The future of the High Street: A tale of two record shops

Abstract

The British High Street is going through a transformative period. Due to the current economic climate and the rise of internet shopping, prominent retailers are closing at an alarming rate. Paradoxically, many large retailers are withdrawing from provincial cities in order to survive. The transfer of customers’ shopping habits from High Street to the internet is indicative of two things: the simplifying of online purchase and a lack of ‘in-store experience’. Record shops were among the first to suffer from changing consumer trends — those that united in order to stave off closure can offer guidance to small retailers and others who now find themselves in a similar position. This is achieved through nurturing an intense loyalty among customers; through offering services that cannot be matched online or in supermarkets. The imaginative and collective collaboration among retailers offers hope to a quickly fading High Street.