THE CHANGING HIGH STREET

The landscape of the high street is in a process of change. It has been in a process of change for quite some time now.

There are several factors as to why that is happening. First came the supermarkets, which gobbled up all the greengrocers and butchers. Granted, butchers have managed to hold their own over the past couple of decades, and now we are seeing a resurgence of a new generation of butchers who are using social media and consciously spending on branding and design. Then came the overuse of cars. Because the supermarkets weren’t on high streets, people had to drive to them and, as a result, we began to see more retail parks. Huge companies took up massive warehouse spaces on the edges of towns, drawing people away from the walkable shops in the centre of town and leaving massive old vacant buildings that landlords weren’t willing to renovate, while still asking for disgustingly high rents.

So, we look at the high streets of the 90s, where kids would meet at McDonald’s, then mooch around the shops, look at trainers they couldn’t buy and even go into the shops that sold video games, before perhaps buying some sweets from Woolworths. None of this is an option now.

What is happening on the offshoot streets of the high street is the emergence of little independent shops, cafés and bars. They’re ending up down the cobbled streets, the streets that lead to the town hall or the centre, because the rents on the main streets are so expensive. The councils are also doing their best to squeeze every last penny out of any budding entrepreneur who wants to start their own business through excessive business rates. But these independent business owners are making a solid stand. They’re being savvy with social media; they are putting on run clubs, yoga mornings and pottery classes. They’re trying to pull in the footfall. Being seen isn’t just physical; it is also, perhaps more importantly, about being seen digitally.

Social media is a daunting prospect for most people. As a business owner, it’s one thing putting signage above a door and an A-frame outside the shop, but posting your day-to-day life on social media feels personal. It provides a forum for criticism. A post is quantifiable. You begin asking yourself why. Why have only so many people ‘liked’ it? Why hasn’t that person ‘liked’ it? Why are my sales not improving? Fear is a feeling that will prevent anyone from progressing, but as business owners, whether you own a barbershop or you are a standalone barber, that feeling needs to be overcome and ignored.

The digital world is now the high street. The positive is that you’re not just reaching people walking past; you’re reaching hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of people on a daily basis. As a barber, you need scissors, you need clippers, you need a hairdryer, but you also need social media and Google reviews. A digital footprint is just another tool to help develop and grow your business.

The change in retail and services isn’t just in the storefronts; it’s changed the way we work. As a barber, you no longer need to open from 8am until 8pm and hope and pray that people will walk past and come in.

Barbers can now work like dentists and physios have for so many years. It’s appointment-based. If the barber has no appointments lined up, then they don’t have to be at the shop. If the client can’t find an appointment in the next day or two, they can book in a week’s time.

From the barber’s point of view, speaking from experience, it allows for a far more pleasurable and convenient work-life balance. Now, this isn’t to say barbers don’t work 12-hour days, but by using the tools they have at their disposal, such as an online booking system, clients can see when they are available. The digital footprint, as a tool, can make both the barber’s and the client’s lives significantly easier.

For years, consumers were unsure where the high street was going, but, like moving into a new house, it takes a little time to work out how that house works for you. That is where we’re at with high streets now.

The independent cafés, shops, bars and barbershops are all little buds that are making the high street flourish again.