However, Councillor Sandy Lovatt admits that more needs to be done to get those visiting the town centre to use its shops. Last year saw the installation of the ByBox, next door to the library, as the first step in trying to achieve this. This is a secure box where people can pick up products they have purchased on the Internet, and the hope was that, while doing so, they would visit local retailers – but Lovatt is sceptical about the likelihood of this, saying
“It’s a nice idea but I don’t know how effective it has been.
“It is not a great measure and it has not been as effective as the free parking.”
Indeed, some have argued that a scheme promoting online shopping may actually have a detrimental impact on local businesses. There are some firms that have succeeded in combining traditional and online shopping, such as Print shops in Oxfordshire that provide digital Business Cards and other digital printing, but others are struggling to compete. However, the ByBox CEO, Stuart Miller, says that the solution is for online and physical stores to work together.
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