22/10/2026
Maybe I've not had enough coffee this morning, but I've been thinking. What if the future of town centres includes ... a dash of the old-fashioned?
Wait! Before you pile on, bear with me. I'm not suggesting we ditch the superstores and return to the markets of yore. That isn't happening.
No, I'm pondering an interesting societal shift.
Have you noticed how much people, on social media, in the media, and all over the place, are talking about the "analogue revival" these days?
It feels like every other day there's:
- a new Guardian piece about people taking up "grandma hobbies";
- the BBC talking about people creating "analogue bags" to fight doom-scrolling (totes stuffed with journals, crosswords, art supplies and physical magazines);
- essays and opinion pieces explaining why vinyl records, film cameras and physical books are suddenly the hot new thing all over again.
Vinyl records are back. Film cameras are back. People of all ages, yes, including younger people, are taking up knitting, crochet and embroidery. Independent bookshops are on an upward trend despite decades of assumptions that Amazon would finish them off. Board game and puzzle cafés have multiplied. Fountain pens, journals and proper stationery are having a moment. Even "dumbphones" are making a comeback as people try to reclaim some time from screens.
At first glance, it can all seem a bit rose-tinted, driven by nostalgia and a fondness for the past. And, to some extent, it is. After all, there's always a cycle of old things becoming fashionable again.
But the more I read about it, the more I wonder whether we've spent the last 20 or 30 years making life more convenient, more digital and more instantaneous, only to discover that "faster, cheaper, now" isn't actually scratching our collective itch.
A vinyl record has to be sought out, needs a very specific device to play, takes up more room, is more fragile and doesn't sound better to everyone. A paper book isn't more convenient than a Kindle. A board game requires far more effort, and often more people, than opening an app on your phone.
And yet people are actively seeking these things out in greater and greater numbers.
- Maybe because they're physical.
- Maybe because they're slower.
- Maybe because they encourage actually engaging with others.
- Maybe it's all of those things.
It's changing what we buy, how we spend our free time, how and why we meet up, and - from a town centre footfall point of view - where we choose to do it.
I suppose we shouldn't be wildly surprised by this trend. Board game and puzzle cafés were showing us the direction of travel years ago. The growing popularity of "paint and sip" evenings, where art supplies and a bubbly beverage are provided, showed there was already an appetite for structured offline socialising.
I'e seen lot of pieces on how businesses and experience venues are finding all sorts of interesting ways to monetise the analogue trend. Listening bars, silent book clubs, community darkrooms, weekly hobby groups and monthly taster sessions.
What's particularly interesting to me is that many of the businesses benefiting from this trend are exactly the sort of businesses that help bring life to town centres.
Independent bookshops. Record fairs. Craft and art supply shops. Game and puzzle cafés. Third-place spaces (those places that aren't home and aren't work - think Lock29, The Mill or community centres) hosting workshops, clubs and taster sessions.
Places that give people a reason to linger, browse, talk and keep coming back. And we already have quite a lot of that happening around Banbury.
Places such as Orinoco Banbury, The Oxfordshire Scrapstore, The Artery Art Shop and Classes, Good Game Banbury. The Mill Arts Centre, lock29.banbury, Banbury Museum & Gallery, Strummer Room Records, local book clubs, record fairs, car meets, knitting groups and lots of other community activities already create opportunities to meet, learn, create and connect.
They're giving people reasons to spend time somewhere rather than simply parking up, dashing in and dashing out again.
So what do you think?
Have you experienced scroll fatigue and thought of trying to cut down on screen time?
Do you buy vinyl? Shoot film? Crochet? Scrapbook? Choose print books over e-books, board games over apps? What analogue activities do you enjoy around Banbury, and what would you love to see more of locally?
