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Budleigh traders launch campaign to attract more shoppers.

9 Oct 2023

A group of independent traders in Budleigh Salterton have started a campaign to attract more shoppers.
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Tech could drive more business for indie retailers this Christmas

9 Oct 2023

New research from Square and Clearpay indicates consumer confidence is rising, with 72% of consumers planning to spend more or the same this coming holiday season compared to last year,... Read more…

Full line-up announced for 2023 Bookshop Day this Saturday.

9 Oct 2023

Miriam Margolyes, Richard Armitage and Tomi Oyemakinde will be among the authors headlining events at this year’s Bookshop Day taking place this Saturday 14th October.
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Shop owners demand new offence for attacks on retail workers

4 Oct 2023

Shop owners have called on the Home Secretary to specifically outlaw attacks on retail workers.
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Are you up to speed with new ban on single-use plastics?

4 Oct 2023

From the start of October, bans and restrictions on single-use plastic cutlery, polystyrene cups and food containers, single-use balloon sticks and certain types of polystyrene cups and... Read more…

Cash still crucial for UK’s independent retailers

27 Sep 2023

A recent survey of retailers across the UK has shown that cash remains a crucial payment method for independent shops.
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Almost 2,000 more independent shops left empty in the first half of this year

27 Sep 2023

Almost 2,000 more British independent shops were left empty in the first half of this year, as small businesses struggled to cope with rising inflation and the cost-of-living crisis.
Read more…

Indie shops in Liverpool create their own security network to combat shoplifters.

27 Sep 2023

An independent shop owner in Liverpool has said that independent shops in the city centre have taken to creating their own security WhatsApp group, warning each other of shoplifters in the... Read more…

Indie shops key to reversing fortunes of struggling high streets – university study finds.

27 Sep 2023

A focus on independent and ‘browse-only’ shops can help to reverse the fortunes of the struggling high street, according to an extensive study by Manchester Metropolitan University.
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Trade association welcomes Home Office ‘back-to-basics’ retail crime promise

13 Sep 2023

The recent pledge by police forces across England and Wales to pursue every lead that holds a reasonable chance of apprehending criminals and solving crimes has been welcomed by Bira, which... Read more…

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Is the dying High Street rash?

Posted on in Business News

indie retail

James Llewellyn published an article in 2018 challenging the claims that the UK High Street is in fact dying.

He disputes three claims; the retail market is in crisis and the high street stores are dying, the retail landscape needs to be more experiential and the extinction of the department stores.

The retail market is in crisis and the high street stores are dying

But are they?

Ignoring the larger, long-term figures that there has in fact been consistent long-term growth since 2013, with value sales up by 5.5% in the three months leading up to September 2018. And, that even though the online market is booming consumers' still buy more in stores than online, with 17.1% of products bought online.

The model of the retail market isn't at fault for struggling retailers, no one is. Simply put, better, more successful retailers are taking the share away from the worse ones. Today, we have more of a choice, we are still buying things and that will never change. What is changing is how and when and why we buy these things.

The retail landscape needs to be more experiential

What actually happens?

Llewellyn refers to the bouncy castle syndrome here explaining how retailers get so caught up in "making shopping an experience" argument that the experiences they offer, although adding to the experience, don't present a better alternative to buying online.

The extinction of the department stores

Are they though?

Yes, department stores are closing but many are actually doing well. The loss of certain stores is not due to a polarised society but rather what people have been saying for a while in the undertone of news articles, that some retailer are no longer distinctive and positively associated with the consumer.

We will never stop needing something, or wanting something.

It is in our nature to want and need things, and there will always be those stores that you go to because:

  • They have what you want or need
  • They suit your price bracket
  • You trust them

Read the full article here and let us know what you think about his points in the comments below. 

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