High street and online shopping are intrinsically linked

Friday, April 25, 2014 - 10:33 by Mike Price

A new report from Conlumino, has shown that although many may see bricks and mortar retail as the polar opposite of shopping online, in reality each is reliant on the other for long term survival, according to Internet Retailing.

It is estimated that 89 per cent of all purchases will be driven by the high street by the year 2020. So while people may be going through with transactions on the web, they will still be looking to real world stores to find inspiration for the next product to buy.

In fact, analysts believe that if the high street ceased to exist altogether, online sales could potentially dip by £52 billion annually, which is why retailers need to take a multichannel approach if they want to succeed.

About 10.7 per cent of purchases are made online in the UK at the moment, although changing habits mean that people are using the high street in different ways.

For example, about £200 million is made each year as a result of people who are shopping online from a mobile device, while actually walking around high street stores.

At the end of the decade, the growth of e-commerce will see online sales account for 21.3 per cent of the total. But even with this shift, the high street will retain a prominent place in the UK.

Shopping on the high street is increasingly becoming a leisure activity, according to analysts. Because people have the luxury of being able to buy online from their PC at home or their mobile while they are on the move, they can browse items in-store to get a feel for them before going through with a purchase.

So those who have been claiming that the death of the high street is inevitable, it seems that such an opinion has been formed too hastily.