To think Internet shopping is the way forward

[myusernameisusername]

Was musing about this today how people always say the Internet is destroying the high street etc etc but i reckon that it's actually better for the economy as business owners can trade online and therefore charge less for their wares because they aren't haveimg to pay massive rental charges on a shop and also the less shops there are the more housing can be built in there place so that the countryside isn't blighted by massive estate's popping up all over the place in the next few year's

[crazykat]

What about all the jobs that would go? There a a few thousand people employed in my city centre in the various shops that are there, if the shops went exclusively online then they'd all be out of a job and on benefits.

Plus it's nice being able to see what you're buying and try it on before you buy rather than buying something which doesn't fit, looks awful, horrible fabric etc and having to mess about returning or exchanging.

[KingJoffreyFanciesDarylDixon]

Totally agree.

Especially now we have self service tills so jobs are going anyway.

And I've noticed on MN that there's a lot of 'shopping ettiquette' to contend with. I have ASD and I'm guaranteed to get it wrong...

[hiddenhome]

I prefer shopping online. I even buy all my clothes and shoes and have never had anything that I didn't like or that didn't fit.

You get a wider choice and can see what's in stock instead of trailing into town/city and trailing around endless shops only to find they don't have the right size, colour etc. you can compare prices too. We find that stuff is much cheaper online. The shops really hike the prices up.

I love it and will never go back to traditional shopping as it's such a waste of time.

[SaucyJack]

Couldn't agree less. Fucking HATE waiting in all day for couriers.

[squoosh]

Is this thread being posted from 1998?

[SanityClause]

I hate shopping, but I like having nice things, and I work from home, so I'm in all day, so Internet shopping works for me!

I love that you can buy really niche things from the likes of Etsy. Surely that's encouraging creativity and enterprise?

[peggyundercrackers]

I've never bought clothes or any wearables online, come to think of it I never really buy anything online, bits and pieces at times but I would think I buy stuff online twice a year of that.

I would rather support my local economy and shops/employers than give the money to some faceless organisation who may use a complicated tax scheme to avoid pqying their way.

I think any organisation who has an online shop should be made to pay a local sales tax of 15% on every online purchase thus stopping using complicated avoidance schemes.

[Gruntfuttock]

Apart from groceries 99.9% of my buying is online. Much cheaper, much MUCH larger choice and altogether more convenient. My DH and I are home all day so it's perfect for us.

[usualsuspect333]

I'd rather go to an actual shop and look at what I'm buying.

[squoosh]

I love Etsy too Sanity.

[myusernameisusername]

i thought about that instead of sat on a till all day they can be re employed as pickers packers etc even an online business still needs staff to process all the orders and serve the customers but it's all online

[peggyundercrackers]

myusernameisusername ah but they wont have a warehouse where you are so once you are out of work because everyone shops online you will be sat at home on benefits...

[peggyundercrackers]

or maybe you wont be on benefits because the online shops dont pay their tax bills so the govt have stopped benefits because they don't have any money

[ragged]

Yabu. I like town centres with a mix of businesses rather than all takeaways, charity shops, tattoo parlours & hairdressers. Surrounded by miles of soulless housing estates.

[NakedBaby]

I think high street shops are knotting their own noose by really not giving any thought to how they can positively differentiate themselves from Internet shops.

Too many high street shops are basically Pick-your-own warehouses. The staff don't know the product, and there are no 'extra' experiences.

For example, you don't see listening booths any more in HMV. On iTunes I can listen to clips and get if-you-liked-this-try-that recommendations all day long.

Trying on clothes is all very well - but you can try on Internet purchases too (&return what you don't like). However, when I try on at home, I'll try on with my heels. I'll also often have a fashion blog/fashion mag open and be targeting a certain look. On the high street it takes ages to (say) find several pairs of wide legged trousers (or establish that they have a mystifying stock hole in (as has happened to me) plain black skirts).

I only 'seriously' clothes shop live in places with a personal shopper (which also implies a sofa and a glass of water). Most of the department stores have one - and they'll have most of the high street brands as concessions within them.

[Topseyt]

I do both. I think both have pluses and minuses.

On the High Street I can try things on straight away and there is still something to be said for being able to select what you want and take it home same day.

The internet is good for finding a great variety of items, for doing online grocery shopping when illness or kids mean going to the store can be a problem. It is also the place for finding the best deals on household appliances such as washing machines, tumble driers, dishwashers etc. Can save a lot of money sometimes but the main disadvantage is often having to wait in for deliveries. That aspect of it still has plenty of scope for improvement.

I think there is a place for both, and hope that the High Street can evolve to stay around too.

[CatHammock]

I do 90% of my shopping onlin. It's wonderful - I don't have to deal with supermarket arseholes, can compare the products I want without blocking an aisle, if I can't find something there's a search function right there, I don't have to lug shopping home on two buses and I'm less likely to make a impulse purchase if that cream cake isn't showing up until Saturday.
Similarly with clothes shopping - I could hike round town into every shop to see that of the stuff that does suit me they don't have in stock, or the stuff in my size isn't my style. Should I find something that's both my size and style, I can go and try it on in a poorly-curtained cubicle with wierd lighting and none of the clothes I might want to wear with it. Or I can browse from home with a nice cup of tea, have a nice man bring things to me, and then at my leisure he'll collect them again if I decide I don't like it. Or even better, I can spend a while talking to a designer and have something custom made for me, for mid-high end prices.
I've bought stuff online from tiny, tiny producers who couldn't afford a full shopfront (and wouldn't get the benefit anyway) but who can make a decent amount of money selling to people like me who'd never pass that storefront in that village at the other end of the country, but who love what they make. Hell, I'm considering starting my own microbusiness to do something similar. High-street is good if you need it there and then, but otherwise I'd prefer to avoid the crowds.

[Scuttlebutter]

I run an online business. We manufacture and sell a niche product (greyhound coats) that would simply not be viable as a business if we were based in a shop. For clarity, I pay ALL relevant taxes and our products are proudly manufactured in the UK (in tax paying premises) and our business success has led to taking on an apprentice, who is now receiving a training, qualifications and a wage in an area where good skilled jobs are hard to come by.
We now sell our products all over the UK and increasingly worldwide. For specialist businesses like ours, the internet has opened up trading opportunities and allowed us to create much needed manufacturing jobs. We also create work for our suppliers such as photographers, printers, fabric suppliers and many of these are bricks and mortar based small businesses. For instance our printer is based at the local community centre.

Shop where you like but please don't assume we are all like Amazon.

[TedAndLola]

I have never understood people who blame online shoppers for the demise of the high street. If the high street offered a better product, it wouldn't be happening. For many of us online shopping is a much better experience and the high street has done nothing to get their edge back, as NakedBaby details.

We also can't stop progression because it will end in the loss of jobs. Where on earth would we be if we had blocked other advances for that reason?

[ragged]

Sadly I believe the Iceland Supermarket bloke who argues that the only successful future for most town centres is as service providers (beauty salons, tattoo parlours, sex parlours, dentists) or entertainment centres (take-aways, night-clubs & cafes). Unfortunately our town hasn't caught onto this reality & keeps turning down planning applications for take-aways or restaurants. They have a crazy idea to get Artisan specialists in, instead (let's watch while no queue forms). In a deprived economic area, sigh. With No Jobs for our young people. I feel like screaming.