The collapse of Philip Green’s Arcadia group, threatening 13,000 jobs across the UK, has been seen as emblematic of the decline of the traditional high street. It’s clear, as Arcadia’s CEO says, that the pandemic has turbocharged the consumer shift to online shopping, leaving conventional stores trailing. But high street retailers have been caught in a pincer movement over the past decade – from the data economy and its inseparable partner, the ultra-loose monetary policy environment.
Amazon, Apple and Facebook have all reported extraordinary revenue increases over this year as the pandemic accelerated the rise of the digital economy. The six largest US tech companies saw their market valuation rise by 38 per cent over the first half of the year, adding $1.71trn to their value – even as the rest of the global economy was ravaged.
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