Is anyone buying more clothes in person rather than online?

I agree it's a shame we are losing the high street. I was gutted when TopShop went from Oxford street. I spent many a happy afternoon in that shop.

However, there has to be something in it for the shopper, otherwise whats the point? as I said upthread, it costs £15 to park for over 2 hours where I live and half the time its a wasted journey because they dont even have the items in stock anyway and you get told to look online. I have a lot of responsibilities and I simply dont have time to be making wasted journeys in and out of town when I can browse online of an evening in my PJs instead, with a cup of tea.

Debenhams has gone now from my city but the last time I went in there was just after covid. They had put down this weird floor system with lines and grids for people to walk in one way and out the other. However, the person who did it had used loads of different colours so it wasnt clear which was way was in or out, left or right. I accidentally walked over into the wrong lane and got loudly barked at by one of the security guards who rudely told me to get in the right lane. It was really embarrassing as he practically shouted at me in front of everyone as if I had just murdered someone and right then I thought fuck you, I am not returning to this shop again if thats how you are going to treat customers. Its since closed down. Some shops only have themselves to blame I'm afraid.

The trend is started to hit smaller European towns and villages etc unfortunately, just a lot slower as they're generally a bit behind the curve in terms of the big chains/supermarkets/retail parks which seem a lot slower to roll out in other European countries, but it is happening.

Similar to the UK where it hit the smaller towns first, especially in the regions, and then continued to start affecting bigger towns, smaller cities, etc.

Our town lost it's M&S in the early 90s and it massively impacted the town, followed a few years later by losing the Woolworths, and then it was like a deck of cards falling and we were left with basically bookies and charity shops by the mid 00s! So we were hit a lot earlier than a lot of the towns who have only really been badly hit in the last decade or so.

It's definitely a long term thing, spanning decades. People just think it's down to the internet because they're the ones who have been living close to a big town or city centre that has only recently been hit. Those living in smaller towns saw it a decade or two earlier! I think that will happen in other European countries too, especially those not heavy with tourists.

I wish I could. My local city has more and more shops closing down. The department store (only one left) seems to stock mainly business wear or jeans.

I have cut down on what I buy online as well. I have some events coming up and will probably buy off vinted. I have only recently started shopping there but have picked up some great bargains.

Yes because things online never fit.

But then my town centre has everything you could want and more opening up to boot. We got a Dunelm this year but also have chemists, dept stores, all the supermarkets, boutiques, charity shops, furniture, art shops, haberdasheries, clothes, shoes, bath and kitchens, literally everything you may need can be found.

I’d love to shop in person but I live in very rural Scotland so unless I want to wear very expensive horse riding gear or F&F at Tesco I have to shop online.

I used to love shopping when I lived in an English town.

I don’t find this to be the case, but I wear very big, loose clothes that don’t have to actually fit. Toast, C A Lomas, Plumo, Manamis, Rundholz. I buy from places with very good customer service like House of Valerie in Cheshire.

I can see if something needed to fit precisely it might not work.

Yes, applies to smaller towns and cities in Europe.

In the towns we stay in in The Netherlands the social aspect is strong, people cycling into the centre, shopping for fresh produce and flowers (all locally grown) in the markets, clothes shopping in department stores, chains and independents. People sitting around, outside for a coffee or food.

Apart from the cycling, very much the same in the various Spanish towns and the small city where we regularly stay too.

The clothing is much better quality, perhaps they expect more than we do.

I am not sure that there is the delivery infrastructure, no ‘Inpost’ type lockers regularly around, for instance.

I order online to try on in store . It's the best of both worlds.
Of course that means a lot of my clothes come from Tk Maxx or M&S. I refuse to shop at my local very large Next as the clothes are atrocious. I do order online cotton/linen from Zara in the summer & Down from the Uniqlo sales in the winter and rarely from ebay/Vinted.

I have never bought clothes online but I am in my fifties!

Is that old? I am in my 50s too. And do a lot of stuff online.

I overcame my dislike of TK Maxx and actually shopped for the first time ever in there. Picked up a lovely linen top and a merino wool one. They were like jewels in the sea of synthetics!

I have one near me but it involves so much rummaging!

Even in city centres that are still busy, I think the conformity - not helped by a handful of companies owning so many stores - has become a problem too. I was in London recently and took a trip to Regent St expecting a few hours of guilty high street pleasure. In fact I walked out of &Other Stories because I was bored and did the same in Cos and Uniqlo. Cos was particularly disappointing. Uniqlo looked a mess.

The shops I enjoyed the most were Blackout 2 in Covent Garden and Hunky Dory on Brick Lane. Now that's partly because I buy a lot of vintage but also the shops looked interesting, had knowledgeable and enthusiastic sales people and crucially (although this might have been partly down to a lack of stamina on my part) they're not too big. I was sorry I never made it to Colenimo.

@Floisme!😲😄 You have to go next time you’re in London! (Also there are one or two very excellent pre-owned shops in and around Columbia Rd.)

My most recent online purchase has involved weeks of havering, extended late night consultations with a shamelessly enabling AI correspondent, lots of measuring in my mirror, an email correspondence with the shop, a dash to my tailors for advice on the at the time un-bought item, more measuring, finally thinking Fuck it! and clicking Buy Now. All this because the thing was impressively reduced and ‘final sale only’ - which is something I have never risked before. But it’s so beautiful …

Currently waiting, on tenterhooks …

@Mcoco - I’m quoting my own post, purely for you …

Try being tall, you can’t shop in person because they don’t carry tall stock like they do petite 🤷🏼‍♀️ My mum and sisters could never understand why I didn’t want to go shopping and browse for hours, they’d come back with bags full and I could never buy anything.

No excuse for me not to shop online then! I will give it a go thank you Pam.

I will! Which other shops around Columbia Rd do you recommend?

Another one I love is Wall & Jones but they only seem to be open half the week so I didn't get there either.

Hope your new purchase is perfect.

@Mcoco,do not attempt without a tape measure to hand!

And use every resource on the website.

Also Google your chosen item because other sources may include different / more plentiful photos or video (or reviews - though I’d be cautious about believing those).

I don’t do the ordering twenty things and sending nineteen back - that would be exhausting. For me the whole point of internet shopping is that I can seek out the best (that I can afford) in craft and design and fabric and sustainability aspirations - so, for all the unending hours I spend browsing, I actually buy very little indeed. And only after careful thought, with near certainty that an item will be right. (Obviously the odd mistake - I probably return one or two things a year.)

So - pay attention, compare, look for the best price, or identify things you love and wait for the sales. And be adventurous. Half of what I buy is from emerging brands, the other half from big names - but I’d resent spending a single penny on mediocre or unexciting stuff.

Thanks, @Floisme!

No, I mostly buy online. Most shops don't stock my size in-store, but some do do more sizes online. It's so demoralising to go clothes-shopping in person, trawl through rails of things and eventually find something I like, only to discover they don't do my size.

I'd much rather go shopping in-person, be able to feel the quality, try things on, get a load of things in one go and be done with it for ages rather than having the faff of returning things (and often having to pay for the privilege).

I just don't buy much now - I rarely actually need something new and am conscious of over-consumption and also the environmental impact of online deliveries (plastic packaging, couriers etc). I'm trying to rationalise what I do have to build a capsule wardrobe that works together and feels good.

I hear you!

Today I received a gingham dress that looked lovely and summery on the model, and looks like an Italian restaurant on me.
I must kick my online habit!

Usually I order particular things online for collection from the store and then pick up other things whilst I'm there, whatever I fancy.

I find it helpful to shop online when I hone in on an item - I was obsessed with finding a v neck tshirt that I didn't hate for example. Ordered lots - Hush, Cos, JL, Gap. Ended up keeping the JL and Gap ones, not the high end ones.