Best Shopping In Toronto Not What It Used To Be

(Newswire.net — May 20, 2015) Toronto, ONTARIO — From the Eaton Centre, to Yorkville, Queen Street West to Yorkdale, Toronto has numerous shopping destinations to suit just about every need. However, with more shopping being done online than ever before, the market is seeing a number of stores closing. Consequently, the best shopping in Toronto may evolve from larger box stores to smaller, more intimate ones or those that can provide a unique and social experience.

After Target announced its decision to close all 133 of its Canadian stores back in January of this year, the Future Shop wasn’t far to follow. These closures don’t just impact shoppers, but also their employees, and even the real estate left behind.

Alexandra Posadzki stated in a recent article “Experts say many of these shopping centres will need to reinvent themselves as mixed-use lifestyle hubs to avoid a bleak future.“ Additionally, he noted that “restaurants, fitness centres and medical clinics are beginning to make up a larger portion of the tenant mix at many shopping centres, as they provide social experiences and other services that can’t be purchased remotely.”

It is clear as to why large shopping centres like Yorkdale and the Eaton Centre in Toronto are popular spots for those seeking an experience and not just a garment they can pick up online.

“People do want to get out of their house and go and meet in welcoming environments,” says Matthew Siemiatycki, an associate professor of geography and planning at the University of Toronto. It is really the social experience that is going to draw consumers out of their homes, but what one considers to be a welcoming environment, another may not. This makes it near to impossible to determine one location to be the best shopping in Toronto.

The best places to shop will not only depend on what you want to shop for and your budget, but also the experience you seek while shopping. Physical retailers can no longer rely on their stock to entice consumers; they’ve got to create something more, an experience, which can’t be bought online.

Toronto shopping experience company, Luxe Shopping Experiences’ founder, Jamie-Lee Braunack says, “it is the need for something a little different, the next big thing many consumers are seeking, especially for major life events, such as weddings that has created a strong demand for our services.”

Particularly with reality TV shows such as, ‘Say Yes To The Dress,’ consumers are beginning to expect more when visiting a store, they want that personal attention and even style guidance that they can’t receive when shopping online.

One of the shopping destinations that do this best in Toronto is Holt Renfrew who not only offer personal styling and shopping services, but also concierge services as well. Whilst the store is possibly one of the best places for shoppers with a higher disposable income, it doesn’t cater for everyone’s budget or even desires.

For those who value the craftsmanship and quality of bespoke clothing, as well as those who don’t necessarily want to buy something that ‘everyone else’ has, it is the small boutiques that still have the upper hand.

It could be said that the small boutiques really do provide the best shopping in Toronto for numerous reasons. From catering only to a small targeted demographic, to being able to provide a more intimate and personal experience, and even in some cases have the designer on hand to truly customise something just for you, small boutiques have great potential in providing the best shopping experience.

With small stores who don’t have a huge management team to run ideas past, they can be more fluid in adapting their stock and even services to create an ideal shopping experience for a particular consumer demographic.

Braunack states it is largely for these reasons that the shopping services they provide generally only take their guests to boutique shops. However, like everything all boutiques weren’t made equally, and some certainly provide a higher-level of service than others. This is something that we take into consideration when choosing where to take our clients. “ “Service and quality of garments are a must, but we also know that to create the best shopping experience for our clients, we need to carefully select stores based on their budget, style, and particular occasion they are shopping for, says Braunack.” It is by taking the time upfront to do this research and planning for clients that allows them to experience the best shopping in Toronto.”

For further insight into where the best shopping in Toronto may be for a particular market, view this article, which depicts this in more detail.

 

For more information about shopping with Luxe Shopping Experiences or to learn more about their services, you can visit their site or contact them via email at info@luxeshoppingexperiences.com