Jamie Murray Wells discusses the future of high street shopping

Jamie Murray Wells founded the highly successful internet company GlassesDirect.co.uk while he was still a student, and went on to break the big optician's hold on the market by offering significantly cheaper glasses online. In February 2010, he set up HearingDirect.com, mirroring the business model of Glasses Direct, by selling digital hearing aids online at a fraction of the price of those offered by high street retailers. Jamie has won numerous entrepreneur awards and has acted as business and enterprise advisor to the government. We caught up wiith Jamie, a judge in this year's Website of the Year Award, to discuss high street shopping versus shopping online.

Why would you buy anything on the high street, when you can find it cheaper online?

Setting up a business online lets you offer customers bigger savings on products or services. Typically web businesses don't have a lot of the overheads of offline businesses, and are able to pass those savings on to the customer. However there are still people who are hesitant when it comes to shopping online. In some ways these savings seem too good to be true, which is why word-of-mouth recommendations are so important, particularly online.

Do you think the high street is a bit outmoded these days?

Only 25% of British businesses are currently selling online. Consumers still love the reassurance of being able to see, feel and try goods on. With products like books and music, consumers are quite happy to purchase online and ASOS for example has certainly revolutionised the online fashion industry with a massive number of loyal fans.

We have seen, and are going to see, more and more touchy-feely products such as glasses being sought after online: by customers increasingly comfortable making this type of purchase; and retailers who help them by providing features that make the process easier. We now offer a seven day free home trial, where customers can order up to four pairs of frames, which we deliver the next day. This has been a huge success.

Do you think that the recession has helped young people to think more entrepreneurially?

Recession makes people more accepting of change and new ideas. Some of the best businesses in the world were started in recessions - Microsoft being a good example. I think that it engenders a more entrepreneurial attidude in people. Having access to the right technology during the recession has certainly led to more opportunities for entrepreneurs.

Consumers are constantly on the look-out for bargains, now more than ever, so by setting up a business online for example, you can offer products or services at more affordable prices. I've been asked whether the recession has impacted Glasses Direct and my answer has always been that you need glasses, so we're a little more recession-proof than a discretionary purchase. But you still need to stay true to your roots and offer great value.

Is it easier to be a young entrepreneur today than it was when you started your business? In what ways?

It's never been easier to start a business: you have cheaper, easier to use technology, free enterprise software, extensive range of connection tools like Linkedin, and it's certainly easier to source the right investors and get the right advice, than when I started Glasses Direct six years ago. Consumer spending might be more of an issue now but in terms of putting a business together, the right tools and tutorials have never been so readily available to entrepreneurs.

What is the best thing about the internet?

It has to be the ability to strip out a lot of the costs that offline companies have, and pass the savings onto the customers. So far Glasses Direct has saved the British public £40 million on their glasses!  At Glasses Direct we are always thinking of new ways to make it even easier for our customers and to make the business more personal.

Jamie Murray Wells is a judge in The Good Web Guide's Website of the Year Award 2010.

18 August 2010