ANYONE weaving his or her way down the High Street or looking for a Town parking spot over the next few weekends will struggle with the idea that retail in Guernsey has problems.

Crowded shops, long check-out queues, stressed shoppers; it’s all part of the Christmas experience. And then, just as your feet start to recover, along come the New Year sales.

But a few manic Saturdays in December and late-night Thursdays cannot make up for the quiet weeks which, according to one retail expert, are becoming more and more commonplace.

As a researcher and a man at the coalface of retail for three decades, John Hollis has strong opinions.

Among these is that the island must fight hard to change its retail sector now or see much of it rapidly fall into disrepair.

Those who would blame all of the retail sector’s difficulties on the recession are given short shrift.

This downturn is part of a more significant long-term malaise, where the internet is changing the face of shopping.

There will be no return to ‘business as usual’. Instead, the future is dominated by ‘bricks and clicks’ retailers, who operate large stores and huge warehouses for online goods. Busy postmen.

The most obvious symptom of that is the number of empty retail units in Town, a problem highlighted earlier this year, and the ‘charitisation’ of the Bridge.

He also has a warning for those who dismiss this as a problem for the retail industry alone. Without action, a substantial number of jobs are at stake (14% of the employed population), a large chunk of tax and Town’s place as a centre for shopping, working, tourism and socialising.

Interestingly, Mr Hollis does not advocate a desperate rearguard battle to hang on to everything the island has.

Instead, he recognises that some types of shop simply will not survive. Better to acknowledge that now and forge a new refocused retail world.

That means turning Town into a social centre, where people come not just to shop but to fulfil their ‘social urge to get to market’.