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High street blues

UK retailers are still struggling, with June sales figures over 3% down compared to the same month last year, according to recent research from a Newcastle consultancy.

Explain Research forecast three years ago that the growth of the internet would start to have a marked effect on the way people shopped. Although other forces have contrived to change the retail market in the last six months, their experts say that those with strong online brands are reaping the benefits of listening to forecasts and re-arranging their businesses before reality struck.

“The first signs of the downward spiral were in the banking sector when Northern Rock turned to the government to bail it out, sending shockwaves through the sector,” said David Shiel, the Chief executive.

David believes that soaring fuel costs will make life uncomfortable for the out of town shopping centres and retail parks as customers turn to the internet to fulfill their needs without leaving the comfort of their home.

Cap Gemini, which tracks online retailing, says it is easier to search out the best prices on the internet. Big shopping centres such as Bluewater and Cribb’s Causeway are reporting a 10% drop in footfall, and Explain say it is likely that North East out-of-town centres will experience the same trend.

David said: “By 2010 online shopping will account for over 20% of consumer spending and it is not difficult to see the effect this will have on the traditional high street, the out of town centres, commercial property values and leases. There are some sectors that will buck the trend because customers will want to see what they are buying but for the rest the high street blues have only just started.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .