Frustrated In Essex

Labelled as manicure Monday, bosses opened their doors to customers as the Government gave the green light to carry out specific treatments, but workers said they were not busy as customers were left feeling frustrated by the insufficient offering.

Nail treatments, leg and bikini waxing and massages are back on the menu, but treatments involving work directly in front of the face have been forbidden, and it now appears that salons are not flat out, but that’s probably due to several different reasons.

Salons can’t do face treatments and presumably, a few people have chosen to do their own nails now, and some customers are a tad concerned about going back, but you would think that salons would be busy when they reopened.

It seems that phones have not been ringing very much either, but it’s believed that as soon as the salons can do more treatments and people are feeling a bit more positive about going out, then business should improve.

And it’s frustrating that salons can’t do face treatments and their customers are a bit gutted about it as well, and salons also want to make a modest sum of money and they’re not going to while they’re limited as to what they can do.

They all have their personal protective equipment and are doing everything they can to get clients through the door.

Screens and barriers are in place between clients and staff on the premises, with enhanced surface sanitation and handwashing implemented.

The latest rules will further spell the end of spontaneous treatments in numerous salons, as businesses are urged to consider using appointment only booking systems to reduce the number of people on-site at one time.

There won’t be a cup of tea with the pedicure, as food and drink other than water is to be forbidden, and there will be more disposable supplies, and skin to skin contact will be circumvented where practicable.

Customers chairs will be spread out, which may reduce the number of appointments, and if two-metre distancing can’t be maintained, for instance, when giving treatments, the person giving the service should wear additional protection.

This may include a clear visor that covers the face, in addition to screens and gloves, and businesses will be asked to keep records of clients and staff to share with NHS Test and Trace if required.

So now, online shopping is taking over and the only thing left in the high streets will be restaurants, beauty parlours, nail salons, estate agents and perhaps betting shops, and even big brands aren’t immune from the rising force of economics, and now some are closing their physical doors.

And according to reports, the growth of the number of store counts has degenerated, and old traditional shopping no longer prevails.

Shopping is often essential, but can also be time consuming and inconvenient, and now the industry has started to develop and evolve with society becoming ever more digitalised, and there’s been a notable transformation in all walks of life and is now shifting from reality to the virtual world, and shopping is no different.

And with online wholesales offering financial and logistical capability, there’s less need to leave the house to shop. So, undoubtedly, high street shops are in decline, but will online shopping have the ability and obtain the popularity to make physical shops obsolete in the future?

Now, Amazon is leading the way for shopping originality.

Its innovation and continuous metamorphosis of the industry as a whole is quickly leaving high street shops behind, but the dilemma for physical shops isn’t just one company though – the threat is coming from the digitalisation of society in general.

It began with Blockbusters, a once-mighty firm – the growth of video streaming sites such as YouTube, and later Netflix, which gradually destroyed any shop whose sole premise was selling video’s, as consumers migrated to the more affordable and more suitable online equivalents.

Take bookmakers as another example – they’re in grave peril of being closed down for good, solely due to the precipitous rise in popularity of online gaming. After all, why would someone leave their house to hike to the bookmakers, lay a bet at whatever the odds are being offered to them and then go home, only to have to return to that shop to collect any winnings?

Instead, they can stay in the comfort of their own home. Shop around literally every bookmaker online to decide which ones give the best odds and lay a bet like that, meaning that they can withdraw winnings remotely as well.

Entertainment is another enterprise, associated to both gaming and streaming, that’s been massively affected by digitalisation, and looking at gaming respectively, developments such as virtual reality offering fully immersive experiences for all variety of games, are ensuring that the gaming industry remains fresh.

It’s still as popular as ever, yet high street gaming shops are struggling due to this online migration, with some stores offering a remote, online platform to buy games from, and the New Gen consoles are even phasing out the need for physical discs, with numerous games already ready to buy from online stores.

And for both consumers and producers, it’s hard to see how the growth of online shopping will be harmful, but of course, if shops aren’t prepared to adapt, they face being left behind.

High street versions of shops may close, but the online presence should still satisfy the demand from customers, should the firm welcome digital migration, and if firms do embrace the online transformation, they should simply retain most of their custom and outgoing expenses like employer salaries and shop maintenance will be diminished or even be eradicated.

For the customer, online gives a far more extensive experience, and not only are the commodities not restricted to what’s inside one store, but they also have an opportunity to shop around to find the most desirable price, and what’s more, this is all from the convenience of their own home.

Although these could also be shut down with apps like Just Eat where you can simply order food from the comfort of your own home, and there will be no need for social intercommunication with another person except if you go and visit them at their home because everything is now online with Facebook being at the vanguard of technology.

Online shopping will never fully replace high street shops, as there will also be a meagre demand for going into stores. However, if we’re talking about which will become the most prevalent form of shopping over the coming years, it’s difficult to see how shops can compete with their online counterparts.

Maybe the only way for high street shops to compete is to also embrace technology and design a shopping experience which will be different but superior to that which customers get online.