If you shop secretly on Chinese retail websites such as AliExpress, Shein or Temu, and regularly frequent retail parks outside the city, you cannot complain about the “death” of high streets.
It is a testing time for independent shops and smaller retailers who do not have a large online presence, cannot compete on price, have business rates and energy overheads and are not located on such retail parks.
They have faced an exodus of customers, thanks to mismanagement by many local councils when it comes to parking costs (and complicated apps), poor public transport links and attention to the simply ridiculous prices offered to online shoppers.
For this reason, our high streets are becoming meccas for betting shops, charity shops, coffee shops and an endless supply of barbers and nail salons.
Battles: High street shops are constantly facing this, and out-of-town retail parks are absorbing huge numbers of shoppers.
While my local high street is relatively busy, over the last 12 months I have noticed more shops disappearing and boarding up, an unknown fate and much less foot traffic.
In recent times, I have also been surprised to discover the number of friends and family who have told me that they have used one of the Chinese websites mentioned above, with varying degrees of success in terms of quality.
People I really didn’t expect to use them.
In fact, new research from e-commerce marketing platform Ominsend suggests that three in five shoppers (this figure rises to four in five for Gen Z) have purchased products from Chinese shopping websites in the past year.
People seem more likely to buy a £5 dress from Shein than a £15 dress from a market stall, or a £30 dress from an independent store, with their eyes focused solely on price and a quick experience, rather than quality.
Too little thought is often given to the consequences for workers and the environment of a dress costing £5.
Chinese websites (and Amazon) aside, I think it’s the out-of-town retail parks that really are the final nail in the coffin of the high street as we know it.
They offer free parking, most of the shops you know, and the bigger, larger retailers seem to be focusing on them in a big way, especially Next and M&S, who are going through a rough patch, so the strategy is working, along with popular fast food places, such as McDonalds and Greggs.
Last month as a family we made two separate trips from Essex along the A12 to Norfolk and Suffolk by car.
With a newborn on board, the need to stop can be pressing (driving with a crying baby in the back seat should be part of your driving test).
On each occasion we ended up in two of these newly built out-of-town retail parks, located just off the A road, one in Stanway, just outside Colchester, and one in Martlesham, just outside Ipswich, simply because that was when the baby started crying.
Both were packed. Stanway had one of the biggest M&S stores I’ve ever been in, while Martlesham had a huge Next with a Costa and a Waterstones inside.
Leaving the huge car parks, both places had terrible traffic problems. A single entrance and exit, onto a busy main road, is a recipe for disaster.
There are many of these sites spread across the country, also poorly designed in terms of access for motorists, but still immensely popular.
Fifteen years ago, most of these shoppers would have been on the high streets. Now they are being funnelled into these soulless knock-off sites.
I can understand why retailers love them: larger locations, free parking for customers, and easier access for incoming goods.
As a shopper, I hate them. I prefer to be on the main street of my town, where there is more variety and character.
Sadly, I think I’m a dying breed. What happens to the high street is still in our hands, but don’t be surprised if you see more shops closing, more retailers abandoning their physical premises and more people you know saying, “It’s a shame, it used to be a really nice place to visit.”
If you shop on Chinese websites and frequently visit out-of-town retail parks but find yourself saying the above, you know what to do.
Consider supporting your main street more.
Otherwise, perhaps it is time to completely rethink the main street as a commercial area and accept that most of it should be converted into residential properties.
Have any local independent stores gone the extra mile for you? Get in touch with us to tell us about your experience: editor@thisismoney.co.uk
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