SHOPS have come under scrutiny from academics examining the changing face of retail trade.

And the boffins from Manchester Metropolitan University Business School (MMUBS) have concluded that town and district shopping centres have seen a big rise in leisure and personal services, the so-called "cafe culture", at the expense of traditional shops.

Dr David Bennison and Steve Jones draw their conclusions after a "where are they now" style survey of six town centres in Greater Manchester. The academics compared shop usage in 1991 and again in 2001 in Bury, Prestwich, Middleton, Rawtenstall, Altrincham and Heywood.

From a total of 1,800 shop units, they found:

The number of leisure units, which comprise cafes, bars, restaurants and takeaways, rose by 28 per cent.

The number of clothing shops fell by 24 per cent.

The number of specialist food shops fell by 17 per cent.

The proportion of vacant shops more than doubled, from six per cent to 13 per cent.

And personal services, like hairdressers, beauty salons and gyms, showed a significant rise.

The academics, who specialise in town centre strategies, found that only 46 per cent of units were occupied by same business in 2001 as in 1991. Nearly a quarter had changed hands three of four times. A significant proportion of the "survivors" were pubs, banks and national chains.

While out-of-town retail centres, particularly the Trafford Centre, had contributed to the loss of food, clothing and household retailers, it was not the whole story, they said. Metrolink had accelerated shopping in Manchester city centre but local issues were also important, such as pedestrianisation and public transport.

Mr Jones said: "Retailing has been in relative decline over the whole period but this has been compensated by an increase in service provision, especially leisure and personal services. This implies a change in role of town centres which is not necessarily bad for their vitality and viability.

"The quick turnover of small retailers shows that many are not seeking the training and support now available through free schemes such as the one run at MMUBS 'towards a healthy high street.'"