Stakeholder

When I was a kid, more than a few years ago, the 8^th December was traditionally a big retail day. We were off school for the day and our parents would take the opportunity to head into town to buy the annual ‘Christmas clothes’. My memories of that period nostalgically recall snow (or at least frost) on the ground, a visit to see Santa in one of the big shops and ‘town’ being totally and frantically crowded.

Last week under the same circumstances I brought two of my own kids into town, they were off school for the day and while their Mum wouldn’t trust me to buy them clothes they were willing partners on the shopping expedition. It was an opportune time to recall the Belfast of not so long ago with what is on offer today.

It is an inevitable truism that the times they are changing. Retail outlets which were household names a few years ago have disappeared. As a teenager I remember looking for the best price I could find on a record (remember vinyl?) in Harrisons Records on Castle Street, Golden Discs in Queen’s Arcade, the Gramophone Shop, Makin’ Tracks, Caroline Music or Hectors House. Now one of the only options, supermarkets aside, to pick up a CD in downtown Belfast is HMV. In a sign of ‘progress’, Golden Discs is now a phone shop while Virgin came, morphed into Zavvi and has since gone. Most of the other independents have sold their last record too.

When it came to buying books Cranes and Mullans are the names and the shops I can remember, even if I can’t quite place exactly where they were located. Of course there were other independently owned booksellers as well in Belfast city centre which ultimately felt the force of Waterstones and Dillons.

The digitally driven changes in our collective shopping habits are having a huge impact on the way in retail operates and the contribution that economic sector makes to a city and to the regional economy. Earlier this summer it was reported that online shopping was bucking the high street trend as the ‘e tail’ sector rose 13% between 2008 and 2009. This was in marked contrast to the retail sales figures overall which of course have fallen in line with the economic times.

Shopping with a mouse will never completely take over from the high street experience. A very unscientific poll in my own office revealed that more than half will not shop online this year, preferring to engage with real people and take in some Christmas atmosphere while shopping for presents. Perhaps atmosphere can be substituted for crowds and queues but I can understand the rationale behind wanting to hit the streets. Tellingly it was books and CDs which are the biggest online sellers among my young, media savvy colleagues.

So faced with the challenges of out of town alternatives and the comfort of home shopping, how does a city like Belfast, a traditional retail hub, respond?

Thankfully our city is not yet another example of the bog standard high street incorporated town that can be found up and down the UK and Ireland. We do have the options of going to the well known stores and a shopper here would be hard pressed to think of a high street name which does not have a presence in Belfast. But alongside those there are still a respectable number of independent outlets. Those charged with promoting Belfast recently produced a booklet highlighting the number, range and location of independent outlets. It is satisfying that for every Waterstones there is a No Alibis bookshop; that Carter can only be found in Belfast and some shops like Utopia are almost beyond definition. There are a multitude of others too and each one deserves support. A city is shaped by people who live in it, its shops will be dictated by those citizens choosing where to spend their money. The free online evening parking is a good imitative too and one example of local politicians making quick, easy and beneficial decisions.

The annual Christmas continental market on the lawn of City Hall is a fantastic addition to the streetscape of Belfast each December. So too is the way the big wheel complements the market, especially when lit up in the evening. On Friday last at office closing time I found it reasonably difficult to find a spot where a group of half a dozen of us could comfortably get an annual Christmas drink. In moving from bar to restaurant I was pleased to see the city alive, well and prosperous.

In another generation from now I hope that my own kids carry memories of shopping trips into a busy Belfast city centre, and if global warming has taken away some opportunities to experience snow on such occasions maybe they will remember the wheel, the market and finding unusual presents in unusual shops. Belfast has responded well to the challenge of providing a broad retail offering in the new century. Happy Christmas, and happy Christmas shopping.