The English comedy favourite Open All Hours will soon be making a comeback as Sir David Jason will once again take on the protagonist role in this one-off revival of the 1970s classic that will be transmitted on the BBC over the Christmas holidays. In Malta, we have our own debate on the expediency of shops offering to ‘open all hours’ to win back the loyalty of retail customers.
But the challenges facing high street stores today are not at all comical. The survival of most shops with a physical presence in our towns and villages in the face of intensive competition from online retailers is by no means guaranteed. Retail outlets, therefore, need to reinvent themselves if they are to remain the landmarks that they were for the past century.
The government’s announcement in the last Budget that a White Paper will soon be issued to propose changes to the opening hours of shops has once again stirred a debate. This gained prominence when the Bay Street Complex had opened in Paceville in 2000, introducing the concept of Sunday shopping.
Things have moved on substantially since then. Online retailing has adopted savvy technology to make shopping online easier and more secure. The liberalisation of Customs procedures has made the physical movement of goods bought from even far away countries like China a relatively easy process.
Today, one can shop online not just for books and DVDs but also for clothes, shoes, electronic equipment, car parts and even furniture. The sheer convenience of ordering and paying for goods with the click of a button is irresistible to a generation of people who resent the hassle of having to drive in heavy traffic, at often inconvenient times, to our high street stores that have a limited choice of goods because of space limitations.
Yet, most people find the emotional experience of physically seeing and touching goods that they intend to buy irresistible. So if retail outlets find ways of attracting people back to their stores they may regain some of the customer loyalty that has evaporated so fast in the past decade.
The GRTU, the organisation that represents most small traders, has adopted an ambivalent attitude to the government’s announcement that it is considering changing the regulations relating to shops’ opening hours. It is no secret that some retailers believe this is an inevitable development that they need to embrace to revive their businesses.
GRTU president Paul Abela was very pragmatic when he commented that “ultimately, the decision would be driven by the market. The increase in expenses incurred to keep retail outlets open for longer hours would have to be recouped through higher sales; otherwise, the business model would not be sustainable”.
Gone are the days when such added expenses could be passed on to the consumer. The virtual market of the internet has made competition among retailers really effective. By opening all hours, retailers can at least ensure that those customers who still enjoy the experience of ‘retail therapy’ are not put off by the limited hours they can resort to shopping in our high street stores.
Most retail business experts maintain that a ‘clicks and bricks’ strategy is still viable for most retail stores. Investment in savvy technology, as well as more convenient opening hours, are essential for this strategy to succeed.