Is the High Street being made redundant?

This is going to be a more topical post based around the three companies which have gone into administration literally just over two weeks into the new year.

Now, I studied economics for a year but am by no means an expert in this field however I do have a passion for marketing, business and of course, shopping so I like to know about these sorts of things and have, unfortunately, been on the wrong end of the stick when it comes to companies going bust.

So if you're in the UK you'll have seen that Jessops, HMV and now Blockbuster have all had to call it a day (although, I believe HMV and perhaps Blockbuster are still waiting for a last minute white knight) all basically within the same week. This is not a good start to the year as thousands lose their jobs and it's certainly not a good feeling when it comes to looking at the UK's economy. 

As I was laying in bed the other night I got to thinking about the future of the High Street. I certainly don't buy movies, CDs, cameras and pretty much any electronics in-store preferring to hunt for better deals online and with shoppers becoming more savvy and the introduction of smart phones it seems these retailers were doomed. Stores such as CEX and Cash Converters are my new favourite haunts for DVDs as you get a cut price deal for used discs with the safety of knowing they've been tested
and the ability to look at the disc before you buy it to check its condition (something that's always put me off buying used items on eBay and Amazon). As far as other electronics - well, you just can't beat a supermarket's prices particularly when they're in a price war. 

My prediction? I believe the high street will obviously stick around BUT I believe it will be simply clothing retailers, jewellers, food industry and pharmacies (including pharmacy-esque places such as The Body Shop). 

Jessops, to me, as a company was doomed as soon as the supermarkets started catering for everything a consumer might need as well as the introduction of photo printers. Noone needs a company to print their photos, people can find cheaper cameras online and you can have a passport photo taken in a booth, albeit a booth where you basically deposit a limb for four tiny photographs. 

As a consumer who rarely, if ever, shops at these places I have been using it for the incredible sales that always go on as companies scratch for more money and went on the Blockbuster site for what was probably the first time in my life the other day. I mean, Dominos Pizza now rent movies so what chance did lovely old Blockbuster really have?

That being said, I do really feel for those employees - I was only a part-timer at Faith Shoes (remember them?) when they went bust but it was the worst feeling I've ever had so I cannot begin to imagine how those who depend wholly on their job to support their families must be feeling. It's just awful. I just hope the company I work for manages to hold on a little longer because I can't go through it again. 

Apparently if you're not online, you're really not secure these days!