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What do you think will replace shopping as a pastime?

37 replies

Cartright · 25/07/2020 09:11

Posts both on here and in the wider media make me think hobby shopping will decrease in popularity. Partly because masks, queues, one way systems and not being able to touch the merchandise makes it a hassle. Partly because the economic outlook is rough and people will have less disposible cash. And by the time the high street does reopen, store closures mean it is likely to be a very different place.

People can still buy things online, of course, but that doesn't replicate the 'browse around the shops, try a few things on, have a coffee, flick through some books,' experience which is as much about doing something outside the house and away from the family as it is about buying. Given shopping often appears as a popular pastime on leisure time surveys, what do you think people will do instead which will fill that gap?

(I'm aware a thread like this is a open invitation for a certain type of poster to derail it by making it all about how they and their family would never do anything as crass as hobby shop in the first place. Knock yourself out if you don't have the self awareness to stop yourself, but your moral superiority is not really what I'm interested in. I'm wondering how society might change.)

OP posts:
PicsInRed · 25/07/2020 10:56

Still shopping but in open air markets (maybe with tarpaulin roofs or overhangs for snow and light rain).

Just just German Christmas markets.

You just wait, you can't keep good shoppers down. We'll be back - after all, our country needs us. Grin

wheresmymojo · 25/07/2020 11:03

I used to be a massive hobby shopper but stopped a year or so ago for environmental reasons and also by realising how much money I was wasting on things that didn't actually add to my life (working in a stressful job just to keep buying things I might not even end up wearing, etc).

Anyway the things that have replaced it for me are:

  • Gardening (growing own veg)
  • Reading
  • Napping Grin
  • Walks in the countryside
  • Seeing family and friends more, picnics, etc

The one type of hobby shopping I do still really enjoy is going to what I'd call 'destination towns' - usually quaint looking towns or cities that have a mix of high street and indie stores, coffee places, antique stores, etc. We will definitely carry on doing that.

TimeWastingButFun · 25/07/2020 11:06

I've never been one for shopping unless I have something specific to buy, so I haven't changed my habits all that much - Amazon and online clothes shopping now, and I'll probably carry on doing that. I haven't been in anything other than a supermarket since March!

mrsrhodgilbert · 25/07/2020 11:17

I love a day out that involves brunch/lunch and a browse around the shops in one of our nearest cities, for us that’s Leeds or York. I miss it but York was looking quite sad before Covid and I worry about it now although it will always attract visitors because of the historic significance. My dd(23) is having a trip to Leeds today and I’ll be really interested to hear what it’s like.

I’ve been enjoying gardening but that will stop when the winter comes and I’m sick of walking around the same old streets. I don’t know what people will do in the winter when they usually head for indoor entertainment. The beaches and countryside won’t seem so appealing then.

Cosmosgrowinmygarden · 25/07/2020 13:08

@PicsInRed

Still shopping but in open air markets (maybe with tarpaulin roofs or overhangs for snow and light rain).

Just just German Christmas markets.

You just wait, you can't keep good shoppers down. We'll be back - after all, our country needs us. Grin

This! I so wish MN had a like button!
LaurieFairyCake · 25/07/2020 13:20

Wanking

Bargebill19 · 25/07/2020 13:26

In our local area, walking and looking at other people’s homes seems to be number one activity or gardening. Shopping seems to all gone on line given the increase in delivery vans.
I do wonder if the sharp increase in parking charges has done this or wether it is the mask effect.

Terralee · 25/07/2020 13:27

To be honest I still enjoy going shopping.
Especially to my local second hand bookshop.
And to Primark! I spent £20 last time I went on cotton tea towels, hair scrunchies, flip flops, 2 pairs of leggings & a pair of trainers!

Terralee · 25/07/2020 13:28

I'm happy to wear a mask, I have to wear one all day at work anyway.

Fluffymule · 25/07/2020 13:42

I’ve always enjoyed a day out to a few museums/galleries/sculpture park or a national trust property as an alternative to a day hobby shopping. But even that isn’t appealing right now as they have all the surrounding faff of pre-booking, queuing, communal hand sanitising etc. But I’ll hopefully be doing more of those things at some point in the future when things return to normal.

I’m also a gym goer, but won’t be returning until its back to normal open access either. The procedures they've issued this week around trying to secure a pre-booked place, more queuing and holding pens outside, not being able to use lockers, are again such a faff and inconvenience. I absolutely understand why they are doing it, and sympathise with their restrictions in being able to provide a decent customer experience, but its not something I’m up for.

What I have been doing is all very home focused. Gardening, DIY, decluttering, reading, sewing. And like so many others, what I’ve needed for these activities has all been bought on-line.

RunningNinja79 · 25/07/2020 13:52

@mrsrhodgilbert

I agree about York. Lots of places were closing and just turning into yet another coffee shop, but I also think it was starting to get over-run with hen and stag parties at a weekend even during the day. I do love Leeds though. Hope its still nice and there's enough places to go when we next go which will probably be December as it's a bit of a drive away.

I've never been a hobby shopper as such, but if I want something I'll happily go and have a browse. This is still the same now, but I think rather than popping into various shops as I'm passing anyway I'll probably just go to the shop I think I need and that will be it. In and out again.

Kaiserin · 25/07/2020 14:12

There is something about "browsing" I find very soothing. A sense of being surrounded by everything I may ever need, so "all is well". Empty shelves I found utterly depressing during lockdown.

To replicate this feeling is hard. Internet browsing does it a bit, but is often frustrating (the interface of most online shops isn't great). I would probably enjoy more Virtual Reality browsing! (or just something a bit more like a video game) I think it appeals to our hunter/gatherer instincts. But it's not very tactile.

Closest to this "browsing" feeling I get by going through my small garden and checking on the various plants, passing my hands through some of the leaves, weighing a handful of soil... An allotment would be great. Or a "pick your own" farm.
Oh, and going through our tiny stockpile, checking our various supplies are at an appropriate level, also gives me similar good vibes (quite a sad new hobby! I might as well join my husband in his household accountancy spreadsheet ritual)

... But shopping was also about going out, and eventually sitting at the terrace of a coffee shop, and just watching other people busy living their lives. An easy way to feel part of a wider community. That bit I fear is very hard to replace. The rainbows and the clapping never really did the trick for me. And not even being able to see people's smile as they wave hello?...
Instead I just seem to spend way too much time talking with strangers on the Internet, but it's really not the same.

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