Should we worry as to whether the consumer has the right to choice when it comes to shopping on the internet?
Over the last 20 years we have witnessed our high streets and out of town shopping complexes being taken over and totally dominated by the large retail chains, whilst small independents have been crushed and driven out, unable to afford shop space, business rates or be able to compete with the price fixing of the retail giants.
Visit any shopping centre and you will be faced with the same old names and the same limited range of goods. More a case of you will buy what we want you to buy and not providing the customer with real choices.
Banished from our high streets, some small retailers saw a ‘virtual’ opportunity to survive the retail giants which they quickly snatched.
Since Google began in January 1996, not only has it become an enormous source of information, it also offered hope for those small independent retailers who were prepared to work hard on their websites and with patience they were able to showcase their products to a wide audience and profit from this. This meant that Google surfers were offered a choice that was not available on any high street. But not anymore!
Over recent years the retail giants have seen sales decline and their profits eroded as more and more people switched to shopping on the internet. The retail giants have failed to understand their markets and have not appreciated that it’s not just about convenience but that many internet shoppers have switched to the web looking for more choice, to source goods that they can’t find on most high streets.
But never mind what the customer wants, the last year has seen the rise of the virtual high street with a total domination of the first page of google by large retailers for most common retail search terms. The retail giants have used their enormous marketing budgets to buy their way to the top of google, often with multiple domains for the same products, once again crushing the small independents and relegating them to page 2 or 3 where they will never be found. Type what you are looking for into Google now and you get the same old high street names and even more irritating, directory listings also full of the same high street names
Shoppers already unhappy with the choices offered on the high street are now offered the same poor choices on the the worlds largest search engine. Let’s hope that these shoppers turn their backs on Google who have turned their backs on the small independents that supported them over the years and helped make them what they are today.
Don’t betray the very people that supported you Google. Most of your revenue is derived from advertising programs. Make the retail giants pay not the small independents. The people that supported Google because they wanted a choice might just turns their backs on them making advertisers think twice where they choose to invest their money.
Many town centres now resemble ghost towns, small businesses have long since gone and shops are boarded up, covered in unsightly graffiti. Are Google creating a ‘virtual ghost town’ no offices boarded up just ‘site not found’ as more small businesses are crucified by large corporations!
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