MORE THAN A STORE As online shopping becomes ever more popular, smart retailers are working harder to make bricks-and-mortar stores worth a visit. Amy Bradford reports on how their innovations are changing the face of the high street
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ritain may be a small country, but we certainly pull our weight when it comes to online shopping. According to statistics released by eMarketer in 2018, the UK has the third largest e-commerce market in the world – only China and the US are ahead of us, with nations like Russia, Japan and Germany lagging significantly behind. What’s more, according to accounting and consultancy firm Deloitte, Britain’s online sales grew at ten times the rate of store sales in the first half of 2018. These figures not only put headlines about the decline of the high street into sharp perspective, they also help to explain why we’re starting to see a new type of bricks-andmortar shopping experience emerge. The savviest retailers know that they need to adapt to this new consumer climate – and fast – or perish.
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