How Technology is shaping the future of UK High Streets

This essay explores how technology is reshaping high street markets in the UK and the potential solutions for survival and success. It discusses the impact of online shopping, the importance of omni-channel retail, and the role of technology in saving high streets. The essay also highlights the challenges and opportunities faced by retailers and the government's initiatives to support high streets.

How Technology is shaping
the future of UK High Streets

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................3
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................8
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................1

INTRODUCTION
Today, the High Street retailers of UK are facing a serious situation as the traditional
model of offline retail is changing significantly. A lot of stores have closed across UK and online
shopping is slowly replacing the traditional model of offline retail. But all's not gloomy as online
giant Amazon is investing in Bricks and Mortar stores, which a sign that the high street might
still have a future. Modern customers' changing purchase behaviour and a technologically driven
market is reshaping high street markets. The only solution is an omni-channel retail which will
integrate digital technology. The details of this dynamic is highlighted in the essay.
MAIN BODY
High street retail has been a part of the city and towns of UK since long and consumers
were heavily fixated on the retail in the 1980s and 90s. But as time and trends changed, the
individuality of high streets started diminishing. Today, they are in crisis with more than 50,000
shops being closed in just over a decade and is predicted to only get worse. There is a drastic
shift in the consumer behaviour after the explosion of e-commerce and online marketing. Internet
is blurring the lines between online and offline shopping. Consumers no longer need to wait for
hours to make a purchase. A mobile phone can be used to discover new products, locate and
compare prices, create and manage shopping lists, buy products and also review purchases. This
has led to a conjunction of online and offline shopping. (Parker and et.al., 2017) Consumers
prefer one-click purchases and next-day delivery provided by companies like Amazon. But
recently, Amazon started investing in Bricks and Mortar stores which means that all is not blue
for high streets. Internet shopping still accounts for around 20% of the total and cannot be the
sole reason for the decline.
To survive and thrive, High streets have to adapt to the current economic and technological shift.
They need to understand operational functions from scratch and find ways to draw people in to
the town centres as shopping isn't just about buying things, but have to imbibe a culture of
“work, rest and play”. But the reality is that more and more retailers are going online and shops
are leaving high streets. The major reasons for this are Brexit, high business rents and reduction
in the disposable income of consumers. The complete blame for this decline on internet and
Amazon is not right as adaptation of operations and management are responsible for the success

of any business. Smyths managed to prosper in this scenario but Toys R Us couldn't as it
probably did not make most of the opportunity that digitalization offered and failed at their stores
at the same time.
Online retail is now a fact which businesses have to accept and adapt to its dynamics. There are
ways in which small retailers can thrive in this intense online competition. (Ibrahim and Wang,
2019)
The best of both worlds: It is fundamental for any business to maximize their sales and
enquiries. The best way to do this is by having both retail store and online presence. It is
important to build an e-commerce website to sell and market products. High street businesses
can start promotion of products through digital marketing strategies have to be prioritized. The
benefits include: saving an range of business costs and increasing budget for crucial elements, no
restriction on locations to be served, flexibility in timings like 24*7 operations and attracting
new customers. Selling online helps in maximize retail sales of the store by allowing customers
to shop from the store in their own time and place that is convenient for them. Many customers
like to visit the store to look and experience the products but eventually buy it online later. If
there is no website, the sales of this nature can be missed out. If any customer turns out to be a
tourist or one-off purchaser and unlikely to be in that area gain, the website can allow them to
purchase from the store later on. Also, Having a physical shop helps in retail sales as many
brands are offering “click and collect” by combining the online and offline world. The internet is
full of so called bedroom traders and having a physical presence gives first time customers more
confidence for they can visit the store in-case of any problems or changes.
Use of Technology to save high streets
New technology completes the picture of potential customer's behaviour and analytical tools help
in tracking patterns and understanding evolving purchase behaviours. It is important to build a
strategy though.
Creating Online presence: “Google My Business” is one of the easiest methods to enhance the
appearance of the website if used to full potential. It is a widely used listings service for small
and local businesses. It can help in prominence of search results by local and mobile search
engine optimization, makes it easier for customers to find the store, credibility, refining the

search experience. Its free and easy to set up listings and has various analytical tools to find
insights into customer behaviour. Optimization can be done by adding useful information, daily
monitoring and updation, making use of new features, building citations and getting feedback via
review system.
Augmenting the channels with real-time local inventory data: Consumers' use of social media
like Instagram can strangely bring opportunity for businesses. That means when customers spot a
product online, instead of just buying it they can use Instagram to get real-time updates about
shops around their location which sells the same items. This means that they can try it out in the
store and purchase then and there. Delivery systems like Uber can use such data to enable drivers
to shop on customer's behalf and deliver the products like a book from a local store along with
their own food delivery. Around three- quarters of shoppers would prefer buying locally than
online if they know the items they want are available in nearby stores. So, it is necessary that
stores place their products on the shelves.
Changes in-store: New technologies can help in sustaining the performance of a number of small
retailers to ensure high street success. Changes in space usage and setting up touch-screens on
the walls to let customers browse using a website. (Bonetti Perry and Quinn, 2018) This
combination of tightly curated inventory on the floor and technology means stores reflect a very
inviting and sparse experience.
Data driven World
Apart from intuition, the best move for businesses when it comes to decision-making is
the business application facts in form of qualitative and quantitative data. The retailers of any
size should focus on data collection and management and have databases, spreadsheets, customer
services and feedback systems, social media page analytics etc. It is impossible for organizations
to come to conclusion without accurate data. To be competitive, everything must be rooted and
backed up by numbers in order to support choices any business makes. The data and information
about customers, staff, partners, suppliers or any other business processes come in different size
and shapes and thus it gets difficult to manage. Problems with data include duplicate entries,
human errors, outdated information and ultimately the not so popular data silos.
Data silos: Data silos are a big hurdle for decision-making and impacts the growth of the
business. They give an incomplete view of the business by stopping a 360-degree view and

managing isolated data is like putting a jigsaw puzzle on a picture-less box. They create a less
collaborative environment and it becomes difficult to create a culture of transparency. There is
wastage of storage space and threat of the accuracy of data. They may also lead to bad customer
experience and slow the pace of the business. (Patel, 2019)
The major challenge high streets may face is : the unification of data silos. It can be solved by
using legacy data management solutions, although such tools are generally adopted by larger
retailers with IT teams but Cloud providers offering CDPs- Customer Data Platforms can help
smaller businesses. The CDP provides the key to comprehensive data- driven marketing where
all customer data is combined for marketing uses. Use of integration softwares like IpaaS,
Zapier and Mulesoft enterprise solutions help in getting a complete picture of customer addition.
This ultimately helps in creating a more collaborative business culture.
Robots and Retail
There is a popular notion that apart from internet shopping, artificial intelligences and
robotics will eventually replace workers in customer service. It is evident that only some roles in
the retail industry will be taken over by Robotics but this will enable quality interaction with
consumers. For consumers, the internet has created options to shop but this doesn't necessary
motivate purchases. (Grewal, Motyka and Levy, 2018) Interaction with another person creates an
emotional connection and customers need this in order to prompt them to buy products. AI and
Robotic devices can help the workers of customer service to become more responsive towards
customers and decrease the aspects of their interactive roles. Much like household robotic
devices such as the Roomba vacuum cleaner, store devices can conduct pricing corrections in
stores and tidy up spaces and shelves. New technology will play a significant role in logistics and
inventory storage systems of a business by helping in reducing expenses on space rentals and
provide fast and efficient supply chain management to enhance customer service. (Fernie and
Sparks 2018) New tech- led models of service can help cut warehouse costs, and 'pay-as-you-go'
pay models can improve storage space and mobile storage which can be scaled up or down in
response to changes in inventory level and location requirements. Amazon and Alibaba are
already using robotic arms and interconnected automated conveyor belts for fast sorting and
warehousing purposes.

Government and the future of High Streets
The government realizes the value of keeping high street alive in the digital age and are
investing in many initiatives. Local governments are thinking out of the box and plan on moving
people to high streets instead of products. (Schröder, 2016) The current Government is planning
to revive struggling high streets by enabling town centres to change empty shops into homes,
cafes or offices and there are plans to redevelop and modernize Maidenhead and Berkshire. They
are ensuring that a diverse range of business can operate and thrive across the country. Forward-
thinking and entrepreneurial spirit will reduce the barriers for retailers and help them adapt to
changes and go digital. As taxes for giant online sellers are imposed, they lose their competitive
advantage over other sellers making it easier for high streets shops to compete.
Rather than majorly being about retail, the high street should adopt community values and
practice the concept of merging housing with leisure and business. The challenge in the future
will be to make certain that locals have adequate reasons to actually visit these locations and
build more than a row of shops and more of proper destinations. Keeping in mind the needs of
future generation of consumers, there has to be a reduction in retail space and replacement with
other mix-use schemes and residential elements to encourage locals to involve and engage in
their local areas. The high street of tomorrow has to become- easily accessible, safe, clean, and
technologically driven to address individual customer service and a positive experience.

CONCLUSION
It can be deduced from the current situation of high street markets that they are facing a
major threat in adapting to the changes in the retail industry due to the explosion of e-commerce.
Many stores that are not able to improve business operations are on the verge of extinction. To
efficiently handle this situation it is advised that retailers should start using technology and
internet to enhance their business and increase their customer base. They can blend offline and
online aspects of retailing, increase their online presence, use social media to interact with tech-
savvy customers etc. They have to efficiently handle database management by reducing barriers
like data silos. Businesses can also use artificial intelligence for customer services to enhance
individual customer experiences through proper interaction. Technology can also be used to
improve the logistics, warehousing and supply- chain management. The supportive attitude of
government gives a ray of hope for the future of high streets which will be technologically driven
and aimed at providing enhanced customer experience.

REFERENCES
Books and journals
Bonetti, F., Perry, P. and Quinn, L., 2018. Evaluating Managerial Drivers and Barriers to the
Implementation of In-Store Technology in Retailing. In The 21st AMS World Marketing
Congress (WMC).
Fernie, J. and Sparks, L. eds., 2018. Logistics and retail management: emerging issues and new
challenges in the retail supply chain. Kogan page publishers.
Grewal, D., Motyka, S. and Levy, M., 2018. The evolution and future of retailing and retailing
education. Journal of Marketing Education.40(1). pp.85-93.
Ibrahim, N.F. and Wang, X., 2019. Decoding the sentiment dynamics of online retailing
customers: Time series analysis of social media. Computers in Human Behavior. 96.
pp.32-45.
Parker, C and et.al., 2017. Improving the vitality and viability of the UK High Street by
2020. Journal of Place Management and Development.
Patel, J., 2019. OVERCOMING DATA SILOS THROUGH BIG DATA
INTEGRATION. International Journal of Education (IJE).3(01).
Schröder, C., 2016. How to Save Our Town Centres: A Radical Agenda for the Future of High
Streets. The Town Planning Review. 87(6).p.738.
Online
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