COMMENT

THIS has been a difficult year for many high street retailers.

Job losses, firms in administration and varying profit warnings have all painted a worrying picture.

This has been coupled with a rise in internet shopping, with a massive £1 in every £3 of nonfood purchases spent online in November (with a Black Friday boost).

Many commentators have found themselves blaming internet shopping for the troubles on the high street.

But the last five years has seen a dramatic shift in consumer behaviour, and retailers are responding to it by rebalancing their online and offline offerings.

Consumers may browse online before purchasing in store or choose to test a product in store before making a final purchase online.

Indeed, click-andcollect has seen online purchases boost footfall on the high street.

All this helps to explain why eight of the top 10 internet retailers also have a physical presence on the high street.

Skilled

The future of physical stores is one of transformation. There may be fewer stores in future, but their purpose will be different – offering consumers experienceled shopping and more services.

We may also expect fewer jobs in the high streets in the future, but we expect higher skilled, better paid jobs to be left.

In the last five years alone, there are 100,000 people doing jobs in retail that didn’t exist previously, from a social media manager to a digital marketer.

High streets may look different in five years, but the result can be improved experiences for consumers, better jobs for staff, and a healthy environment for retailers.

Government can support the high street through this transformation.

With margins squeezed, the ever-rising business rates burden is unsustainable and must be cut back or reformed.

Retailers pay 25 per cent of all business rates despite the sector accounting for 5 per cent of the economy.

However, the future of the high streets is ultimately in the hands of the consumer.

So go out and purchase those last few presents you need on your high street.