There’s very little left untouched by the internet. In 2019, seemingly every aspect of society has been digitised or exists online in some form. Wales’s high streets are no exception with many shops and centres either changing with the times or moving on altogether. Here are some of the ways the internet is remaking Wales’s high streets.
Rise of Online Retail
Of course, the largest changes have been felt in the retail sector. In 2006, internet sales accounted for just 2.5% of total retail sales in the UK but by 2018, that was up to over 21%. Data like this will start the alarm bells ringing for some retail chains in the country. Woolworth’s went from 832 stores in 1995 to administration just 13 years later.
But Woolworth’s isn’t the only company which failed to adapt to the changes. From Dixons to MFI and Comet, dozens of well-known brands have closed their doors in the last 15 years. Many pointed the blame towards online retailers. Sites like Amazon and eBay have grown tremendously because they can offer the same products at lower prices. Consumers vote with their feet or, rather, their wallets.
And it’s easy to see why. The sheer choice of options available to consumers online is staggering. Companies can offer a far greater selection of products as running costs are so much lower.
The End of the Bingo Hall?
Just look at one former Welsh high street staple: the bingo hall. Back in the 1960’s, statistics like this show there were over 14 million bingo players in the UK. It has remained popular for decades but the internet has channelled that into a different medium. Online bingo companies like this have exploded in popularity in the last decade.
This time, the consumers are voting with their bingo dabbers. With online bingo, users have a far greater choice over the types of games they’re playing and can compete with national or even international players. The jackpots are bigger but it hasn’t brought about the death of the bingo hall in Welsh high streets as many might have expected. Instead, it has helped bingo make something of a revival in the UK as online and hall games start to coexist.
And that’s the key for high street stores – to learn to coexist with the internet. Companies like Argos have adapted perfectly to the internet age, offering a mix of online retail with in-store catalogue browsing and collection. And this is how the internet has helped to change the high street. Companies with the best online selections are often the same ones thriving in their brick-and-mortar buildings.
The average Welsh high street is unrecognisable today to what it was a few decades ago. Go back another few decades and it was a similar story. Today, the high street is lavished with award ceremonies that congratulate businesses that have changed with the times. Whether it’s bingo sites or Argos which exist in both mediums, or a wave of new stores which offer in-person products and services, the internet has brought about more of a rebuild than a destruction of the Welsh high street.