You can get it on the Internet

Save our High Street! High Street in Crisis! Shop Local!

These are all headlines and calls to actions we've seen in recent years.

As the recession has bitten, more and more High Street retailers have gone to the wall. Some quietly shutting their doors, others exits marked by the national media and a mourning customer base, many of whom blame them for hefty prices and failing to innovate. 

So, being the good little consumer I am, I have started to really heed these calls to action. 

I don't want all those fabby little independent shops to disappear. 

I've started to shop locally more often. 

And the results have, I admit, been slightly patchy and, in some cases, downright disappointing. 

Just a couple of weeks ago I ran out of my regular hair styling product for a well known professional brand. You can't buy in Tesco, or Boots, this brand is only stocked in professional salons. But with over 120 hair salons to choose from in Perth, I should be spoilt for choice, right?

Not so. After visiting several, it turns out only one salon stocks this brand. 

After going (out of my way) to go to this salon, their display of 2-3 products in this retail line did not fill me with hope. 

After enquiring, I was (helpfully) told I could "get it on the internet". 

So I did. And it was delivered to me within 48 hours. 

So come on High Street, here's my call to action for you: Get Real and Wise Up. 

Consumers KNOW they can get it on the internet. 

If they walk into your store, it's because they have made the effort to buy local. And please don't think it's not an effort to support you. From the comfort of my armchair I can order my product and, if I like, stay there for the 48 hours until it's delivered. To shop with you I have to get up off my armchair, get into my car, drive into town, park, pay for the parking, walk to your store and, regrettably, cover up my irritation when (having made all that extra effort) your response is that I can get it on the internet. How foolish am I?

But the truth is I will always be able to get the products I want on the internet. But you, on the other hand, will not be able to find your jobs on the internet if you continue to keep up that approach.