The retail industry has increasingly become one which relies on computers and smartphones rather than traditional bricks and mortar. Thanks to the variety of apps and e-tailers on offer, consumers may stock check, order and pay for items online, and can now even order groceries for door-to-door delivery rather than brave the traditional Saturday morning supermarket crush.
However, it now emerges that many e-tailers are expanding on their digital origins and taking up residence on the high street as a counterpart to their websites.
On the surface, this appears to be entirely illogical. Business rates for retail properties are much higher than those for the offices and warehouses used to run an online retail firm, footfall remains stagnant or shows only slight growth on the high street while online retail has risen by 18 per cent a year over the past three years.
Yet e-tailers have come to realise that consumers do not gain the same rush online shopping as they do in a town centre or retail park. The ability to touch, try on or test the produce on offer is a valuable part of the shopping experience and one which, no matter how advanced it becomes, e-retailing will never be able to provide.
Richard Moross of Moo.com says his brand first had the idea for a bricks and mortar store when meeting customers at trade shows and seeing them interact with the company’s produce.
He says; “We found people at trade shows and conferences love seeing the products, touching them and getting excited about them – this is what led us to make the decision to open our first shop this year.
“We wanted to create an inspiring environment where people could come and experience our products and physically engage with a brand.
“Personal branding and beautiful design are important to our customers so we wanted them to be able to touch and feel different paper stocks and see printed samples.”
Of course, Moo.com is not the only e-tailer taking to the high street by a long way. The Cambridge Satchel Company, Etsy and Made.com have all made successful transitions to a digital/property hybrid business, while strong rumours that internet giant Amazon will soon unveil a Kindle store continue to circulate.
Perhaps the answer to the high street’s issues, then, is compromise – many small retailers wish to remain true to traditional retailing, yet the commercial property move by these digital pioneers shows that a little give and take can go a long way in the retail industry.
By following in the footsteps of larger developments such as Leeds Infinity, a shopping centre which allows consumers to digitally interact with the brands it houses, a more open and fluid future awaits Britain’s most popular retailers and e-tailers.
Do you think adopting more modern methods of retailing would benefit small high street traders in the same way opening a physical store has made online brands more accessible?
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