Could the past year of shop closures actually be a blessing in disguise for the future of physical shops?

Over a number of years, there has been a gradual move towards online shopping and less in
physical stores. People have been getting more used to the convenience of buying online
and showrooming - using shops to browse but buy online. Left to continue there would be a
steady and inevitable decline in the number of shops left to trade physically.

The lockdown has, at least temporarily, increased the trend of buying online and has allowed
the public to see what life looks like without our local shops. It has created a new-found
appreciation of how much we value our shops and for keeping our shops open on the High
Street. People have had a taste of what it is like to live in a world with no non-essential
shops to go to and just shopping online. Although many like the convenience of online, there
is now a greater appreciation of what they would miss without shops and many people don’t
like it.

It is not much fun just sitting in front of a screen continuously doing our shopping. We
naturally want to venture out, to talk to people, to buy kinaesthetically as well as visually and
audibly. So this glimpse into a world of no physical shops may actually be the saviour of
them.

Most of us have fond memories of going into a toy shop when we were kids. The excitement
and wonder that we felt browsing all the toys on the shelves, in order to choose something
with our pocket money. This can never be replicated online. Browsing in a shop for gift ideas
when you don’t have a clue of what to get is still so much easier in a shop.
Online stores will continue to thrive and serve an important part of our shopping options, but
there are now shop local campaigns and a greater loyalty to keep our shops open. Maybe
this is what was needed to stop the steady decline. If this is going to help save our shops in
the long term, it will be important now to maintain the emotional connection between the
High Street and the local community, and keep the appreciation of the physical shopping experience going.