The High Street of Britain - Article Example

Magazine Article Increased level of internationalization and gaining momentum of globalization, altogether has led to rapid changing in the preferences of the contemporary customers observed today. These factors, as they bind cultures and build social alikeness through free flow of information, it is observed to impose significant impacts upon the purchasing behavior of customers when shopping in High Streets and medieval places. These changes have been apparent in Britain’s High Streets. Even though experts, almost undisputedly, have agreed to the fact that changes in the customer purchase behavior is currently triggering massive changes in the High Street of Britain, their disagreements persists when it come to predicting the future of Britain’s High Streets. High Streets in Britain fundamentally represent broader financial and societal dynamics. Moreover, the towns as well as the financial centers located in High Streets of Britain often play a decisive role in forming a sensational setting for retailing. Despite facing numerous financial challenges, the financial centers along with the towns located in High Streets of Britain resemble historic significance that attract the individuals to visit those extensively (English Heritage, 2013). However, the question argued today among High Street marketers is whether the changes observed in the customer preferences and correspondingly, in their purchase behavior will mark the end of the High Streets or it will make it better in adjustment with the contemporary world scenario. As reported by Hardman (2013), Mr. Bill Grimsey, a renowned personality in the Food and DIY sector of England argue in favor of the statement that the change has not been well-planned and managed proficiently in the High Streets as he said, “A deeply depressing 20,000 retail businesses, … are now zombie companies … walking dead with £2.3 billion of net liabilities” (Hardman, 2013). The ex-Chief Executive of Tesco, Mr. Terence Leahy, also commented on the death of Britain’s High Streets, however, focusing on a positive result. According to him, the death of the High Streets in Britain is just a progress, as consumers prefer to shop more conveniently with the aids of online shopping centers and less through ‘medieval’ places. Nevertheless, the statement was again contradicted by Chris Forrester, a marketing expert, who also noted that the High Streets of Britain resemble ‘full of promises’ and simply require adapting towards incessantly changing consumer needs and the challenges from new business models (Forrester, 2013). According to Terence Leahy, the living standard of the people has enhanced and with the advent of globalization, consumers are favoring huge stores for shopping rather than the medieval labeled High Streets in Britain. Experts reviewing the recent trends in the High Streets of Britain also argued in favor of the notion indicating the death of Britain’s High Street grounded on evidences specifying that it is misleading and potentially damaging for the small medieval stores, which remain to be only a cultural impresa (Fortune, 2013). According to many experts, High Street in Britain is full of promises, which forms a vibrant community spirit rather than triggering just a progress. Undoubtedly, where even giant corporate houses have to struggle to keep their competitive stance in the current business context, following today’s incessantly complex managerial processes and the growing needs to suffice the continuous changing customers’ preferences, High Streets are required to adapt towards altering consumer needs and also the challenges that arise from new business models (Fortune, 2013). The marketers operating in the High Streets of Britain suffered their biggest drop of 3.4% in the year 2012 (Allen, 2013). Subsequent investigations revealed that the major reason for this drop was as apparently related with the transformation of the customers towards shopping in huge stores for their convenience instead of purchasing through traditional ways from medieval places labeled as High Streets. Evidently, Britain’s High Streets are undergoing a decline phase owing to its rigidity in adapting to the presented by the growth of online as well as mobile retailing markets (Hardman, 2013; Crown, n.d.). Such a dip in the world famous Britain’s High Streets, which hosts thousands of shopkeepers throughout the nation, has certain attracted immense significance in the current world scenario. Reports published by the UK governmental websites have been projecting that the initiatives gradually being implemented for aiding the High Streets to their complete recovery. Responsively, measures like funding and making substantial investments in this sector by the government have been noteworthy with the aim of making its High Streets more flexible and adaptive towards the altering customer behavior (Crown, n.d.). A critical understanding to the implications laid by these measures indicate the potentialities of progress in the High Streets of Britain, but also denote a rising threat of its demise in absence of governmental aids. The apparent motive underlying the approaches taken by the UK government in funding the High Streets is to help the shopkeepers to adapt the transforming consumer behavior and flourish to avoid their quite likely abolition in the near future. While certainly, the notion raises a striking threat indicating the demise of Britain’s High Street, the actions taken by the government to aid these shopkeepers also advocate on behalf of the fact that High Street shopkeepers still have their chances for transformations and betterment. The only key to realize the full potentials of Britain’s High Street is to appreciate the economic promises made by the shopkeepers and build their adaptability towards the emergence of new consumers in business markets in the form of changing the needs of the consumers, demand of their desired products or services and the challenges from new business models. Evidently, contemporary marketing tools are often applied in the High Streets in order to respond towards the changing customer needs such as the application of e-commerce, which can deliver considerable advantages to the shopkeepers in this particular sector (Experian, 2011). Identifiably, both good and bad marketing practices persist within Britain’s High Streets, which might risk its growth in future to an extent, resulting in comparative disadvantages to generate better customer satisfaction than that gained by the new business models. For instance, establishing direct communication with the customers may be coined as the good marketing practice that has been practiced in the High Streets of Britain since decades. On the other hand, lessening the products’ cost instead of maintaining product quality can be referred as the bad marketing practice, which inhibits the potentiality of the High Streets to attract and retain valuable customers in the long-run (The Marketing Donut, 2013). To the relief of its enthusiasts, few shopkeepers in the High Streets of Britain have been able to transform their perspectives to be the 21st century urban entertainment centers with the intention of growing their adaptability to the changing needs of the consumers and the challenges from new business models. For instance, one of the Australian developers named Westfield has built such centers in the High Streets of Britain (Portas, 2011). Westfield transformed the High Streets from medieval places to 21st century urban entertainment centers through various ways. One of these ways included bringing together the world-class restaurants, luxury brands, cinema premieres, bowling alleys and art galleries replacing the soulless and the lightless experiences of the past, with a memorable experience of luxury to be offered to the customers (Portas, 2011). The role played by big supermarkets in selling a vibrant range of products from local food items to antiques is also quite noteworthy when assessing the weaknesses of Britain’s High Street that can further lead to its ultimate demise. Following the rising demands of the customers in the recent century, the supermarkets have been expanding their reach into the segments of stationeries, books, home-wares and flowers, keeping into notice the kinds of products and/or services that the modern customers desire to purchase or avail (Portas, 2011). Sainsbury’s can be taken as an example of a supermarket, which attracted a large volume of customers by growing its adaptability to visit such marketplaces in order to avail almost every item required in their daily lives under one roof, instead of visiting the traditional High Street stores. Because the supermarkets provide its customers with one-stop shopping experiences wherein various sorts of products that can be purchased, they are likely to prefer the High Streets lesser, gradually leading to its demise (Portas, 2011). Correspondingly, the modern customers, with their enhanced living standard, tend to visit these supermarkets for ease and convenience instead of visiting the medieval places, which is often considered to be time consuming and might also prove costly provided the greater scope of smaller and saturated shopkeepers to charge differently for different products. Furthermore, with the assistance of innovations such as online booking and shopping, the aggressiveness of supermarkets in contradiction to traditional High Streets shopping trends have become more severe in increasing the risks for these much smaller shopkeepers (Portas, 2011). Suggestively, consultant experts have stressed on the formation of a “Town Team”, which would act as a strategic, visionary as well as a strong operation management team building initiative, which would be suitable for Britain’s High Streets for appealing to today’s consumers in visiting such places (Portas, 2011). The establishment of an effective “Town Team” would certainly aid the High Streets in Britain to avail an opportunity to retrieve from their declining position following the approach of low-cost retail business. Unnecessary regulations ought to be evaded from the market traders so that better trade can be performed by these shopkeepers, aimed at gaining utmost consumer satisfaction and therefore, coming to their full potentials again in the High Streets of Britain (Thompson, 2013). The UK government along with the local authorities may further play an imperative role in engaging the High Streets of Britain to adapt according to the varying consumer requirements and cope with the challenges that emerge from the execution of new business models. The government must therefore consider whether business trades can support the independent retailers of the small businesses towards appealing the modern consumers (Portas, 2011). It is highly essential that the local authorities have to lay utmost focus on making the High Streets more secured, attractive as well as accessible so that the customers can attain the benefits similar to that of the supermarkets wherein their visiting rate is quite high. Moreover, the local authorities might make more proactive execution of Compulsory Purchase Order based powers in order to promote the readvancement of chief retail spaces of Britain’s High Streets (Portas, 2011). Nevertheless, it is quite indispensable for Britain’s High Streets to keep engaging themselves in performing appropriate marketing practices as the trend of changing customers’ preferences as well as needs is predicted to augment continually in future. References Allen, K., 2013. British High Street Footfall Drops 3.4% Before Christmas Retail Rush. Retail Industry. [Online] Available at: http://www.theguardian.com/business/2013/dec/16/christmas-british-high-street-footfall-drops [Accessed March 16, 2014]. Crown, No Date. Issue. Improving High Streets and Town Centres. [Online] Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/policies/improving-high-streets-and-town-centres [Accessed March 16, 2014]. English Heritage, 2013. A Review of Retail and Town Centre Issues in Historic Areas. The Changing Face of the High Street: Decline and Revival, pp. 4-63. Experian, 2011. Executive Summary. The Changing Face of UK Retail in Today’s Multi-Channel World, pp. 2-11. Forrester, C., 2013. The Mistaken Death of the British High Street. Article. [Online] Available at: http://www.mediaweek.co.uk/article/1224051/mistaken-death-british-high-street [Accessed March 18, 2014]. Hardman, R., 2013. Save The High Street? You Might As Well Try To Raise The Dead! A Worrying Dispatch Reveals That The Nation Of Shopkeepers Has Become Charity Shop Britain. News. [Online] Available at: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2414495/Britains-High-Streets-charity-shops-bookies-coffee-chains.html [Accessed March 16, 2014]. Fortune, A., 2013. Outrage over Former Tesco Chief’s High Street Attitude. News. 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[Online] Available at: http://www.marketingdonut.co.uk/marketing/customer-care/understanding-your-customers/customer-service-lessons-from-the-high-street [Accessed March 16, 2014]. Read More