By Sabi Tolou, CCO at Sendcloud

It is time to ditch the battle between online retailers and bricks and mortar stores. It is dated, ill-judged and, frankly, a dangerous distraction at a time when the pandemic has threatened to rip the heart out of the much loved British high street.

While companies with an online presence thrived, weeks of enforced shop closure has rapidly accelerated a decline that was already being felt in many towns and cities. On the face of it, the battle to save the high street has already been lost.

Not so. With the right approach, retailers can achieve an extraordinary reimagining of the high street by embracing a retail model built on the quality of the physical experience and the value of difference and diversity, underpinned by the speed, efficiency and sheer ease of buying online.

By exploring simple subscription platforms to embrace online sales alongside physical stores, the UK’s independent retailers will not only save the high street, they will reinvigorate it and create a far more compelling and relevant retail experience.

Commerce Growth

Even before Covid-19 changed consumer behaviour, e-commerce had already become  one of the most dynamic and fast growing industries in the world.

Lockdown forced consumers online in ever greater numbers, and many e-commerce retailers made hay. According to research undertaken on behalf of Sendcloud, UK consumers bought 2.9 more products on average during the global lockdown than before it came into place.

In addition to the essentials, such as food and household goods, distraction shopping became a major trend. From sports equipment for newly-built home gyms to books, stationary and plants for the home office, retailers able to fulfil the demand for leisure activities cleaned up.

When physical shops in the UK reopened in June, a combination of fear and the familiarity of buying online kept many individuals away from the high street – much to the despair of bricks and mortar retailers.

Yet the true picture is far from black and white. During lockdown, many offline retailers cobbled together extraordinary ad hoc solutions to make sales and support their local customer base.

Catering companies created pop up shops to provide local people with access to fresh produce – not only supporting the community, but also replacing a lost revenue stream while providing their wholesale providers with a new outlet.

Independent shops took telephone and email orders and managed their own deliveries, often using friends and family. If they didn’t have customer email addresses, they used local social media pages to get the message out. It wasn’t slick or efficient; but it worked. It provided some revenue, reinforced customer relationships and created community sentiment.

Creating Diversity

So what’s next?

Of course, consumers will continue to buy online – many more now recognise the ease and convenience offered by good online retailers. However, there is also a growing sense that while convenience is great for the staples in a post lockdown world, people also crave the face-to-face shopping experience and knowledgeable interaction.

It is no coincidence that some parts of the UK are now seeing pre-lockdown levels of high street footfall, with  an increase in demand for shop premises from retailers tapping into consumers’ leisure habits, including bookshops and sports equipment providers.

There is also a rise in people looking to build on the current community spirit with local delis and specialist food shops. Such businesses will be vital over the next few years as the big chains continue to pull out of physical stores and refocus their activities online.

High streets can, for the first time in decades, regain their independent feel and evolve back from the homogeneity created by ubiquitous brands.

The economics of high street retail, however, remain fragile. Additional revenue streams are required and retailers need to recognise the changing expectation amongst even the most loyal customer base.

It is vital that high street retailers embrace online sales and do so in a structured way that delivers measurable revenue increasing without significant investment.

It’s no longer about pitting e-commerce retailers against high street stores – online retailers need an offline presence to be able to provide a personalised touch to customers, while offline retailers need an online presence to future-proof their businesses. They both need each other to survive and thrive.

Blended Sales Model

However, this is not just about popping a shopfront on an online marketplace. While that might seem the best approach, the latest generation of subscription-based platforms make it easy to set up an online store with limited investment and no loss of earnings through marketplace commission.

From sales and payment to shipping platforms, the entire e-commerce process can be automated, making it incredibly easy to add online to the sales model and, critically, to offer the quality of customer experience typically associated with high-end online retailers.

From multiple, dynamically-priced delivery options to customer messaging and parcel tracking, the entire experience can be achieved with minimal outlay. The model is inherently scalable, enabling a retailer to build up from a handful of items a day to hundreds. Sales can be made via a retailer’s own website, as well as multiple marketplaces if required.

Adding online to the existing offline business enables a retailer to  retain its local community feel and the quality of the physical experience whilst seamlessly extending its sales reach to a national, even international customer base.

Experience-led Retail

This blended, experience-led sales approach is a model that is gaining ground not only amongst independent retailers, but also large established online businesses.

A growing number of previously online-only players are now opening retail stores – both to provide a physical presence and to create destination retail outlets that act as product showrooms.

This is part of a trend called clicks to bricks, where online retailers are increasingly opening brick-and-mortar stores. Misguided and Zalando are two of the biggest names in the UK to join this trend, while Amazon is also due to jump on the bandwagon after announcing plans to open 10 high street grocery stores by the end of 2020.

Knowledgeable retailers are focused on providing information and customer support rather than overt sales. While products can still be purchased in-store, an efficient logistics model means shops act as a mini warehouse, holding limited stock with products primarily available for collection or home delivery.

These companies recognise the value of the physical experience – something retailers with bricks and mortar stores have always known. But they also have the advantage of incredibly slick and refined online sales models.

These retailers have mastered the art of offering multiple delivery or collection options  realising the value of constant communication to keep the customer informed every step of the way to minimise customer service calls, improve engagement and drive repeat sales.

High street retailers are now in the position to deliver the same level of online experience. Adding a scalable, effective online sales platform to the existing physical store presence will open up an essential new revenue stream. It will enable innovative independent retailers to support the local community and maximise the value of a high quality personal experience while extending their reach to a global market.

E-commerce really can be the saviour of the high street.