Book one/four (high street)

Current High Street Crisis Book One

Introduction Introduction Introduction Introduction Introduction Introduction Introduction Introduction Introduction Introduction Introduction Introduction Introduction Introduction Introduction Introduction Introduction Introduction Introduction Introduction Introduction Introduction Introduction Introduction Introduction Introduction Introduction

Introduction Introduction Introduction Introduction Introduction Introduction Introduction Introduction Introduction Introduction Introduction Introduction Introduction Introduction Introduction Introduction Introduction Introduction Introduction Introduction Introduction Introduction Introduction Introduction Introduction Introduction Introduction

Introduction This book is part of a series which looks into the problems facing todays high street and looking for a conclusion moving forwards in order to change the way that merchandising is currently done. There will be four books as part of this collection and as each one is developed it will show you the journey from the initial problems to the solution which I have decided upon in an imagery based book based around Marks and Spencer. I have decided to do this after having my second year placement there, working closely with the Visual Merchandising (VM) team I can already see some of the changes that need to happen to start appealing to the younger generations.

This series starts here, looking at the issues that the high street currently faces, this will introduce you to the crisis that is currently hitting local hometown shops and how these problems have arisen. Understanding these current issues is a major part of being able to solve the problem as without this background information then you can solve an easy problem however this may not be the underlying bigger issue.

I have also planned out a questionnaire which will look into the reasons people shop online vs in-store. I am hoping this will give me further insight into the positives and negatives of shopping on each platform. I am also hoping to use this to find out how many people already know about this crisis from the survey and what they believe has caused this. I believe this information will be important moving forwards as it will not only show how clued up the consumer actually are around how shopping habits effect the way businesses run but also what changes people actually want to see to move back into physical shopping.

What is the crisis? What is the crisis?

What is the crisis? What is the crisis?

What is the crisis? What is the crisis?

What is the crisis? What is the crisis?

What is the crisis? What is the crisis?

What is the crisis? What is the crisis?

What is the crisis? What is the crisis?

What is the crisis? What is the crisis?

What is the crisis? What is the crisis?

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What is happening on Unfortunately, with todays busy lifestyles there has been a major decline in footfall on the high street with more consumers looking for an easier alternative to high street shopping or trying to save money.

In order to establish what is happening I have collated my researched and based on this I will be writing about the most relevant information I have found. These articles show the most collated research which is backed up by my high street research folder.

the high street?

After studying an article found on the independent the statistics showed there has been a 10% decrease in footfall over the last 10 years. 2% of this decline was in 2018 which also saw the rate of online sales growing by 11.9%. This partially shows the influence online shopping has had on consumerism. Boxing Day sales used to be able to sky rocket the sales of the high street with everybody wanting the cheapest prices on things as this is one of the biggest days for discounting however even this dropped by 3.8% in sales between 2017 and 2018.

What is the crisis?

Further information Furthering this I have found research from an article released from the guardian which has statistics showing that the number of new shops, pubs, restaurants and other retailers have dropped by 4.4% in 2018. This also saw a 37% rise in closures with brands such as Maplin, Toys R Us and Poundworld going into administration. Brands such as New Look and Mothercare were also being forced to downsize on the number of stores they have. Marks and Spencer are in the process of closing 100 stores by the time we reach 2022 which is a major decline for brands who are trying to thrive in todays society. Some of the reasons this article underlines as a reason for this decline is that retailers have been hit by rising operating costs as well as an increase on things such as rent and business rates. There has also been a massive switch to online shopping as consumers are beginning to spend more leisure time on holidays or experiences as well as dining and drinking at home. This has lead to a 2.2% drop in shopping centres and the number of outlets they have.

Image 1

On the high street crisis.

What has caused? What has caused?

What has caused? What has caused?

What has caused? What has caused?

What has caused? What has caused?

What has caused? What has caused?

What has caused? What has caused?

What has caused? What has caused?

What has caused? What has caused?

What has caused? What has caused?

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What has caused

This is what the high street crisis is but what has caused this? After reading an article posted by the BBC they outlined six reasons they found have caused this decline the first is squeezed incomes, this comes from a rise in annual inflation being higher than the change in average earnings so people do not have the same disposable income to be spending out shopping. Second is the shift to online shopping, 20% of the market in 2018 was held on an online platform as shops need to have one of three things; value, convenience or experience. Third is changing tastes, as more consumers today are looking for that more personal shopping experience that retailers today just do not meet. More consumers are also finding the products they see in store for a cheaper online price encouraging the online market over physical shopping.

Fourth is rising overhead costs as the national living wage costs the industry between ÂŁ1.5-ÂŁ3.6 billion per annum therefore the rise of the national living wage can be too much for smaller retailers to be able to handle. Fifth is too many shops, companies have overspent on over expanding when the years of the high street were booming and therefore has left them exposed as companies are always looking for ways to move forwards but over expansion causes closures and a step backwards. The sixth cause is too much debt, this is a consequence of over expansion. Retailers are therefore being forced to cut back and step up their online presence.

the high street crisis.

Further information This is backed up further by an article found from Intechnology wifi who showed five of the reasons for this decline. The first is the growth of online shopping which in summer 2018 showed a 20% rise in online fashion sales. Second was rising business rates and inflation so there is not the same level of disposable income as there used to be for businesses to expand and market themselves. Third is that more consumers are beginning to become more careful with their money and where they spend it as like businesses the consumer do not have the same disposable income either. Fourth is parking problems as lack of close proximity and affordable parking leaves consumes shopping elsewhere such as online. Fifth there is the issue of over expansion as companies have too many stores or multiple stores in the same location.

Based on all of this research and findings I have decided to create my questionnaire. This will answer the questions of what the different generations do and dislike like about both in store and online shopping.

As well as finding out what they believe has caused this high street crisis and what in store changes they would like to see.

I Believe this information will be interesting to see as I will be able to see how it collates with the secondary data I have previously found.

Image 2

On the causes

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Who still shops high street?

After sending this survey out via Facebook and Instagram I gathered 114 responses. After analysing all responses I looked at the causes that were mentioned most by tallying these and then once I had all this data I put it into a pie chart to see the variation of answers.

Consumer Profile Questionnaire

The questionnaire.

Out of the responses I received 52.6% said they shopped online over shopping in-store. I am hoping that the further questions will show me why a higher percentage of people would rather do their shopping online.

Online shopping results.

Reasons for liking online shopping

12%

Ease

1%

Not having to park

1%

Quicker browsing

14% Quick shipping

53% More options

8% No queing

9% 2%

Comfort of being at home Style ideas

Looking into these responses the reasons consumers like to shop online came in with 53% of people saying that it is the ease of it, people like being able to filter down to exactly what it is you want such as size, colour, maximum/ minimum price, style of a particular garment without having to filter through rails that may not even have what you need. This leads to the second most important reason people liked about online shopping which is that there is more options, this ranked up 14% of responses, shopping on a brands online website typically has more stock than a general high street store and has a wider variety of sizes as typically in stores there can be a struggle to find sizes especially average sizes (UK 10-16). Being able to order while sat at home in pyjamas or at night after work was also important as 12% of all responses given was that it can be done in the comfort of being at home. Some of the other reasons that I established were that it was quicker browsing and shipping which made a collective of 17% as items can be easily searched online and with next day delivery they can be on your doorstep the next day after ordering.

What these responses mean.

Online shopping results.

Reasons for disliking online shopping

Can not see products Cannot test sizes

2%2% 2%2% 2%

Waiting

27%

8%

Returns Delivery cost

5%

Items not how they look Advertising after

15%

Recycling packaging

9%

26%

Not personal Too many sites Not supporting local shops

Following on from this I looked into why consumers dislike online shopping. There was two main issues that came out of this; you can not see the products before buying them such as the quality this made up 27% of the responses.

26% of people said it was that they are unable to test the sizes before purchase. These two reasons are important when it comes to online shopping as if a consumer cannot see the products quality or do not know what sizes they need it can deter people from ordering as you have to pay for items that you are unsure they will even like/be able to fit in. Leading on from this 15% of people do not like the hassle of returning items that they do not need which links onto people being unsure of products and sizing as consumers do not want to take the time out of there days to have to be returning things, and 8% of people said that items are not always how they look when they are first ordered. Some of the other reasons given was 9% of people do not like waiting for the items to arrive as well as 5% not liking the prices that you have to pay for delivery. 2% also feel online shopping is impersonal and a further 2% would rather support local businesses than shop online.

What these responses mean.

In-store shopping results After gathering this data I looked into why consumers like in store shopping and the results showed me that 42% liked that they could see the items before having to purchase them. 29% of responses also showed people liked that they could try items on before purchase so they can see the style and fit on their body shape. 12% of consumers also find in store shopping more personal which is something I believe the high street needs to continue with. 6% also shared that they liked being able to browse around the store for the items and it gives people a chance to look for accessories to go with items as colours can look different online. The last small percentage was made up from people liking to support local businesses as well as not having the returns hassle and the choice of products and not having to wait for them.

These reasons link it up to what people dislike about online shopping so shows part of the reason people would still choose to shop in store however as the online market is still booming while the high street is declining so it is important to see what is turning people away from online shopping.

What is liked about in-store shopping

Try items on

1% 6% 2%

6%

More personal

1% 1%

See before purchase

29% No wait Choice Not having returns

12%

Browsing

42% Support for local stores Additional purchases

In-store shopping results Looking at the reasons that people dislike in store shopping gave me a variety of answers. 17% of consumers believe there is a poor range of size variety, 12% do not like having to wait or be in queues, 12% do not like the other customers or the social side of shopping with a further 7% finding they experience poor customer service when they shop in store. 13% find shopping stressful and too busy which could be where a partial change needs to be made which would be easy with better VM and store limits, as 5% find stores are very cluttered. Poor parking and transport to high street shops makes up 15% as it makes access to shops more difficult. These reasons will be considered as I go deeper into my concept as it is all about finding a way to bring people back to the high street.

What is disliked about in-store shopping

8%

2%

12%

5%

13%

17%

12%

People

Available sizes

Parking

Time consuming

Transport there

Options

More expensive

Waiting/ques

Stressful/busy

Cluttered stores

Customer service

Closing times

8% 1%

7%

8% 7%

In-store improvements.

Moving forwards I asked what improvements people would like to see to make them more likely to shop back in-store. This gave lots of suggestions with 32% saying they would like more options in the stores, 13% said better parking would make them more likely to travel to the high street. 9% think better staffing to aid with consumer demand would bring them into stores. Moving forwards with my assignment the other reasons are ones we do not see much of in todays high street such as 7% wanting to see better visual merchandising with further responses coming back wanting a more interactive experience and plus size ranges which I think would be an interesting development to take forwards when thinking about changing the high street.

What would improve shopping in-store Quiet hours Tidier Better VM

2%

8%

3%

More options

6%

Better parking

7%

6%

More accessability

3% 1% 2%

More staffing Interactive experience

4% 1%

Better transport

9%

32%

Online stock checker More local shops

3% 13%

Better opening times Better customer service Plus size ranges Cheaper options

What has caused the decline

Online shopping

4% 1% 3%

Fast fashion

6%

Parking charges

13%

6% 3%

Risi ng overhead charges

Shopping centres

64% Not moving with the times

Lack of availabil ity

Prices

What caused the crisis?

In my findings 80.7% of responses know about the current high street crisis and when asked what they believe has caused this 64% believe the cause is online shopping, 13% stated it was rising overhead charges, 6% think it is surrounding parking charges. 3% believe shopping centres have caused the decline and 1% said shops are not moving with the times. These responses match up with the previous research I have found from other articles on what is causing tis decline. This is positive as it shows that the people who are aware of this crisis know of the causes which I have previously found in my research therefore these are key considerations when moving forwards.

What the public think.

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Conclusion..

In conclusion based on all of the research and data I have collected I think that it is important that high streets and brands start to see the up and coming generation which is generation Z and the Alphas. With this in mind as the current marketed generation of the baby boomers begin to retire they do not have the same disposable income to spend shopping it is important to keep up to date with the needs and desires of this new generation. This concludes the findings of book one however moving forwards into book two the second part of the series you can see what the consumer needs of generation z are and what they want to see when it comes to their shopping habits.

Read book 2 for more information.

Book One/Four