Looking for charity shops, pawnshops, empty shops, bookies, cafés, a big brand convenience store or a pound shop? You're in luck. The average British high street is full of them. It's also possible that you'll find a bookshop with 0.001 per cent of Amazon's selection and an overpriced boutique, or, if you're passing Shrewsbury or in the southeast, you might even spot one of the few streets that are thriving. But the chances are your local high street will have a 14 per cent vacancy rate (rising to 30 per cent in the north), several independents on the brink of liquidation, and an air of defeat.
The rise of e-commerce, m-commerce, VAT, retail parks and the frugal shopper has put high streets in a downward spin. The government is so concerned that it's called in no less than the 'Queen of Shops' herself, Mary Portas, to lead a review of the high street's future. Meanwhile, consumers continue to demonstrate their preferences by "voting with their feet," as the British Retail Consortium (BRC) points out. It adds that, "You can't turn back the clock" — but you can move it forward. There's evidence to show we do want high streets, just not the irrelevant, outmoded ones we currently have.
So what do we really want? Understanding that is key to the high street's survival. Are we seeking company, advice, inspiration, entertainment, self-improvement... or just a shirt? Apparently it's all of the above. For shoppers, the high street of the future isn't solely a physical place, but a mash-up of the real and virtual, which aims to satisfy our every social, emotional and practical retail need.
WHAT IT DOESN'T HAVE
There are no large chain stores. They multiplied on high streets (creating so-called clone towns) then migrated to edge-of-town retail parks in search of space and lower rent, and they're unlikely to return. And it's not only full-line supermarkets such as Tesco that need shelf-space — M&S and Next are also outgrowing their predominantly high street locations, and now have furniture and household ranges that can't be carried to the bus stop or a distant parking spot. Mothercare recently announced that it intends to close 110 stores and, with Debenhams, House of Fraser and John Lewis all now well established as anchor stores for retail parks, it's predicted that within five years there will be more retail space outside towns than in them.
However, by drawing business away from high streets, retail parks have created a gap for their own competition: the urban shopping centre. Rising up where high streets once thrived, they offer a designed one-stop retail experience without the disadvantage of a drive to the hinterland. Europe's largest, Westfield Stratford City, opening this September, is described as "a new city within a city". As such, says Bill Giouroukos, director of operations, it "will comprise all the elements of a thriving town centre including retail, dining, leisure and entertainment, hotels, offices, homes and public plazas." Some may argue that this scale of corporate venture is several nails in the coffin for the traditional, organic shopping street.
IN A CLOUD ABOVE THE TOWN
Formerly a modest online bookstore, Amazon is now a veritable retail Pacman, gobbling competition in its quest to become the leading purveyor of everything from bestsellers to bras to Brabantia bin liners. While the high street suffers its worst sales in 15 years, online retailers anticipate 18 per cent growth. UK buyers spent £15.1bn online in the first quarter of this year alone. Published in May of this year, the IMRG Hot Shops List charting e-retail performance puts Amazon UK at the top, followed by Argos, Tesco and games retailer Play.com. Health and beauty sales showed a jump of 32 per cent, but fashion is the fastest growing online sector, and two popular high street brands, Next and M&S, respectively take the fifth and seventh spots on the list.
Success online doesn't necessarily mean companies will lock up their shops and focus entirely on e-commerce — far from it. Says IMRG's CEO, James Roper: "With multichannel retailers now accounting for two-thirds of the top 50 merchants, it is clear that those with both physical stores and an online presence are leading the growth in e-retail." In total, seven of the top ten retailers have physical stores, and 31 of the 50 Hot Shops have a high street presence.
A PLACE TO TAKE THE KIDS
M&M'S World, hot from Las Vegas and New York, opens in London's Leicester Square this month. Thanks to its giant interactive wall of chocolate and opportunities to bag up custom-blended M&M's selections, children will be instrumental in pulling traffic into what's inevitably calling itself "London's sweetest attraction". Once inside,'live' M&M'S characters will help corral crowds into the clothing, kitchenware, bedding, jewellery and glassware sections, where further purchases can be made, thus justifying the entire premise. If you find it odd that sensible shops selling useful things cheaply continue to fail, yet a business built on coated chocolate can confidently open a four-storey emporium for a reputed £2m a year in rent, you probably don't have children.
You could say selling these days is child's play. It's about adding retail theatre, says Robert Gregory, global research director at Planet Retail: "Apple has had a revolutionary impact on retail since opening its first store. Even though lots of space is devoted to educational and entertainment activities (ie non-retail) they have extremely high sales densities." Apple is said to have worked with Disney Stores on its new store format in Madrid, increasing store traffic, sales and profit margins by 20 per cent by swapping high shelves full of toys for a princess castle, a theatre and so forth, turning shops into places kids actually want to go.
blog comments powered by
