The High Street RIP

I know it's not an iPad, but can I still order stuff online with it?

You know what it was just a matter of time, HMV were hanging in there as the last retailer in this market and as such there was a slim chance they'd make it, it's pretty sad

Back in October I went into newry to pick up an Xbox game and the only place left was hmv, zavi, game, GameStop, etc all gone, and now hmv

This is the end of the high street, I remember growing up and virgin megastore was the biggest destination in belfast, now it seems to be Starbucks or costa

Not sure about pc world, they carry expensive large items like tvs etc, stuff people want to go and see before they buy, there is big mark up on some of this stuff, especially cables, software etc, but the net is bound to eat into them, 

The interesting thing about PC world and currys is that sometimes they can match and even beat net prices

I think our biggest concerns now is the rates bill, in NI the rates bills for retail is massive and with so many shops going to the wall a big gap is starting to open, I'm worried that the councils are going to start to shift a greater burden of rates onto the homeowner 

The high street is in some pretty serious trouble, a further impact is pensions, a lot of big pension funds invest heavily in city centres and the rental income from prime locations and stores, 

These locations don't look to be prime anymore, and you could now see a big fall in property values in towns and city centres with 1 in 5 shops now empty

Long term retail is dead, it's not a big jump forward to assume that all shopping will be done via your tablet or some for of electronic paper magazine, 

You'll flip through the pages and click on what you want, it will then be delivered, or you drive to an B and Q, Argos type store or a drive through and pick it up, sure even now amazon will deliver your stuff to certain filling stations for you to pick up there

You could also see augmented reality, want to buy a new couch? Well the app will be on your tab and it will size your room, and show you your options, change the colour etc show you the stats on how popular your choice is, who on Facebook has the same couch which celebs have it etc

Then click yes and it's delivered the next dayThe same for clothes, footwear, everything, 

A further development is the idea of the 3d printer, you want a mug or a plate or a clock, you just buy the licence, type it into your 3d printer and it prints one out for you

Once we all get superfast broadband the vid shop will die, next will be the cinema, you'll buy a movie premier and watch it in your house, the day it is released, there will no longer be a physical copy. 

The next generation of consoles will be the last to use disks, you download everything

Town centres become the new Detroit, abandoned like the coal mines and ship yards 

Shopping will no longer be a social thing to do, but done at home, while chatting to your friends on Facebook, 

Instead people will meet up to do stuff, eat, coffee, sports etc, the idea of going for a dander round the shops with your mates will be dead, 

But no matter how much things chance there will always be some drop outs drinking Concord under the big square at the Armagh planetarium