Even if you don’t have a Facebook or Twitter account, you will more than likely know someone who does. So given that the majority of the UK population are connected in some way or another, should High Streets be utilising this technology more than they already are?
A national membership group, Action for Market Towns thinks it is about time that the High Street became social. Working in partnership with AngelRevolutions, the plan – ‘365 High Street’ is to give people 24 hour access, seven days a week to their local high street by utilising Facebook.
Utilising innovation and existing technology AngelRevolutions have created a presence on Facebook where every high street shop will have its very own page. Shops will be able to engage with customers 24 hours a day. They can offer promotions, discounts and anything else they feel will increase sales and therefore profits, with the overall plan to save the high street.
Speaking of the project, AngelRevolutions made up of Barry and Jonathan James and Kay Klug, said: “Two thirds of the population is on Facebook. On a given day, half are logged in and half of those will be logged in for about 35 minutes – that’s the biggest footfall anywhere and it’s all electronic.
“We have devised ways of grouping the interests of people on the high street so that they reach those people on Facebook and entice them onto the ‘social’ high street in such a way that it gets them back onto the physical high street.”
Customers will be able to buy online through the Facebook page, but they will have to physically go to the shop to pick up their item. The ‘click and collect’ service was thought to be the best idea as it still gets people onto the high street.
Kay Klug said: “You will be able to make sure whatever you want is in the shop, buy it and then fetch it. The shop will know it has definitely made a sale and you will physically have to go to the high street.”
Success stories of the ‘click and collect’ service include Halfords – which now accounts for 86 per cent of all online sales and 35 per cent of House of Fraser’s internet orders are collected in shops. But a quarter of customers also make additional purchases whilst they are collecting their item.
Do you think the 365 High Street plan will be a success? Would you use the service for your local town centre?
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