E-commerce and internet trade may be the biggest form of money making at the moment, but there has been a slow and steady return of the high street/main street and retail park shopper. This article looks at the often taken-for-granted and recently forgotten elements of this form of shopping and provides some insight as to what will be required to ensure that your business benefits from this increase in footfall.
Who is the main street shopper?
There has been a great deal written in retail sector news, online, and in blogs about how the main street has suffered over the last few years; how e-commerce was the death of the main street, and why online shopping was the only way. This trend has seen a slight reversal and as societies stabilize shoppers of all ages, races, creeds, and cultures have begun to find their way back to the main street to shop. It is a return that has also positively affected retail parks and shopping complexes as more people look to get out and about for their shopping needs.
What’s the drive for the return to main street shops?
Human interaction
This is the main aspect raised by many as the need to return to the shops—the ability to meet with others to go shopping as well as the actual in-store interactions. It is the brands that realize this and are able to educate and then capacitate their staff to provide the right level of interaction that will be the most successful as more people look to shop in person.
Real-time tangible decisions
Being able to touch and feel the products as well as actually try items of clothing on in real time and then make a buying decision is a great reason to be in-store. There is also the ability to compare and contrast items right in front of you that the internet may not provide as standard.
Having a range of products at varying price points is a great way to attract a wider buying audience, and can be done in-store or by using creative marketing to alert in-store shoppers as to the standing of products in comparison to other brands out there.
Convenience
It is no wonder that retail parks have also seen a huge increase in footfall as the convenience of parking and having all the shops in one place makes for an all-in-one trip. This highlights why any businesses making a return to high street or main street shopping will also have to consider their commercial parking lot maintenance and provision if they expect the return of the number of shoppers that they were once used to. It will need to be convenient, and parking is a major part of such convenience.
There may be a number of other reasons why shoppers are looking to return to the streets and shopping parks. Those briefly discussed in this article provide some ideas of practical steps that your business can take to ensure that you benefit from this increased interest in shopping as it used to be.
