High Streets Make Human Sense

A Walk Through the Past

I thoroughly enjoyed my first job in a local newsagent. Arriving to see Miserable Morris, the shop manager, being teased by the paper boys put a smile on my face. Serving Mrs Pearson a copy of her favourite knitting magazine and knowing that the Panama man would arrive on a Sunday at 11am on the dot to buy his 6 pack of cigars was comforting. Why? Because I knew we would have a little chat and they would leave looking happy after feeling the warmth of a familiar interaction.

Now I’m sure Mr Lowe of Lowe and Sons Ltd didn’t set up his shop so I could practise my social skills. Nor was it so Mrs Pearson could pop in for a chat under the guise of buying a knitting magazine. These were simply some positive unintended consequences of a shop in the heart of the local community.

Last year, after the pandemic, I walked down my very quiet local high street for the first time in a long time. Whilst some shops were still open for trade, big brands had disappeared from large units and small independent businesses had shut up shop. They had either been replaced with pop up shops that will be gone in a couple of months, or window coverings with photos of imagined businesses that provided cynical hope.

I was grateful that day for a few bustling coffee shops that punctuated the outdoor spaces of the high street. Their chatter and life felt warm. As I took a seat at one of their tables I observed a group of young girls, heads down, thumbs scrolling. Conspicuous by their silence in amongst the chatter of the other much older customers, it brought to my mind the time I joined the American electronics retailer, Best Buy, as one of their first UK recruits.?

As my coffee arrived, I thought back to 2009, when avatars were simply drawings on a poster, and I was sat in a training session being shown futuristic technologies on a large TV screen. The excitable trainer asked the wide-eyed recruits what we thought about the future products. Comments such as, “It’s exciting.” and, “So many opportunities to sell amazing technology.” came thick and fast.

I offered up my view. “I think there will be a requirement for more mental health specialists.” My comment was met with giggles. I turned red with embarrassment.

Finishing my coffee my mind made a quantum leap back to the present. Pureplay ecommerce, social media, AI, VR, AR, Bitcoin, Blockchain, NFTs and the impending Metaverse sit alongside increasing social issues, dwindling high street communities, and growing numbers of young people with mental health issues.?

As I finished my latte and got up from the table, I felt a little out of sorts, concerned that without proper due care and attention, the impending “Metaverse” has the power to shrink our real-life communities more than ever and AI, if not properly primed, may be influenced by the worst of human behaviour. ?

Progress

I don’t approach the world from the stance of a Luddite. The pandemic in many ways was made easier by technology. The virtual, soon to be,” Meta” world, is both a wonderful playground and a progressive place that provides so much connectivity. I get genuinely excited about the possibilities new technologies bring. Creating an even better employee or candidate experience at scale or creating efficiency is exciting. Sapia’s AI minimising bias to recruit a diverse workforce, Moonhub’s VR providing innovative training solutions for real issues, or Iceland’s own in-house platforms that give fair workplace access to learning and mental health resources are simply fabulous tools.

In stark contrast though, I get even more excited meeting colleagues in shops where people interact and connect in real time and space. Seeing smiling faces and hearing laughter and chatter. Real-life people, serving real-life customers real-life products is warm and human and our beautiful natural, balance to connecting through technology.

So, when I say I feel out of sorts it is not because I am averse to a Meta world but because with the impending Metaverse, I question will we lose this innate natural balance further? I ruminate about the impact on our communities, and, without due care and attention, what will be the impact on the mental health and wellbeing of our younger generations as they grow and develop.

Mental Health

In 2019 the Children’s Bureau blogged:

“In our ever-changing world, the use of technology is continuously expanding. It influences every area of our lives, from our ability to communicate with loved ones to accessing information at our fingertips. Unfortunately, we have also seen a number of negative effects of technology on mental health as well.”

“Specifically, screen time and social media use among kids and teens have been linked with an increased prevalence of mental health concerns. The effects of technology on children and teens can have an impact on social skills, their development and can be linked to a number of other subsequent factors.”?

MHFA England report that half of mental ill-health starts by the age of 15 and 75% has developed by 18. The Health Foundation report that young adults aged 19-32 with higher social media use are more socially isolated.

I don’t want to oversimplify what are extremely complex issues. Clearly there are many factors that play into mental ill-health. In the same way there are many other factors that play into the breakdown of our high streets and local communities, and the impact of technology on these areas is certainly not all negative.

However, we can’t deny there have been unintended consequences of the cyber world we know today that haven’t been so positive, and I wonder who, in this impending trillion-dollar revenue Metaverse, other than Meta themselves, is taking the time to think about the impending, currently unintended consequences of this new world?

Human Sense

Whilst not the intention, for centuries, the commercial act of trading goods in person played an invaluable part providing a centre for local communities to interact and connect. However, we have seen this start to dwindle over recent years. The pandemic has exacerbated the emptying of our high streets, further disconnecting many from connecting in person. Despite this I believe there is a real opportunity to utilise and harness the power of real-life human connection on our high streets, for both commercial and human benefit. So, what is the answer?

Life is a beautiful tapestry of polarities and cycles and providing the antithesis of the virtual world through the high street could be revolutionary to a new generation. High streets could provide a more relevant place to meet in real life and enable people to chat about the things they connect with online.

Ironically individual business strategies are utilising playful technologies to bring people back onto high streets. However, to fully bring back a much-needed sense of community, I believe it will take a much more collaborative approach between all retail businesses on the “social” element of ESG, as opposed to an individual commercial strategy. The na?ve child in me wonders if this is the time retailers, both online and on the high street, focus on coming together to build strategies about creating better human experience and connection which gives an unintended commercial benefit. Na?ve or not, I would call on business leaders to really assess their agendas and consider truly collaborating to form a new approach a new retail world.

Walking along my local high street today, I can see potential signs of bringing our high streets back to their full former life. I’m not sure it’s part of a collaborative ESG agenda, but I see big brands like Next, using their bricks and mortar differently, enticing people out from behind a screen by giving over space and sharing their store touch points with brand partners. River Island, who have huge investment in bricks and mortar, are better integrating their online offer with their physical space and looking to utilise AR technology to entice people into their stores. And I can’t forget the thriving coffee shops with their outdoor space and chatter continuing to be a beacon of local community.

Interestingly, as consumer acquisition costs remain high, direct to consumer businesses explore using bricks and mortar to connect their brand direct to consumer. ?Although I’m a long way off seeing it on my local high street, this week Gymshark tip a trainer clad toe onto the pavement in prime retail space. They too explore using shop space to sell more brand than product and by bringing their virtual communities to the high street to interact in person, they are dabbling in harnessing the power of a real-life, in person community. Whilst I wish it had been spearheaded in the heart of my local community first, it is a forward thinking start. One I hope will translate to my local high street, giving those young girls in the coffee shop a more relevant meeting place that gets them engaging with one another fully.

So, I believe the high street, in a new format, can come back to its former full life. It’s such early days and I suspect the decisions of most businesses are driven by the same motivation as Mr Lowe of Lowe and Sons, rather than deliberately remodelling high streets for the good of future generations sense of real-life community. But I remind myself that unintended consequences aren’t always negative, and they often provide serendipitous solutions.

Investing in technology makes commercial sense but investing in high streets not only makes commercial sense but also, at least to me, makes real human sense. Because no matter which way you look at it, it’s humans who pay the price.