Experian outlines future of UK retail market

Tuesday, September 25, 2012 - 09:54 by Mike Price

A report from analysts at Experian has examined the state of retail in the UK at the moment, as well as predicting where the industry will go in the future.

It argues that because safe shopping online has become so popular and will continue to grow in significance, high street outlets need to re-imagine themselves as hubs for product collection, rather than as the traditional retail venues that they have been in the past.

In essence, it is predicted that because people will be ordering more of their product online, local stores need to be able to offer consumers the chance to come in and collect these items, so that there is still some kind of activity on the high street.

Analysts also point out that because the UK's population will be increasingly made up of older people a decade down the line, there will be a need for town centres to provide facilities that accommodate those over the age of 70.

This includes shopping outlets that are easy to access and health services which will encourage people to get out and about.

The social element of shopping in the high street is also cited by analysts as being one area which needs some attention.

Experian spokesperson, James Miller, told BBC news, that bricks and mortar retailers need to find the right balance between catering to younger people who are more web-savvy and an older generation, who will have more money to spend but require certain facilities to make the high street more appealing.

This will of course mean that shopping online and the high street will need to become more tightly melded and interchangeable, since this type of multichannel, cross platform arrangement is one that consumers are increasingly coming to expect.