Research carried out by The Great British Exchange has revealed that 91% of shoppers can be tempted back to the high street by original and British made products.
Almost all those questioned said they would visit bricks and mortar stores more frequently if those shops were to offer something “unique”, while two thirds said they wanted to see more locally made and British manufactured products in stores.
20 per cent of the shoppers surveyed did more than half of their shopping online, but one in five were concerned with the provenance of items and gave the highest priority to gifts and foods that are locally produced.
Special occasion shopping was found to be one of the biggest challenges faced by consumers, with more than half of respondents saying they wanted easier access to unique and British made gifts. Flexible opening times, including late night opening and in-store events, were also cited as good ways to encourage more high street shopping.
Trade shows are increasingly doing their bit to promote British made products, in particular the British Craft Trade Show (BCTF), which has showcased the best of British made artisan products for the past 44 years. The next show will take place from April 7-9 at the Yorkshire Event Centre.
Top Drawer (January 13 – 19) has a Product GB trail for visitors to follow, while Scotland’s Trade Fair provides a fabulous showcase for Scottish designers, amongst others from fuerther afield.
Founder of retail sourcing specialist, The Great British Exchange, Matthew Hopkins, said shoppers were bored with the current offering on the high street and that retailers needed to find a strong point of difference to get more customers through the doors. “Even more critical is the need to give consumers something they can’t find online. People often say bricks and mortar retail is dead but I disagree. It just needs to be done well and that means injecting some excitement and originality into a pastime that has lost its soul”.
Writing for the UK’s largest retail trade event, Spring Fair, Martin Holland, winner of the BBC’s Great Interior Design Challenge, agrees with the assessment, saying: “It’s safe to say that traditional bricks and mortar retail isn’t dead, it’s simply changing and in its wake presenting some exciting opportunities for independent retailers to creatively diversify their in-store offering and connect with their customers through an elevated and personalised experience. Key to this experiential retail revolution is the design of our shops which now need to deliver something that simply can’t be replicated online. Design that enriches our lives and leads us on a journey, resonating with the customer, their lifestyle and connecting with them on a whole new level.
Images from top to bottom: Penguin Party Wrapping Paper by Martha & Hepsie, available through The Great British Exchange; Claire Baxter (BCTF), Hawkshead Relish (Top Drawer) and Abigail Bury (BCTF).
3 thoughts on “Shoppers are crying out for British made product”
Why have you used an image of a shop which sells only mass produced imported merchandise from a franchise? There are so many shops promoting British Made products, whose image have been painted by artists, you could have used and helped to promote.
Hi Laura, we used several images in the post, including those from smaller British designer-makers so we’re not sure which image you are referring to? The Great British Exchange works with bigger companies and as they supplied the research it is only fair to credit them in some way. Gifts & Greetings Review supports many independent companies and designers (and also larger companies) for no charge whatsoever via a variety of social media and magazine outlets and nobody pays for inclusion in any of our articles, we select what we like – was there something you wished to promote?
I was referring to the image of the bricks and mortar shop front – why couldn’t a different image promoting a different shop or image be used here? Instead of a shop that sells mass produced and imported products? It just doesn’t align with the values of the piece, that was what I meant in my original comment. G&GR promote some great designers and companies, keep up the great work