Get Out (And Don't Come Back)

City centres are in crisis. They are not what they used to be.

Or, actually, they are what they used to be.

It's those pesky consumers who've changed.

I recently heard news that an out of town retail park (very close to my home) will be getting a new Marks & Spencer Food Hall and Boots, both of which will be open in just a few months time.

As someone who does their weekly shop at M&S I was, naturally, delighted. No need for me to go into town every week now. This will ultimately save me time. And further change my shopping habits. Forever.

Good news is worth spreading, so I've told others. It has been met with delight and, in some cases, ecstatic glee.

"Thank God for that. I won't ever need to go into town!" they've exclaimed.

Surprised by the veracity of their response to this, seemingly everyday, news (I mean, we're being told that retail is dying, it's the end of retail as we know it, and it is, after all, just another shop) I've dug a little deeper.

Turns out there are two factors that feature in their gleeful reasoning of why this "out of town" retail model works best for them:

1. Convenience
2. Parking

How simple. How interesting.

Have our city centres become inconvenient? Yes, I suppose you could say that. It takes ages to get into town and, once you get there, traffic lights, traffic delays, one way systems and pedestrianized areas hamper progress at every stage.

And how's parking? Well, aside from an additional expense, it's not easy. Even more than that, it can be downright stressful. Queues to get into car parks, queues to get out, people nicking spaces right out from under you, paying up front, tickets running out when you're in the middle of having a coffee, having to carry coins to pay (to be fair, not in every city, but in Perth, where I live, you'll find it challenging to park if you don't carry a trusty bundle of 10 pence pieces with you everywhere you go). It all adds up to one big mega hassle.

And who needs hassle, right?

So bin Mary Portas' "save the high street" report, and forget twiddling around the edges, if local councils really want to save the high street, they need to start looking at making it easier to get in and out of the city centre, and where to (conveniently) put all the vehicles when they are there. Heck, now here's a radical thought, they could even make parking free......

Because, you see, the problem is not that consumers aren't spending money (they are), it's just they are spending them in places they can get to easily and get parked for free.

The city centre is not it.

You can get it on the Internet

Save our High Street! High Street in Crisis! Shop Local!

These are all headlines and calls to actions we've seen in recent years.

As the recession has bitten, more and more High Street retailers have gone to the wall. Some quietly shutting their doors, others exits marked by the national media and a mourning customer base, many of whom blame them for hefty prices and failing to innovate. 

So, being the good little consumer I am, I have started to really heed these calls to action. 

I don't want all those fabby little independent shops to disappear. 

I've started to shop locally more often. 

And the results have, I admit, been slightly patchy and, in some cases, downright disappointing. 

Just a couple of weeks ago I ran out of my regular hair styling product for a well known professional brand. You can't buy in Tesco, or Boots, this brand is only stocked in professional salons. But with over 120 hair salons to choose from in Perth, I should be spoilt for choice, right?

Not so. After visiting several, it turns out only one salon stocks this brand. 

After going (out of my way) to go to this salon, their display of 2-3 products in this retail line did not fill me with hope. 

After enquiring, I was (helpfully) told I could "get it on the internet". 

So I did. And it was delivered to me within 48 hours. 

So come on High Street, here's my call to action for you: Get Real and Wise Up. 

Consumers KNOW they can get it on the internet. 

If they walk into your store, it's because they have made the effort to buy local. And please don't think it's not an effort to support you. From the comfort of my armchair I can order my product and, if I like, stay there for the 48 hours until it's delivered. To shop with you I have to get up off my armchair, get into my car, drive into town, park, pay for the parking, walk to your store and, regrettably, cover up my irritation when (having made all that extra effort) your response is that I can get it on the internet. How foolish am I?

But the truth is I will always be able to get the products I want on the internet. But you, on the other hand, will not be able to find your jobs on the internet if you continue to keep up that approach.