{"id":46810,"date":"2023-10-06T14:13:51","date_gmt":"2023-10-06T13:13:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/grayling.com\/news-and-views\/whats-in-store-for-our-high-streets-post-pandemic\/"},"modified":"2023-10-06T14:13:51","modified_gmt":"2023-10-06T13:13:51","slug":"whats-in-store-for-our-high-streets-post-pandemic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/grayling.com\/es\/news-and-views\/whats-in-store-for-our-high-streets-post-pandemic\/","title":{"rendered":"What\u2019s in store for our high streets post-pandemic?"},"content":{"rendered":"

As COVID-19 disrupts and changes our shopping and socialising habits, how will our high streets adapt and innovate? Ashley Daly<\/a>, an Account Manager in Grayling\u2019s London office, explores the issue.<\/p>\n

In 1796, a silk seller by the name of Anthony Harding opened the doors to what is now regarded as the world\u2019s first department store. A converted mansion on London\u2019s Pall Mall, Harding, Howell & Co.\u2019s was split into four departments, offering exotic goods from furs to fabrics, jewellery to perfume and even a small restaurant.<\/p>\n

Combining convenience with unique, quality goods, and importantly a social occasion, it\u2019s no surprise that Harding\u2019s disruptive concept was quickly adopted across the country, paving the way for many of the much-loved brands we see on our high streets today, including Debenhams (1813), House of Fraser (1849) and John Lewis & Partners (1864).<\/p>\n

Fast forward to Black Friday 2020 and it\u2019s clear to see that our high streets are going through a similar period of disruption. According to Retail Economics, sales online will overtake sales made in-store within the decade, as demand for cheaper goods grows and deliveries become faster and more convenient<\/a>. In a way, it\u2019s similar to the innovations by Harding in transforming how we shop and what we buy, with shiny new platforms offering the world\u2019s products at your fingertips.<\/p>\n

Yet, while department stores drive footfall to high streets, which in turn results in trade for surrounding businesses, the rise of online shopping is having the opposite effect. Without the need for a physical transaction, e-commerce is taking human activity away from high streets. In Britain, high street footfall has fallen for eight consecutive years<\/a>, and one in eight high street retail units now lie empty<\/a>. Many of our much-loved high street brands are struggling to keep the lights on.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s no doubt the pandemic is hastening this decline, at least in the short-term, with visiting high streets virtually prohibited during lockdown. But, while the immediate outlook may seem gloomy, there are some reasons to be cheerful. High streets are adapting \u2013 as they always have \u2013 to changing consumer behaviour, providing hope that 2021 could be a transformative year:<\/p>\n