It had to happen, and it has- my spam folder showed up this morning with a blast from a new website, dedicated to online browsing of upcoming fairs. While a number of art and antiques publications through their online editions promote fairs either through editorial or paid ads, this is the first site we’ve seen that is solely dedicated to fairs. However, the call to action from the new site isn’t to visit the fair, but unfortunately asks the question that large numbers of people apparently are already asking, to wit, why visit actually when, through the internet, one can visit virtually? And the site offers just such an opportunity.
And, clearly, this is a question that permeates the art and antiques world specifically, and the entire retail environment generally. Of course, the slow economic recovery has at least something to do with the numbers of vacant storefronts in even the best shopping venues, but the retailer that trumpets ‘free shipping with online orders’ has clearly altered his business model and is probably not planning a bricks and mortar expansion.
Frankly, our own gallery footfall has been mercifully constant over the course of the last couple of years- constant, but hardly increasing. One thing that is also a constant, that every first time gallery visitor has visited us at least once online before they’ve darkened our door. We chat about this frequently with gallery visitors who at once decry the declining numbers of galleries while at the same time acknowledging how much stuff they purchase online themselves.
I notice this morning the cancellation of a long running London fair, in response to the increasing difficulty punters have in reaching the fair venue due to the traffic congestion charge. Well, it’s always something- perhaps the fair organizer will develop a virtual platform- ‘save the congestion charge and visit us online’- it just might happen.