John Ryan

The death of online?

Physical stores, card shops and every other kind, may be on the verge of a renaissance in the face of a flagging online sector, says John Ryan “There is only so much time that can be spent in front of a laptop endlessly perusing ranges of cards, food or clothing, without suppressing a yawn’’

So here’s a bit of good news, we’re all in the same boat together. Take a look at some of the recent results from online merchants, more or less across the retail board, and contrary to what might have been expected when the pandemic kicked in, the results are not accompanied by the sound of popping corks.

In truth, the online crowd are being as badly hit by the latest disaster (consumer reticence to spend money, for some unaccountable reason) to hit UK PLC as the physical crew, and in some instances high street shops are actually doing better than they were.

The question is what happened? When we were all locked down and filling our waking hours with online shopping that was delivered at a distance by masked drivers, it seemed as if the physical shop had had its time and that not only would online be the eventual winner, but that our shopping habits would have been changed forever.

It appears, however, that they have not - and there is a very simple reason for this: boredom. There is only so much time that can be spent in front of a laptop endlessly perusing ranges of cards, food or clothing, without supressing a yawn. The online experience remains very different from heading down to the shops and - even for something as intrinsically online shoppable as a greeting card - there is still nothing to beat wandering into a, say, Paperchase, a Scribbler or an indy and letting the eye roam freely. Of course this can be done via the web and, unlike clothing, there is no real requirement to touch or feel a card in order to get the general idea of what it will look like in the flesh, as it were. But we’re physically shopping just the same.

There is also the matter that shops en-masse have got better. One of the effects of the past couple of years has not been just the disappearance of retail dead wood from malls and high streets, but those that remain have been at pains to ensure that shoppers who do cross the threshold are greeted by something that will be better than they might have remembered.

Whether it’s a lick of fresh paint, new display equipment or improved ways in which to pay for something (the cash-free society is pretty much with us), physical shopping has changed and we should perhaps not be surprised.

Dragging shoppers away from their devices has proved somewhat easier than might have been predicted, and for those who are reticent about being parted from them, there is always the mobile phone that can be wielded in-store to pay, enhance an experience by VR, or just to check a price.

Has online retail therefore had its day? Up to a point, perhaps. Growth has certainly slowed for many, and improving upon last year’s numbers is as tricky for internet merchants as it for those who lovingly spend their time making ranges look winsome with artful visual merchandising.

Shoppers are the winners in all of this. Faced by a large number of options, when it comes to deciding how you may shop, online and physical stores are putting their best feet forward and will have to continue doing so. The small matter of the ‘cost of living crisis’ will certainly have an effect on all, but when it comes to greeting cards, they remain an affordable impulse and may well therefore be able to maintain a steadier course.

Everything to play for and not a time to be downhearted. Just make sure that your shop looks the part. Others will be doing so.

John Ryan is Stores Editor of Retail Week, a position he has held for more than two decades, and managing director of Newstores, a daily information service on what’s new in retail across the world. @newstores | www.newstores.co.uk | 07710 429926