Exeter’s online retail revolution

Despite the recent economic slowdown, there are encouraging signs that many of Exeter’s businesses are coping with the new retail environment with impressive flexibility and dynamism.

Although many businesses may have suffered due to the city’s somewhat remote location, certain companies have flourished in recent years by adapting to various online trends that have benefitted a wide range of areas from online gaming to boutique fashion.

One of the more startling trends can be found by taking a quick visit to Exeter’s Rooster Records on Fore Street. This comfortably ramshackle record shop recently enjoyed some of its best ever sales figures thanks to the unprecedented popularity of the vinyl record format.

This comes at odds to what many were predicting with the rise of online streaming sites like Spotify, but it shows that above all, it’s having a good quality product range and a reassuring sense of the familiar that will continue to draw in the crowds.

It’s an ethos that can also be seen by the continuing popularity of the Clifton Road Games store. Despite video games being virtually omnipresent in every home across the region, this small shop has sustained its appeal amongst its devotees by hosting many popular in-store games and events that are constantly updated via the store’s Facebook page.

By putting on regular tournaments, the games shop managed to emulate the success that has been found in the online realm with gaming sites such as Lady Lucks providing gamers with incentives such as prestigious blackjack tournaments to accompany their range of mobile-friendly casino games.

It’s this blend of real-life authenticity and online convenience that has also been a key reason as to why Exeter’s fashion outlets are also enjoying a period of sustained growth. Thanks to some impressive web developments, high street boutiques like Exiv have managed to rebrand themselves and place themselves perfectly for 21st century retail life.

The Exiv website not only features an alluring guide to many of the top names that feature in their collection of fashion goods, but by featuring a blog, social media channels and the great use of a Pinterest board, the brand is managing to make a name for itself throughout the Exeter region and beyond.

All of which shows that it’s not just the likes of Lady Lucks online casino who’ve reaped the benefits of the digital revolution, as many other examples from fashion and entertainment show that even a small local store can survive in the 21st century marketplace.