RIP department stores – digital shopping has killed you
You don’t need a degree in economics to work out why the high street and department stores are dying off. It’s been a slow death for many years and Covid 19 has finally put the lid on the coffin of retail.
Department stores have begun to feel increasingly anachronistic and lockdown has changed people’s mindsets, mine included. I’m an inveterate consumer. I love going to London or Milton Keynes and wandering round retail areas. Norwich, our nearest city, was a weekend day out and we enjoyed it as a family.
Going back in time to childhood in Thorne, Woolworths was the place to go for pick and mix, and music. There was one in this mining market town and a huge one in Doncaster where Provident, the robbing creditor to the working classes, even held a pre-Christmas bus trip to a store closed to the public. I remember wandering the shop fondly and choosing Christmas presents. There was also a Co-op department store, Binns (House of Fraser), Littlewoods and BHS.
All now gone.
Many long ago too.
This past year has seen Debenhams collapse and, judging by more store closures, John Lewis, that bastion of middle England and the middle classes, isn’t far behind.
Why?
I think the idea of a department store itself is becoming prehistoric. You can wander into John Lewis and head for the technology department (my first port of call), pop to the bowels of the store and look at fridges and dishwashers and top it all off in the cushion department. Dare I say it? The department store has become quite boring. I’ve lost count of the times I’ve wandered round John Lewis in Norwich empty handed and wondered why I’m even in there.
If I feel like that as a veteran shopper of 45 years, others must feel it too
Large stores seem to have had their day – Marks and Spencer is another. They all feel like a throwback to a previous age and the world’s moved on.
Having said that, I was saddened to hear of the closure of John Lewis (Cole Brothers) in Barkers Pool, Sheffield (along with seven others), as I have good memories of catching the tram from Meadowhall to the city centre and wandering that bourgeois shrine to home and technology, as a 20 year old and 40 year old.
I don’t think Amazon are entirely to blame either – admittedly their customer service and stock levels put traditional retailers to shame. I think the department store and large supermarket are dinosaurs. It never ceases to amaze me how busy the small Tesco Express are locally. Myself and others are happy to splash £20 a visit to there for that night’s meal or next day’s lunch. I think the big weekly shop, the trolley bursting with £100 plus of food and drink is over.
I’ll tell you why
In my childhood and up until 7 years ago, the average person worked outside the home, commuted and then spent the weekend shopping in city centres, Asda, Waitrose etc. Few do that now. When I look out of my home office window any time between 7 am and 9 am, the only traffic is school run parents. I work from home and many of my neighbours seem to, too.
With remote working being less exhausting and stressful, I think, as a nation, we no longer need that Saturday or Sunday of wandering a cityscape, eating out and spending.
We can do it all online if we need to – but I think the habit of going to a city for the day is a dying habit.
All businesses evolve though and instead of mourning the past of BHS, Blockbuster, Woolies and Debenhams, we need to look at what is thriving – micro-businesses with strong digital business presences.
Your aim, if looking to futureproof, is to build a solid foundation online.
If people can no longer look at wallpaper or cushions or cookers in John Lewis in Sheffield city centre, your job is to capture those consumers who no longer have the ability to wander that city in pursuit of retail satisfaction. Sharon White admitted, just recently, that 70% of John Lewis sales are now through their website or app. That is their survival strategy. They cannot, as a business, indulge 30% of in store shoppers by occupying expensive, large retail units in towns and cities.
Their flagship Oxford Road store is due to close and be converted to residential units.
That movement from physical to digital is not going to change.
The question I ask – are you as a displaced worker or a budding freelancer ready to capitalise on the new online revenue streams?
If you are, we should talk.
It costs less than you may think too.
