Internet v Town Centre

Will we miss HMV? For many of us the answer is probably not – well not in the short term anyway. Much has been said in the last few days in the national media on this subject, in particular how good on-line retailers are and how HMV, and Jessops, failed to keep ahead of the latest retail trend. As a result you may well wonder what the future holds for our high streets. But is it that simple? 

I suspect most of us have bought on line and I would be one of the first to suggest they have their place; however, I can’t help but think HMV were offering something a little different. Like Waterstones, HMV employed very informed staff able to identify, recommend and find stuff, music in HMV’s case, books in Waterstones’. So I would suggest that they provide a service that is just not easy to provide on-line – especially for someone like me who often doesn’t know the name of the artist, or title and just have to hum the tune. 

There are, of course, other very good reasons for why you should shop locally. When you buy on the high street it can immediately be checked, for quality and suitability i.e. my trousers fit and the colour suits and there is no waiting in for these deliveries that only turn up when you nip out. You also get all that free friendly advice and there is often the simple pleasure of conversation with real people you can trust. 

The service and social differentiator is also noticeable when things go wrong – have you ever tried resolving an account, technical, or delivery issues with an online retailer? First you are encouraged to communicate by e-mail, assuming that the “frequently asked question” failed to provide the answers – when a quick call may well solve the problem. If you can find a number and when you eventually get through you will probably be passed from one operator to another, and on calling back you never speak to the same person twice– at least with the high street there is always a face to talk to and a butt to kick. 

However, for me there is a more important issue and one that may not be immediately apparent. That is the loss of choice. Without stores like HMV the market for specialist, and more importantly new music, will be severely restricted. Supermarkets, for quite understandable reasons tend to only offer a limited choice of music and film, normally focused on the charts. We all know that everything is available somewhere on-line but can you trust smaller specialist on-line retailers. Specialist stores do exist but they are few and far between and probably struggling. So where will you get specialist music such as classical, jazz and country, music – in fact anything that is not main stream? My point is simply that if there is no easily accessible and reliable outlet for specialist music, film or literature the market will shrink, the financial support will diminish and the market will disappear. Your choice will then be limited to chart hits, which, unless you buy at Sainsbury, will be subject to Apple’s, or Amazon’s restrictive “rent don’t own” practice if you download. 

I know it’s a cliché but if we don’t use it we will lose it. So before we next check in store, before buying on-line, maybe we should think, not just about the moral issue of this practice, but the longer term consequences. We all like a bargain and on-line prices can be good but not all bargains are what they seem (delivery, card charges, VAT) and if it is a bargain it may well be because the company is registered overseas and isn’t paying UK tax – something else with long term affects!