Who's in need of Retail Therapy?

There’s been constant talk in the media about the demise of the high street and how the pandemic has sounded the final death knell to an industry already on its knees. But I’m keen to try and reverse this negative perspective. It’s an evolution, sure, and the retail environment will likely be changed forever, but the end of the high street? I don’t think so. Going shopping is and will always be a cherished tradition and treat, bringing friends and families together. It works cross-generationally in a way an online set-up never could. A grandmother, mother and daughter wouldn’t sit together around a computer searching and scrolling in the way they would stroll around a department store, chat over coffee, and wait outside each other’s fitting rooms to share opinions. Aside from the social aspects, the ability to physically browse, feel fabrics, select and try garments on can’t be matched. And then there’s the excitement of taking your purchase home with you and maybe wearing it out that evening. The high street has a place in people’s lives and I just don't believe we can switch off and move on from something so integral to our culture.

You could say I’m a dyed-in-the-wool retail evangelist. It’s in my blood. Growing up, the fashion industry was always part and parcel of family life. My grandfather and father both worked in textiles, selling fabrics to high street stores and merchants both here in the UK and abroad. After university, I joined the family textile agency, covering everything from wovens to knits, and then got involved in garment production. I then headed up a ladies wear brand, growing the business from 22 to 75 stores, including concessions. This gave me a thorough grounding in every aspect of retail, from buying and merchandising, to the all-important weekly sales, stock and intake data (WSSI). Since 2013, I’ve been leveraging all my retail experience running V&C Associates, where we work consultatively with our clients, recruiting top talent for luxury retailers and brands.

There have been winners and losers in fashion retail through the pandemic so far. The pure play stores such as ASOS and Boohoo have gone from strength to strength, even taking the opportunity to purchase some former darlings of the high street – ASOS bought Topshop and Miss Selfridge, and boohoo bought Oasis, Coast, Warehouse and Debenhams. As well as the digital and logistics infrastructure that enables them to deliver the excellent service their customers have come to expect, much of the success of both retailers comes down to the simple fact that they consistently deliver products people want to buy.

Then there are retailers who have an opportunity to deliver an excellent omnichannel presence. This gives customers the ability to buy products in a variety of different ways – whether online or via an app, at a bricks and mortar store, or through a third party – but with a uniform customer experience running seamlessly through it all. It’s a challenge to get right as it doesn't stop at the point of purchase, but only when a customer is happy wearing or using their purchase. Delivery, quality and after sales service are all critical factors for omni retailers to succeed, and if executed well, it puts you ahead of competitors who only sell through a single channel. Next are gearing up to this model, having invested in the development of their Total Platform service, where they will be the online host of many other brands in a bid to become the Ocado of the fashion sector.

So should pure play retailers show they mean business by investing in some physical stores to provide an omnichannel experience? There has been talk of a flagship ASOS ‘experience’ store on Oxford Street, enabling the brand to showcase it’s many partnerships. Without the experience of running bricks and mortar stores they will have some catching up to do in order to familiarise themselves with the core functions of traditional retail. Buying for stores, for example, is different to online as they are location-specific, so you need to consider different areas of the country – what typically sells in Edinburgh won't necessarily sell in Brighton. They also need a different approach to visual merchandising. Primark are strong here. They merchandise their products in an eye-catching and appealing way, so when customers enter a store, they're immediately enticed to buy. It's a great shopping experience and an important factor when you're selling clothes via high street stores.

Bricks and mortar stores do require a serious investment though, with many fixed costs from rent to employment costs, and insurance to transporting stock between stores. These costs, rent in particular, can be crippling, but there is a glimmer of hope. Switching to an outlet model of revenue-based rent could be a good option, with a low base rate and the landlord receiving a percentage of turnover. New Look are now working this way with their store portfolio, and bringing this model to the high street gives retailers like them the opportunity to build a manageable omnichannel customer experience.

Looking to the future, our high street in town centre needs to be more destination-led to make dwell time longer, it’s likely this will only happen in bigger towns or cities. Small market towns may struggle to accommodate chain retailers, but this will mean people will start purchasing locally and we’ll see an increase in the number of independent fashion brands emerging, designer-led but without the accompanying price tag. And they will start to sell their product in a number of different ways – stretching the omni experience a bit further – through independent stores, department stores, online third-party websites, as well as their own channels.

A key part of the high street shopping experience is eating – from a quick coffee and cake stop, to a full afternoon tea. And then there is the pleasure, ceremony and celebration of eating out in restaurants. The closest we’ve been able to get to this through lockdown has been via takeaways delivered via Uber Eats, Deliveroo or Just Eat. And what a wonderful and appreciated service that has been. But this doesn’t mean going out to a restaurant has in any way been replaced as an experience. Quite the opposite in fact, we're all crying out to be able to sit in a restaurant once again and enjoy being served with delicious food while socialising with family and friends. In the same way, we've heavily relied on Amazon, DPD, Hermes et al to deliver the shopping we’ve bought online, because that has been our only option. But this doesn’t mean we wouldn’t far prefer to go to the high street. And once our world opens up again, all these pleasures will return...eating together in restaurants, socialising in bars, and shopping.

So I maintain that there will always be a place for the high street. Not for the complacent stores who weren’t thriving – they have disappeared, leaving just the strong players. And the more experiential high streets, with the top-performing stores and boutique coffee shops, will become destinations, drawing in the crowds. Also, conversely to pre-pandemic, it looks like there may be a pressure for the pure players to have an actual bricks and mortar presence on the high street. Of course online shopping fulfils a crucial need and will continue to grow, but just as TV and radio both found their place in our lives, high street shopping will remain in demand.