Digital transformation of the High Street is no longer optional

userby Polly Barnfield, OBE. Founder and CEO of Maybe*

Digital transformation is no longer optional. This is part 2 of a three-part series is designed to explore how High Streets and the businesses within them need to carefully consider the infrastructure they need to narrow the gap between them and their socially distanced customers.

As we enter the next phase of dealing with COVID-19, as well as the health and safety issues each High Street and the businesses/organisations within it have to deal with, it is increasingly critical that they collectively take a collaborative proactive approach to the overall digital impact so that they can convey and connect their plans for their High Street development.

They need to learn to tell their stories through digital channels, engage and listen to what their audiences are saying to each other and the wider community. Consider for a moment a leading online brand, Boohoo versus the largest council in the country, Kent. You can immediately see the digital gap that exists. Boohoo are connected digitally to their audience, they are part of their daily lives. Most "offline" brands are not.

An example of the digital gap

This table is an example that would be the same for most UK Councils and BIDs. It is not designed to single out Kent - rather it is an indication of the task that all Placemakers need to address. They all have an existing ready-made audience that today they are not connecting with digitally.

CustomersSocial Media followersPosts per dayEngagements per day
Boohoo7m10.1m2338,700
Kent Council1.5m88.8k776

Embracing strong digital communications

Not having a digital infrastructure will rapidly become like not having roads or public transport. The ability to connect with the people and businesses within a place via digital channels is vital if you want people to show up.

We knew that pre-COVID-19 the makeup of every High Street was going to change. We knew that digital was an important part of that mix.

What the pandemic has done is to accelerate the need for High Streets and all organisations within them to embrace strong digital communications as a critical part of their collective infrastructure and a vital part of their future success.

In order to invite people back to their High Streets it’s key they master the channels where consumers are present and engage them in the same way that leading online brands do. They need to master the technology and the skills that enable them to compete with pure-play digital experiences that are consuming people's time and attention.

Indie businesses


Pre COVID-19 43% of organisations active on social media on a daily basis.

During COVID-19 this has dropped to just 5%.

National businesses

 

Pre COVID-19  68% of businesses active on social media on a daily basis.

During COVID-19 this has dropped to 26%.

Consumers

 

Pre COVID 19 Consumers spend 2hr 20 mins on social media.

During COVID 19  use of social media increased by 40%.

High Streets need a digital infastructure

Research by Maybe* shows how brands as diverse as Greggs, Primark, Boohoo, Gymshark and a wide range of independent brands have demonstrated that powerful digital communications positively impact trading results. They all use social media to connect with consumers, to drive sales and strengthen relationships.

High Streets, regardless of their operational makeup, must consider their collective digital message and invite customers in. ‘Build it and they will come’ in a world where there's so much to grab our attention is a strategy that will fall well short of delivering the results they need.

Every High Street needs to be aware that they are increasingly competing for consumers' attention against pure-play digital experiences both from a time and also financial perspective.

That is why this graph is so concerning as I explained in Part 1.

Digital transformation is no longer optional.

Placemakers, Councils, Shopping Centres and High Street organisations need to address how they connect with their customers in an increasingly digital world.

Digital transformation is no longer optional. While in lockdown consumers have switched much of their spend to online.

So, in parallel with other challenges, High Streets also need to encourage businesses to embrace digital as the channel through which to capitalise on the likely demand of  hyper-relevant and hyper-local but also hyper-safe experiences. The communication of this message is critical.

Agile operations and excellent communications are needed to establish new winning formulas as we co-exist with COVID-19. There is a reason Amazon is opening physical stores - consumers want a physical experience, but they need to be told it exists through digital channels.

Digital is "the road" that brings people to physical places. High Streets need to catch up and take ownership of their audiences in order to deliver them to the ‘new normal’ experiences they are creating.

The question that remains is who will take ownership of the digital infrastructure of each High Street?

Maybe* is a collaborative social media management platform that provides engagement tools, actionable insights, reports and access to training that enables organisations to make social media work for them.

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