“The high-street is dead.”
Over the last three years or so, this is a phrase we have heard uttered time and time again. As one of the many industries that was severely rocked during the pandemic, it’s no surprise. Shops were shut for months on end, most bricks-and-mortar retailers reported huge losses, and some brands struggled to bounce back from the doom that lockdown brought, leaving empty stores and non-functioning ecommerce sites in their wake.
However, there was light at the end of the tunnel in the shape of Spring 2021. The change of season brought with it the end of most lockdown measures, paving the way for retailers to welcome back their dedicated customers. Of course there were initial teething issues when shops reopened, with one of the most prominent difficulties being lower footfall. Many shoppers had developed totally different habits over the 2 years of the pandemic, relying solely on online shopping, or decreasing their spending patterns due to being on a reduced income.
One of the biggest questions was how retailers were going to increase their footfall to be at least the same as pre-pandemic, if not higher than before. The obvious answer was that they needed to become more experiential. This was true even before the pandemic forced retailers to change the way they thought about their physical shopping environments. With the rise of online shopping, bricks-and-mortar stores were struggling to keep up, and many brands found that welcoming their customers into spaces which offered more than just product seemed to do the trick. (This was not new information – take Selfridges, for example. Many shoppers spend the whole day there – shopping of course, but also dining, socialising, and even going to the cinema.)
Many retailers have seen success with this, but it’s not just bricks-and-mortar retailers who have been eyeing up the idea of concept stores. Arguably one of the biggest ecommerce giants of current times, Gymshark opened their first ever store just last week (29th October). Curious about what we’d seen online about the innovative store, we decided to visit.
The space is certainly more than just a place to stock up on some gym gear. When shoppers first enter the store, they are greeted by a Joe & The Juice drinks bar, a clever partnership focused on health and rejuvenation – it just makes sense, doesn’t it?! Continuing on the ground floor there are beautifully representative mannequins, hundreds of products lining the floor and walls, a workspace for shoppers to use, and a collection point where customers can pick up items they’ve ordered online.
When visitors go up the stairs, they’ll see what appear to be weight plates hung from the ceiling and adorning the walls, as well as gym equipment in the corner – really immersing the customer in what feels like a gym environment. On the first floor there are also several work-out studios which host live classes, available to book on the Gymshark app. We didn’t notice any till points – instead, all employees have a POS system integrated on mobile phones worn around their necks, meaning that long queues you’d usually have to endure at a busy store are something shoppers are unlikely to have to put up with at Gymshark.
Even on a Thursday lunch time, the store was busy and people were crowded round displays taking photos and buying merchandise. Gymshark have an extremely loyal customer base, but there’s no reason why other retailers could not be as successful if they were to launch innovative store experiences. When people say “the high-street is dead”, maybe they are somewhat right – the days of normal bricks-and-mortar environments may well be. But if Gymshark is anything to go by, the future of the high-street looks excitingly bright.