Last night I flipped on the television for one hour. (Research purposes only, you understand) and watched a news feature title Ghost Town.
The report documented the plight faced by hundreds of thousands of small business owners across the country namely changing consumer habits, increasing commercial rents, extortionate rates and increased competition from both out of town retail villages and the internet.
I live in a traditional market town and I love nothing more to browse around the market and get fresh produce. I respect the market stall owners, many who have been trading there for decades, mainly because you can truly see that they care about their business and they value your custom.
A few weeks back I was doing my weekly produce shop. I buy my fruit, vegetables and my meat from the local traders and everything else I tend to buy from the supermarket. Why? Because when I buy apples for example I might want 7 to last me through the week. The supermarket may offer me a buy one get one free deal on a bag of 5 apples. The problem is that by the time I get to the second bag the apples are off, so it seems pretty fruitless….excuse the pun!
Something that I enjoy about the market that I don’t experience at the supermarket is the personal touch. The owner of the Green Grocer’s stall is called Mark and I chat to him every week. I have no idea who runs the local supermarket. Mark doesn’t wear a little name badge saying “Mark, How Can I help?”Mark, makes it a point to introduce himself to all his customers, says hello and smiles at you when you walk in and thanks you for your custom every time.
On this particular occasion I was looking for bananas. Mark apologised to me and said that he didn’t buy the bananas in the wholesalers in the morning because they were too expensive and he felt it would be unfair to ask his customers to pay such a price. He then said you would be better getting them from the supermarket. At that moment I was completely amazed. A business owner who relies solely on selling fresh produce has advised me to go to, what possibly is his largest competition to buy something that should be a staple product of his stall.
In hindsight, would it have been better for Mark to buy at the inflated cost, then pass this inflated cost on to his customers and face the negative reaction. Would you want the negative association?
The rest of the town centre is blighted by the unsightly view of boarded up and empty shops. It is sad but every time I see a shop opening in the town centre I am filled with doubt. This is not just for independent store holders but for the retailers as well.
Why is this?
- Local Government does not support local business enough.
Yes, you will hear positive spin about start up funds and business mentorship and reduced rates (for a certain period) but it is not enough. What about parking? I am pretty fit so carrying a bag that weighs 8 kilos is fine but what about the older community, what about women (I am not being sexist here)? My girlfriend finds it difficult to carry the bag if I am not there. There is parking available but at the cost of about £2 an hour. Well that just pretty much negates the cost advantage of your shopping.
There is always a glut of trigger happy traffic wardens ready to levy a further sixty pound fine on you for parking close to the shops.
- Local Competition With Global Economy of Scale.
It’s obvious to everyone that over the last ten years there has been a radical shift in consumer buying patterns. The supermarkets have edged their way into every town. In the town where I live, with a population of forty one thousand people there are 5 supermarkets. Less than 3 miles from where I live there are numerous out of town retail outlets, too many too count and there is a large indoor shopping and leisure complex where you can get everything from a Gucci hand bag to getting a pedicure by one hundred and fifty little fish.
These out of town options work because of space, parking, everything under one roof. The new generation see the town centres as a bore. Somewhere that their Gran used to go shopping.
- The Virtual Mall
At one point through the news report last night they showed an application that has been designed that replicates Oxford Street in London, in minute detail. The idea is, that due to the shift of buying power now coming from online, that people want to replicate the old ways of doing business with the new. Now to be honest, as much as I am a huge advocate for the internet and doing business online (hell that’s what I do!), I was disgusted! Let me explain.
I agree that traditional businesses need to have an online presence. In fact I would go as far to say that if you don’t have an online presence then you are committing business suicide. However the thought of having a virtual reality shopping experience doesn’t really do much for me. I am sure it would appeal to a host of people, but isn’t part of the desire of going to your local town centre about being part of the local community. Sure, social media is about providing that online community, but is this just one step too far?
Establish an online presence, establish a community online by utilising and leveraging social media to build your brand reputation online and spread the word, but do not turn online shopping into a computer game!
About
James Debono is a small business owner and Internet entrepreneur. James dedicates his time to helping other small business owners leverage the power of the Internet to drive business growth and positive change. Click here James Debono+ to connect with James.
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