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As WHSmith sells its high street stores, town centres must utilise TikTok’s power to drive IRL shopping

Posted by Sara McCorquodale in Comment

3 weeks ago

Stationery, journals and books are enormous, TikTok-driven passion points – yet WHSmith, a retailer offering all of these things – has announced it’s selling 500 of its high street stores. The brick-and-mortar brand, which opened as a family-run newsagent in 1792, is focusing on travel retail suggesting its future lies in airports, train stations and hospitals. Places of urgency where there is relatively little competition. Places where IRL retailers can still be useful. Where they can still, even in a small way, save the day.

This news pulls into focus the biggest challenge facing many retailers in 2025: how to be wanted. In the age of Amazon and the speedy delivery of everything, high streets are not a necessity. Yet town centres, often characterised by empty shops, remain. So what are they for and how do they survive?

WHSmith has identified its business model thrives in transient environments where the needs of the consumer can be anticipated. Innovation in this setting can be pinned to lifestyle trends and sales, rather than the risky business of creativity. Also, airport shopping videos thrive on TikTok so it will benefit from organic social content by creators. From every angle, this makes sense.

Retailers who cannot pursue this business model have to mastermind how they can become experiences which drive TikTok coverage. Cultural and consumer trends actually offered WHSmith the perfect environment to do this, in theory at least. A 2024 YouGov survey showed 76% of consumers were more likely to head to brick-and-mortar stores than shop online for stationery. Diaries, notepads and pens remain a key part of younger generations’ lifestyles thanks to Gen Z’s obsession with scrapbooking, popularised by creators such as Natasha Ahmed, and Millennials’ love of journalling.

TikTok’s power in the context of successful brick-and-mortar retail is being heavily underestimated. Coffee chain Blank Street is soaring thanks to small innovations which make it a documentable, human-centred experience rather than just a cafe. A recent example of this is how it turned its Christmas windows into a retro selfie spot which led to a flurry of videos and excitement. 

@blankstreet

The Regent Street lights are on and we didn’t want to be left out x Swing by our Regent Street store to see the display inspired by our Winter Specials! 📍W1B 2HW #blankstreet #blankstreetcoffee #london

♬ loveactually is all around – 📼

Developers must realise that for every creator driving global desire thanks to a good retail experience, there are others driving a negative narrative when they are disheartened. A key reference point here is a TikTok about Bournemouth by creator Olli which laid bare the decay of the town from a local’s perspective. This kind of negative PR is a disaster not just from a UK perspective but from an international tourism one too. This content is increasingly shaping the perceptions of global consumers, yet very little is being done to mitigate or balance this.

The reality is nobody wants high streets full of empty shops and old strategies won’t bring customers back. As another heritage retailer plots its escape, developers and town centres must learn from brick-and-mortar brands that are succeeding and realise how much digital content makes consumers want to shop IRL.

By Sara McCorquodale, CEO and founder of CORQ, with additional reporting by Dina Zubi, news and features writer for CORQ.