How Technology is shaping the future of UK 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