Why do some services succeed where others fail? Shaun Green reports.
The storefronts via which we purchase our entertainment have changed immensely over the past decade. This seems a statement of the obvious, but it's worth considering that this change was a slow and gradual process and few shifts occurred overnight.
The widely proclaimed death of the high street never came, for example, although the recession of the past half-decade has seen a number of high-street chains close their doors and shutter their windows. Elsewhere we've seen small chains like Ottakers or GameStation gobbled up by their larger brethren. However, despite tough times, independent and specialist music, book and video game shops still exist. It's even possible to find hold-out second-hand DVD shops dotted throughout the UK. There will probably always be some form of high-street retailers hawking goods that are easily available online; once all is said and done, many people simply prefer to take to their feet and peruse physical shelves of items.