There’s no doubt about it, the world has moved on and as we make it through to the other side there’s a new dawn for retail.
Of course, we would always have come through the other side, but what Covid did was accelerate everything by at least five years, during which time a few more retailers may have experienced a slow, painful decline.
Those five years would have been the last few in retail’s rebirth and transformation but, with Covid leaning on the supercharge button, it’s all been done in about 18 months.
Over the past 15 years, we retailers have laced up our trainers, put our sweatbands on and all tried to stay on this massive retail travelator.
We’ve been looking forward, walking faster and faster, jogging and at the end, through the pandemic, we’ve been at full pelt on this travelator just to survive.
If we hadn’t kept pace, we’d have fallen off the back. Sadly many high street stalwarts have fallen off – Arcadia, Debenhams, Cath Kidston, Laura Ashley and, much earlier on in the ride, Woolworths and Comet.
They fell off because they just couldn’t keep up with the retail evolution. The rest of us accelerated until the natural crescendo.
“This retail travelator has thrown curveball after curveball at retailers and for many years highlighted an unlevel playing field, with the physical and pureplay players on the pitch”
This retail travelator has thrown curveball after curveball at retailers and for many years highlighted an unlevel playing field, with the physical and pureplay players on the pitch.
The differing treatment of physical and online retail has been stark over the past decade and more. Those with physical retail stores had a massive disadvantage, with ridiculous business rates and ridiculous rentals that came from an age where you could only buy something from a physical store.
We were pedalling so fast just to stand still. But on the next travelator our online friends were strolling, smoking a cigar without the same restrictive cost base, taking our lunch and having a jolly old time – no sweatbands needed.
So, we were losing business and our costs were going up. I now believe this disparity is coming to an end, if it has not already done so.
Our new world has meant the collapse of the shopping centre industry and how it worked previously, with even some big owners going bust.
But most of the people who have taken over shopping centres are now being realistic and offering turnover rents, which has modernised costs in line with activity.
New dawn for retail
The suspension of business rates, and the rate reduction, has heralded that new dawn for retail. The sweatbands have come off and we are ready to roll our sleeves up, glide off the travelator and get busy with the new-look retail.
It is important to mention that business rates can never go back to where they once were, especially being a tax from over 500 years ago. Through this new way, I can only see opportunities for physical retail to grow and evolve more quickly than ever.
Therefore this is a wonderful time to have a physical presence in retail. This is the time to do a deal and grab that opportunity with both hands. That doesn’t mean neglecting digital or only focusing on physical. That’s not the answer.
As painful as it’s been, the travelator has taken us to a very exciting place, through blood, sweat and tears.
“Covid has been a forced experiment that has allowed us to see what different unexpected scenarios look like. The future is hybrid retailing”
We’ve debated for a long time about physical versus online, but that’s not the conversation any more. Covid has been a forced experiment that has allowed us to see what different unexpected scenarios look like. The future is hybrid retailing.
I’m a great believer in physical retailing, but hybrid retailing is here to stay. It’s not going away. Customers are now used to using technology, whether through QR codes, Apple/Google Pay, booking systems or research before in-store purchases.
Technology is far more affordable for a small business to be able to integrate its stock system, run online as the same systems as its physical stores, continuing the brand across multiple platforms.
The barriers have come down so quickly and the only thing that limits people now is their own imagination, ambitions and energy. Hybrid retail is there for the taking, so get off the travelator and go for it.
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