evidence.
In Wales, a recent survey revealed that small business owners frequently had to guess their peak trading times or customer demographics. When storm damage closed Holyhead Port in late 2023, businesses reported significant losses but lacked the data needed to demonstrate the true scale of economic impact. And in Swansea, the Business Improvement District (BID) team struggled to plan security and transport during peak nightlife hours without reliable insight into visitor flows. Across all these examples, stakeholders understood what was happening on their streets - but not how much, when, or by whom.
A Smarter Approach to Revitalising High Streets
Through its Trefi SMART Cymru programme, social enterprise Menter Môn set out to change this. With a mission to help towns, businesses and decision‑makers revitalise their high streets, they partnered with BT Active Intelligence - BT’s data analytics service that uses granular, anonymised and aggregated mobile network data to reveal real‑world population movement.
Menter Môn secured a license for the platform to support businesses across Wales and acted as a data interpreter for local stakeholders. Through this partnership, Menter Môn provided towns with access to:
- Footfall Data: Identifying seasonal trends, peak days, and dwell times.
- Customer Insights: Breaking down visitor demographics
- Catchment Insights: Mapping exactly where visitors were travelling from - to visit town centres.
The result? The data and insights equipped Welsh towns to make smarter, faster and more confident decisions - driving growth, quantifying economic impact and improving public safety.
Helping independent businesses grow - Wrexham
Henry’s Barbers, a long‑standing business in Wrexham, wanted to modernise but lacked clarity on customer behaviour. With BT Active Intelligence they discovered strong demand between 5pm and 7pm on weekdays, prompting a rethink of opening hours. Furthermore, the demographic data highlighted that men aged 25-34 and 65+ were heavily represented on the high street but under-targeted by their marketing, prompting a new strategy. “For the first time, I can confidently base decisions on real insights rather than relying on a hunch. I now know exactly which days and times work best for my business. I’m genuinely excited to create targeted marketing that reaches the right customers at the right time." said owner Saira Griffiths‑Hughes.
Quantifying Economic Impact (Holyhead)
When Storm Darragh closed Holyhead Port for several weeks in 2025, local businesses felt the impact immediately. While anecdotal reports suggested a downturn, they lacked the evidence needed to secure support. BT Active Intelligence provided the evidence – showing that town centre footfall dropped by nearly 40% during the closure period - visits to the beach area (home to many hotels and guest houses) dropped by 60% – and while the Retail Park also saw a decline, the gap between the high street and out-of-town retail widened significantly. For businesses like The Boathouse Hotel, which reported losses of nearly £20,000, this data has been vital in advocating for recovery measures.
Improving Public Safety (Swansea)
Swansea BID used the insights to prepare for the busy Halloween weekend. By analysing historical data from October 2024, they identified peak activity on key streets from 2pm on Saturday through to 3am on Sunday and clear patterns showing where visitors were travelling from. This enabled more efficient planning of taxi services, night marshals and crowd management. "This intelligence enabled the tactical deployment of taxi and night marshals with confidence” stated Andrew Douglas, Swansea BID Manager.
A Data‑Led Future for Welsh Towns
The partnership between Menter Môn and BT Active Intelligence has reshaped how Welsh towns operate - replacing intuition with evidence and enabling smarter decisions at every level.
As Trefi SMART Cymru continues to expand, the focus is on recovery, resilience and long‑term planning. Whether it’s developing new placemaking strategies for Holyhead or helping independent retailers attract new customers, data is now the foundation for revitalising Welsh high streets.
