The Online Shop

The economic crisis has affected many high street retailers. Recently in the UK Jessops (A photography retailer) went out of business. In one of their store windows was a note saying that all the staff from Jessops thanked everyone for shopping with Amazon. When i first saw the picture of this note i was amused but after watch an episode of Question Time on BBC 1 on a Thursday night at about 2230 in the UK, i realized that maybe this isn't so good for our high streets. With some of these companies also paying less tax because they don't employ or operate within our shores.

On the show they were discussing how online retailers where pushing the smaller companies out of the market by have low operating costs and how this was affecting our high streets. It would seem to me that some of these companies are well suited to offer much more to the countries they operate in. In this economic climate they are easily going to make the situation worse ensuring that not everybody get a fair deal.

This gave me the bright spark of a business idea, I call it 'The online shop' - 'on your high street'. This idea was pushed also by seeing one of those new Amazon Lockers, the one near me is call 'Oregano'.

The idea is that shopper go into this shop and buy good online using tables arranged around the shop. There would be some way for the goods to be paid with using cash and the goods could be delivered to the store so that they could be picked up at a time to suit you and not just pot luck for when the delivery guy shows up during the day hoping that your in.


So there it is people the answer to our high street, you do online shopping in your town center.. maybe get a good cup of coffee while you browse.


Thanks for reading


Popcorn

 

I don't remember the details but I swear there was a movie where at the start a woman is running a store with that idea.

/edit: I hadn't seen it buy my girlfriend informs me it was the start of "40 Year Old Virgin"

/2nd edit: I didn't really talk about your point. I like the idea as it's a combo coffee shop/net cafe kind of thing but I don't really see it taking off unless it's in smaller towns.

 

Trying to work out why I would use a service like that, rather than ordering stuff from the comfort of my home, or while at work, and then just collecting items from the post office, if need be.

I do have stuff delivered via courier from time to time, so it could be useful, I suppose, but then I can always get a neighbour to sign for stuff.

 

Tesco's Direct (Think of it as the UK's version of Walmart) is a very similar model to the online shop you described. You go in, select items from a catalog form the online store and then go up to a member of staff who orders the item for you from the website. Item then arrives a day later in store and is held in the warehouse until you can come collect it. It's open to 10pm so people working have no problem. Catch is that its only the Tesco's online store though.

Also Amazon Locker has solved delivery problems from Amazon, pretty much every coffee shop and cornor shop around me supports Amazon Locker! Can grab a coffee and pick up your online shopping

 

What it was on The 40 Year Old Virgin, was basically she'd buy, auction items on eBay and sell them.

Retail entertainment stores are more than likely to someday all shut down due to the online marketplaces being cheaper and more variety.

Although, food stores will always be available because it's essential for all human beings.

 

But even supermarkets/grocery stores now have an online and home delivery option. If you're running a successful business from your home, and do all your shopping via online sites, there isn't a reason to even bother leaving the house.

Here in Australia a lot of our bigger department stores are struggling against the online market. The overall reason is that they have been slow in setting up an online presence.

What could save the smaller shops from decline and extinction is a simple solution. As goods sold online are usually tax exempt, a small store could setup a small online shop with the options of picking up from the store, or delivery to an address. This way you could have a cuppa when you go to collect your items, and as you're now in the store there is the possibility of upselling, or you may even see something else you like and purchase it as well.
It is a win-win situation, the retailer gets more business, possibly even some from outside their current area, and the consumer who orders online saves not having to pay tax on the items.

 

That is a good idea too, having somewhere to return the goods. I suppose that if they fitted this idea into their business models then it would be a good idea. Just the idea of making online shopping more convenient is probably the best appeal to people with this idea

And i see nimrod is still promoting TESCO LOL

Cheers for the response though

 

tesco burgers taste so greate naaay

 

On a completely unrelated note my spelling is awful just another reason why Microsoft is killing key skills LOL.

It's an old reference to my high school days