For those of you who are not Irish, Clonmel is the biggest inland town in Ireland with a population of roughly 20,000 souls. As school children, we learned this fact and it was always a source of pride with which we taunted our peers from smaller surrounding towns like Cahir and Carrick-on-Suir. In addition to this accolade, Clonmel is nationally famous for being the home of Bulmer’s Cider and in recent times, infamous, for providing stock flooding footage to RTÉ Television news.
'The Main Guard' - Clonmel Town Centre
The current recession (and coming depression!) is hitting this once prosperous market town hard. The retail sector is on its knees. Anecdotally, local traders in the town centre say that they can often go an entire shopping day without making a single sale. The disastrous effects of the economic downturn have been compounded by some insane planning decisions in recent years which saw the opening of multiple retail parks and shopping centres in the suburbs of the town, outside of walking distance. The town is now disjointed and the once bustling town centre is in need of resuscitation.
Local business people, in the main, seem content to cut costs and wait for the recovery promised by the government who say we have ‘turned a corner’. This is a mirage. In my own opinion (and it gives me no pleasure to say it), this recession is going to get a lot worse before it gets better. In order for the retailers in the town centre to survive, action is required. And fast!… while we still have retailers in Clonmel town centre.
So what, if anything, is to be done? How can the town centre attract more spending customers?
One thing that can be done is make Clonmel Town Centre a Wi-Fi Hotspot. (Ya what Gay!). Put simply, this means that people would be able to access the internet via their mobile device (Phones, iPhones, iPads, Laptops etc.) from anywhere in the town centre. It’s a way of branding the town as an ‘internet oasis’ in order to lure tourists and shoppers. Offering Wi-Fi to shoppers can be viewed as an additional amenity and gives them one more reason to come to Clonmel. The fact that the Wi-Fi service is free means customers can come without feeling pressured or obligated to make a purchase. However, and at the risk of stating the obvious, if local retailers offer appealing products or services, customers may be more inclined to make a purchase during their visit.
I’m not suggesting this is a panecea. I am suggesting that if executed and marketed properly, this could help attract valuable revenue to the town. I don’t want to get bogged down it the technical, hardware and financing issues just yet.
I’d be very interested to know what you think? Please leave a comment.
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