Amazon vs. the high street

by Michael Smith (Veshengro)

When buying your presents for Christmas this year consider carefully and think ethics before you think price. I know that in an age of austerity this is not always easy but thinking we must that way nevertheless.

While Amazon may be cheaper than high street stores and even other mail order companies it comes at a price for the workers and the environment.

In addition to that Amazon is playing the tax avoidance game big time and pays little to no taxes in the UK or the US because they are, basically, with their head offices, based in what can only be described as “tax havens”. Furthermore they pay the lowest wages that they can possibly get away with and hate trade unions and the way they deal with their workers is exploitation bordering on slavery that is a risk to the health of those workers. They also are wreckers of bricks-and-mortar bookshops, especially of the small, independent ones but even the large chains are far from immune to their influence.

Yep, "all the bad stuff at once" but you can make a change here, every single one of us, and that is by refusing to make use of Amazon.

Personally, for reasons of ethics, I refuse to buy from Amazon and also will not accept, even when free, as it would be in that case, to take an Amazon published e-book for review. And for the same reason I refuse to publish in the Kindle format and only offer PDF.

It is for the same reasons of ethics, because of workers' rights and treatment and of exploitation of labor and environment, that I will not buy at Walmart or its subsidiaries, such as ASDA in the UK. The old ASDA once was a favorite place to shop for me when they were ASDA, as in Associated Dairies, but that is long past.

As shoppers we can make a difference to the way companies and stores do business and how they operate. Voting with our wallets and our feet is the best message that we can send to them.

So, let's send them the proper message, a message that will hurt them in their profits for it is the only one that they will ever understand. Let's buy our books and other things from local stores and local makers and if it comes to e-books let's insist that they are in PDF and not in Kindle or other format designed to work with but one device type often and being tied to one store.

Help bring life back to the high street – or main street as our American cousins call it – by shopping there as much as possible. And while not all goods may be local, the shops are and best choice is to give our custom to the independents wherever possible.

We can all bring about the change that we wish by even small steps and one of those small steps is to support the High Street and its shops wherever and whenever possible, and give our custom especially to the small and independent stores and the co-ops.

© 2013

Is the High Street making a comeback?

by Michael Smith (Veshengro)

We are being told by many that the High Street, or Main Street, as our American cousins call it, in its last throws. But is this really the case?

Despite behemoths like Starbucks and Amazon, the number of independent bookstores, coffee shops, and other businesses appear to be growing and this is a good thing indeed.

We all know that the likes of Wal-Mart, Target, the large supermarkets in the K such as Tesco, ASDA (part of Wal-Mart) and Sainsbury's, and especially Amazon are killing the smaller businesses on the High Street businesses but this is, thankfully, only partly true. Those retailing behemoths have devastated a lot of communities across the America and the UK, and they’re still growing. But the good news is that despite the big chains, also in the field of coffee shops and such, the small ones are still holding on and, in many cases, are increasing.

One surprising comeback to the High Street, in many places and countries, despite Amazon's impact, are the local independent bookstores and the more the merrier, I say. And the same must be the case for other shops too, whether greengrocers, hardware stores or what-have-you.

Even in the age of e-books and Amazon, independents are growing: For the last four years, their numbers and total sales have grown, despite the recession. In 2009 there were 1,651 independent bookstores in the United States. Today there are more than 1,900. And e-books, in my opinion, are not an answer for the great majority and neither will they do anything to save trees and the Planet. The opposite rather on both counts. But that is another discussion point and one that I have covered before more than once.

In order to keep revitalizing the High Street we all, as consumers, need to frequent it more and local authorities have to do their part by making the High Street more accessible in way of parking of cars and bicycles for is there is no way to leave the car or bike then people will not come to the High Street.

Shop owners too have to do their bit and that can also be the provision of bicycle parking, so to speak, and much more, in order to attract customers. Coffee shops must offer secure and free wi-fi for use by customers and other services too could come the equation such as, as the coffee shops of old, being a meeting hub for people as well as a center for alternative postal services.

Hardware stores also could offer services to customers, via “subcontractors”, such as sharpening of garden tools and others, giving other small businesses a link to the greater community while taking a small cut as a facilitation fee.

Bookstores aren’t the only retail sector where independents are expanding. Local coffee shops have grown faster than Starbucks. Bakers and specialty food stores are thriving. Independent pharmacies and pet, fabric, and stationery stores are growing too. At least in the United States.

How do they compete with the giants? One factor is the “buy local” ethic and in 2012 sales at independent businesses in cities with “buy local” campaigns grew 8.6 percent while those that did not have such campaigns grew 3.4 percent.

Independents are also capitalizing on their ability to win loyalty by hosting events, such as author talks at bookstores. And bookstore owners have learned to feature high margin items such as note-cards, toys, and chocolate.

There are many more things that local shops can do to get customers come through their doors and keeping the High Street alive and all it takes is some deep thought as to what additional services could be offered.

Independent bookstores could also help butting artists and craftspeople to find an outlet even though it might not be books and in addition to that the acceptance, or even the creation is not in existence already, of local currencies can also go a long way here.

What can we do, as consumers, besides shopping at their stores, to help our local retailers? We can't do much about the big boxes’ ability to get major discounts from suppliers and pummel the public with advertising. But we can protest when local governments give tax abatement and free land to the retail giants. Indiana, for example, gave Amazon $11 million to locate five warehouses in the state, and we must also campaign so that those large retailers actually pay the tax the owe and not let them get away with tax avoidance, as the UK government has allowed Amazon and others to do.

Another great way for local retailers to get custom come through their doors, and hopefully become loyal shoppers, is to, and this is an easy thing, offer free tap water for those that wish to refill their water bottles. It has been tried and it seems to work.

So don’t think that the High Street is down and out for the count. As the “buy local” ethic continues to gain momentum, as stores get creative in using their local advantage, and as online sales lose their tax advantage, the lights may again shine bright on the High Street. But, mush of it will be down to us, as consumers, as to whether the High Street will get up again to fight another day or not.

© 2013