I think we'll see more Argos style shops where floor space is used mainly for storage and customers will order online and then either get a same day delivery or wander down to pick it up
I think we'll see more Argos style shops where floor space is used mainly for storage and customers will order online and then either get a same day delivery or wander down to pick it up
Yes, probably. I don't think that's going to help the High Street, though. What it needs are shops where people want to come in and browse, or get some kind of a personal service, without necessarily having a particular product in mind.
Example: when I was a kid, an afternoon's shopping at my local town meant wandering around Woolworths, a couple of bookshops, a sweet shop, three great independent music stores. They're now all gone, with many others (butcher, baker, florist etc), mostly replaced by a couple of big supermarkets and a Poundland.
There are price advantages to that, I guess. But as High Streets start to lose individuality, have the same corporate look, then people aren't going to be so loyal to them any more. Price and convenience becomes all that really matters. And so more and more people will go to places like Amazon, where they can find what they want in seconds, pay a great price (usually) and have it delivered at speed (even on Sundays/ bank holidays).
Factor in other problems - petrol getting more expensive again, number of cars on the road continuing to increase - and I think the High Street has got much further to fall.
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Example: when I was a kid, an afternoon's shopping at my local town meant wandering around Woolworths, a couple of bookshops, a sweet shop, three great independent music stores. They're now all gone, with many others (butcher, baker, florist etc), mostly replaced by a couple of big supermarkets and a Poundland.
There are price advantages to that, I guess. But as High Streets start to lose individuality, have the same corporate look, then people aren't going to be so loyal to them any more. Price and convenience becomes all that really matters. And so more and more people will go to places like Amazon, where they can find what they want in seconds, pay a great price (usually) and have it delivered at speed (even on Sundays/ bank holidays).
Factor in other problems - petrol getting more expensive again, number of cars on the road continuing to increase - and I think the High Street has got much further to fall.