Shop with no tills to open in Jersey

Tuesday 25 March 2014

A Jersey retailer is fighting the trend of falling high street sales by using a new shop to promote his website.

Paul Clark is opening a showroom in West's Centre next weekend which brings together his Mypad.je website with a traditional furniture and home interiors shop – but one with no tills, and in which no money changes hands.

Instead the Mypad.je showroom will feature iPads and large screens so that shoppers can browse the collection and then order online either in the showroom, or at home. It will be the first shop of its kind in the Island.

Mr Clark said: “We have been bemoaning the demise of the high street due to internet shopping, this is the fight back. A traditional shop can’t provide the range I can on my website, and to even try would put up the overheads which would have to be passed on in the price to customers. This way shoppers can come and look at the range of furniture and home interiors, see the quality of the products, and then choose from the vast range the website carries, either in store, or at home.

“We have to accept that traditional retailing is struggling, and if we want to encourage Islanders to shop in Jersey and not spend their money with big UK online retailers, then we have to provide a credible and cost-effective alternative with excellent service.”

The latest figures for retail trends in Jersey showed that the volume of goods sold in shops at Christmas was down 2% on the previous year. Those figures were backed up by Jersey Post, who say the number of parcels coming into the Island at the same time was up at least 10%.

Mr Clark launched Mypad.je as an online furniture and home interiors site for the local market in January last year.