The experience of visiting Beales during its prime and how this differs to its last days of business

The magical feeling customers felt when visiting a big department store, like Beales, is what kept these stores popular in their prime, however this differs to the 21st century with the development of online shopping. The difference between the exciting experience customers experienced when shopping at Beales can be seen to diminish, as children instead of going to the toy department, prefer watching tv or ordering toys online instead. The promotional events at Christmas and the extravagant window displays which lead to Beales to be a memorable experience, and is what made Beales so significant to their customers, specifically during the 50s. 

A department store’s window display gives the customer their first impression of the store and this is what draws them in through the unique window displays Beales was known for. Their seasonal displays at Easter during the 70s had dyed chicks and bunnies and Easter eggs making it a shocking experience for the customer to remember. Other seasonal activities include their efforts of organising a Christmas parade with decorated floats in the 1950s, and again recreating this in 2020, gaining a sense of excitement surrounding Beales and the Chester Chronicle article on it, showing the press and attention gained by this stunt. Their effort at Christmas, appealing to a younger audience with a grotto and children being able to take photos with Father Christmas, which not only gives a profit to Beales with this simple idea but also creates an annual tradition and returning customers who are able to take part every year. Other department stores, such as Selfridges in 1965, advertises their “Toy Town” during Christmas, being described as “marvellous,” “exciting, gay, colourful.” Even though this advert is from Selfridges, it demonstrates the type of ideas big department stores, like Beales and Selfridges, had in order to create an experience for their customers and to create this buzz around department stores. However, you can see a decline of these promotional activities as “by the 1950s, department store demonstrations, exhibitions and publicity stunts had reached an all-time peak.” The decline of interest in these promotional events mirror the decline of Beales as customers become less interested in these activities. The Bournemouth Daily Echo in 2018 argues that in Beales’ decline you are able to tell when they have had an unsuccessful Christmas, despite Christmas previously being the most popular time.

The toy department used to be the most well known and exciting part of visiting a department store, especially for children. The overwhelming experience of the toy department for a child is what makes shopping at a department store a magical experience for them. This perception of Beales, through the eyes of a child, is what they remember most and what they know wowed them as a kid, leading them to think of shopping at Beales as ‘the good old days.’ These customers that grew up with this experience of Beales are their returning customers, even when they are older, to support this store they have magical memories in, even with an obvious decline throughout the years. This magical feeling in the toy department is not only specified to Beales but also Selfridges toy department in 1938, which is described as the “enchanting third floor” in The Times article, “where happiness is always king.” This description describes the uniqueness the experience of visiting a department store had, and the excitement the children felt when looking at the variety of toys on the shelves; an experience you couldn’t get anywhere else. Beales departments were also seen as modern, by having “speedy reactions to shopping trends,” as described by the Times in 1985, giving the impression of a futuristic experience.

However, despite these prime times where Beales was the most popular shop down the high street, the slow decline is evident as other shops become more popular, and the development of internet shopping becomes the best way of purchasing goods. The Guardian comments on the customers, when Beales eventually closes in 2020, by members of the public stating that their “teenage kids wouldn’t dream of going here” and “the generation grew up there is getting old and dying off sadly.” This loyalty of their customers from the “good old days” with the toy department being the most exciting thing they had seen, are their only returning customers attempting to support a store they have memories in. A previous Beales customer described how “their toy department just ended up being nothing like when I was a child,” showing how memorable departments diminished. The change in age that department stores now appeal to can be argued as an explanation for their decline, with the children less interested in the smaller toy department, leaving their only customers to be the older generation. Department stores competition is seen to be beating them, as customers would rather go to either specific toy shops, like Toys R Us or Argos, rather than travelling further to the high street to visit a department store like Beales. As well as, the preference of shopping online saves the customer travelling a potential long distance, as well as Amazon offering free delivery making internet shopping more convenient for the customer. In this modern day, even though customers are not getting a “magical experience,” which used to be the most exciting element of visiting a store, this generation instead prefers a magical experience of watching films or television. The decline of promotional activities and the diminishing toy department in Beales reflects the loss of interest in customers caring about these experiences.

The magical feeling customers experience when used to shop in Beales, with the toy department, the seasonal window displays and events, gives Beales their returning and loyal customers. However with this older generation, who have these memorable experiences, gradually dying out, and with the development of online shopping, you can see the gradual decline of Beales until their ultimate close.

Sources Used and Further Reading:

Downing, Beryl. “Facelift for a grand old lady.” The Times. July 20 1985.

Ladell, Awlyn. “Old Christchurch Road, Bournemouth, Dorset.” [photograph of postcard] Jan 15 1906. Accessed: 19 January 2021. https://search.creativecommons.org/photos/8486c480-023a-4b15-9ba5-e3c86768b314

Morris, Steven. “‘Beales is part of our history’: Shoppers on landmark store’s woes; Bournemouth residents react with disbelief as much loved retailer goes into administration.” The Guardian. 26 January 2020.

Scott, Peter and James Walker. “Advertising, promotion and the competitive advantage of interwar British department stores.” The Economic History Review: New Series 63, 4 (2010): 1105-1128.

Shearing, Sue. Interviewed by Eliza Bodiam. Bournemouth. 11 November 2020.