The Robin King Column: Something to start the week

Woolworths Online - a sign of the times?  Talking about the demise of Woolworths may sound a bit old hat now. After all, many well-known high street brands – MFI, Adams, Whittards to name a few – have also fallen in the past year or so. The reason Woolworths’ failure gained so much attention was because it was a famous brand which employed a huge number of people.

What many people might not know is that a buyer was actually found for the Woolworths brand – the same group behind the Littlewoods catalogue and the Ladybird clothing brand. They plan to relaunch Woolworths online at some point in the future, after undertaking extensive market research and waiting for the stormy waters to settle.

The demise of Woolworths struck a chord with the public because of the conspicuousness of its absence. For almost 100 years it had been a feature on the high street and its sudden failure really brought home the severity of this crisis and the fact that no one was immune to the risks. Saying that, although it was the credit crunch which hammered the final nail in its coffin, it’s undeniable that the last decade has seen an accelerating move away from high street retail towards online.

Any high street business that does not offer a tangible product (clothes for example) is already witnessing a gradual but undeniable reduction in foot traffic. In fact, some would argue that every high street business is seeing a reduction in visitors as consumers increasingly look to the internet as a quicker, cheaper and more user-friendly way to consume.

Nowhere is this more true than in estate agency. Despite this fact, many of us still seem to see the establishment of a strong online presence as a secondary concern. Affiliation with Rightmove or one of the other major online portals is the norm, but that seems to be as far as their online investment goes.

What many agents don’t recognise is that once a buyer is referred by Rightmove, they inevitably filter down to a local agent’s site, thus making a credible online offering essential for any local independent. People are much more likely to do business with an agent if their website looks professional and offers all of the services they would expect to find in their high street office.

It’s also a considerably more cost-effective way to operate a business: 90% of home movers start their searches online and this figure is only going to increase. Who has the time to spend a day agent-hopping when they can do it online in about five minutes?

This transfer from high street to online mirrors estate agency in many ways. The Woolworths brand may have been forced to make the transition against its will, but estate agency is going the same way. Very soon, any high street agent without a credible online offering will find themselves a victim of a tough economic climate and a changing market.

* Robin King is a director of movewithus