Montmorency S.C. Year 10 Industry & Enterprise
The Shopping Centre Experience
Over the last 50 years (or as far back as I can remember), the experience of shopping has changed enormously. I can recall fish and chips in newspaper, milk in glass bottles, WALKING! to the shops and carrying bags home, dealing with someone who knew my name, my mum’s name and my gran’s name. They had a rewards system where you had to tell them your member number and they wrote it down in a carbon copy book. Credit cards hadn’t even been thought of. Going to the shops used to be a local community experience. The local shops were the only place to shop unless you took a long bus or train ride into the city or large town. I used to get sixpence for my weekly spends, and that would buy me a comic (threepence) and some lollies (out of a jar on the counter). Ah, those were the days! Or were they?
The introduction of super/hyper/mega markets has caused a lot of damage to the traditional local shopping centres, or “strips” as they are known.
As supermarkets and hyper markets become bigger and attack other areas of retailing (i.e. car tyres batteries and car spares) we will continue to see changes to our traditional shops with many not being able to compete and others changing to suit any niches that the big supermarkets do not want to enter, also we must remember that many of these giants of retailing have created an Internet presence that goes beyond the goods they sell in their stores to attack even more market sectors (eg petrol)
So, Why bother keeping shopping strips?
To answer this question, you need to look more deeply into what shopping strips have to offer, not only to the passing customer, but to the community as a whole. It’s not just about the goods they sell, there’s a lot more to it than that.
Here’s a statement for you to think about:
“Shopping strips are basically useless. They are expensive and don’t have the same amount of choice you can get from a large shopping centre. I can’t understand why anyone would shop there and I don’t know how they survive” ………. but they do!
Your Task : Analyse your shopping centre
Montmorency is an excellent example of a local shopping centre. It is an EXTREMELY important part of the town. Your task is to do some research and answer the question – Why?
Here are some research questions for you to complete on your visit to the Were St. shopping centre:
1. How many shops are there that sell products
2. How many shops are there that provide services
3. How many that provide both
4. How many shops are cafes/food takeaways
5. How many sell clothes
6. Get the answers to these questions:
a. Why do people use Were St
b. What type of people use Were street
c. Which is the oldest business in Were St
d. Which is the newest business in Were St
e. What can’t you get in Were St
f. What public facilities are in and around Were St
7. If you were looking to open a business of your own (not necessarily a shop),
a. What would be the best type of business to open
i. Why?
b. What advantages would there be in opening a business in Were St? Explain your reasons
c. What disadvantages might there be? Explain
8. Now, summarise your opinions of Were St shopping centre and whether or not you agree with the opening statement.
Well Done!
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