ISLANDERS would be encouraged to buy locally if there were more discounts and promotions, more brands on offer and more independent shops, a new survey has found.
This year’s Jersey Retail Report offers an insight into changing shopping habits in the Island, with farm shops seeing a 7% increase in visitors since 2018, 70% of people buying items locally and ‘significant’ interest in Sunday and weekday evening shopping from the 1,500-plus Islanders who took part.
Commissioned by the government, its findings will be used to inform future retail policy.
There was a 20% increase in recent online purchases from non-Jersey stores in the last five years and 6% rise in buying from online Jersey-based businesses, according to the survey.
Respondents were asked to select factors that would encourage them to shop more in Jersey, with the top choices being discounts and promotions (60%), more brands (51%), independent shops (42%) and shops open later than 5pm (42%).
Town centre manager Connor Burgher said: ‘We meet with retailers in St Helier regularly and have spoken about discounts and offers. I think this is a challenge for a lot of businesses because Brexit and other factors have dramatically increased shipping costs, narrowing margins even further. The swing to online shopping, encouraged by the pandemic, has no doubt had an effect too.’
Mr Burgher added that he was ‘optimistic that St Helier will continue to be an attractive place to shop’.
The survey received almost 800 responses to the question: ‘What could improve your shopping experience in Jersey?’
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The main call for improving retail in Jersey was to introduce different affordable high-street brands, in particular, H&M, Zara and The Range (222 mentions).
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Price was the second-most mentioned improvement, calling for cheaper prices or prices which compared better to the UK (212 mentions).
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Many called for a better choice and range of items to choose from (186 mentions).
Respondents were still highly interested in Sunday shopping, with 64% in favour, plus 62% would like to be able to shop in early evenings other than just at Christmas.
Retailers can trade on a Sunday if they have obtained a permit from the parish in which their shop is situated.
Large shops (over 700sq-m) were banned from opening every Sunday until 2019, when the States voted for a proposition by former Economic Development Minister Lyndon Farnham, with shops such as Voisins, De Gruchy and St Peter’s Garden Centre among the 30 shops affected.
There was a strong perception in the survey results that customer service was poor – and there was a significant call for better training, more helpful staff and generally more friendliness.
The survey found that people shopping in Jersey today are less satisfied with the experience than they were five years ago, although 70% of Islanders still choose to purchase items locally.
The biggest fall in satisfaction related to the cost of items, the range of shops, the choice of items in shops, and ease and cost of parking.
The overall shopping experience ‘satisfaction score’ also dropped significantly over the period.
Economic Development Minister Kirsten Morel said there was ‘significant room for transformation in the sector to continue to provide a diverse and attractive offering for locals and visitors alike’.
The research, carried out by local agency 4insight, included a survey which attracted more than 1,500 responses. This was considered a strong representative sample size, which included good coverage across the various socio-demographics of Jersey shoppers.
