Phoebe Griffits

How Amazon is destroying the British high street

The announcement from Marks & Spencer regarding multiple store closures is the most recent in the long chain of major UK retailers shutting their doors. Other announcements in 2018 include Toys R Us, Maplin, Gap, Michael Kors and Abercrombie and Fitch.

M&S’s annual pre-tax profits fell by nearly two thirds in the last 12 months, with major losses on food, clothing and homeware sales. But the UK retail sector in general is being hit harder than ever by the online market. In particular, the e-commerce giant, Amazon.

If you’re thinking about buying children’s toys, gadgets, books or electrical goods, what’s the first place you think of? The likelihood is it’s probably the one-stop-shop that is Amazon, rather than high street shops which specialise in these products.

This is because Amazon offer an easy online ordering process, super-fast delivery, lots of choice and prices that are usually cheaper than anywhere else. This is great for your Christmas shopping – but not so great for the high street.

M&S have already spent ‘vast sums’ of money on a new website and fulfilment centre in competition with the ever-expanding e-commerce market. However, there have already been complaints that the website is too slow and they are struggling to cope with demand.

Amazon, on the other hand, are forever expanding their range of products and services, making themselves a huge competitor for a majority of UK retailers. If they want to introduce a new product, they already have the website, the warehouses, the delivery services and the advertising to do so. Therefore it is tough for other businesses who want to provide similar services to compete with, Amazon can do it so much quicker and so much cheaper.

In 2015, Amazon became the first technology company to abandon the structure that allowed them to divert their sales and profits away from the UK.

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