What is happening to our towns .empty shops

[Pringlemonster]

Even before Covid ,we had so many empty shops ,there is now nowhere to buy shoes ,one clothes shop ,there was 4 ,,no children’s clothes shop .
So many are left empty ,and have been for a long time .
We lost a jewellers before Covid and a card shop.
So obviously the rent is too high ,so why are the landlords not lowering the rent ? What are they waiting for ?.they are loosing money while the shop lies empty .this is an expensive place to live as well ,they are building all around the town ,but so many empty shops in the town.
Plenty of cafes ,barbers,and charity shops though

Anyone

Rent is part of the challenge, but it's not the whole problem.

I'm no expert, but there has been a longstanding issue with business rates which have historically been calculated on property owned by businesses. This has been very favourable for online retail as they don't have spacious physical store locations. That's an issue with the government and how it taxes companies.

Many retailers haven't been able to keep up with changing consumer habits and preferences. I'm 30, so not even that young any more, but it doesn't feel like most high street retailers ever really catered to me... in fact, many have outwardly bitched about Millennial and GenZ buying habits rather than seeking to adapt to them.

This is purely my opinion, but when I look at when I spend money in physical stores, a huge part of it is because they offer something unique and it's an experience to go there. A lot of these shops are located away from high streets in areas that have been developed as destinations. E.g. water side or town square type developments with a mix of cafes, shops, markets and parks or walking trails.

It’s just very upsetting to see so many empty shops

Yes business rates are a large part of it. I have two friends who owned shops who closed down in the last two years and both of them said it was due to the high level of business rates.

That's why so many high streets have several charity shops. They don't pay rates.

@Pringlemonster

It’s just very upsetting to see so many empty shops

Why?

I love shopping, but with being able to get everything you want at the touch of a button for a fraction of the price and often next day delivery it really is pointless going to the high street.

The high street failed to adapt to what people wanted and now it’s suffering.

ameliajoan
The high street failed to adapt to what people wanted and now it’s suffering.

I'm interested to know how you think they should have adapted. I'm not being goady. I just can't think of a way they can beat the convenience and price of shopping online.

If I'm honest it makes me sad that shops are closing, particularly long standing businesses but I can't honestly say that I spend enough in them to help them survive.

Many reasons but online shopping and a preference for shopping centres with car parks (or giant supermarkets that sell everything) and some

I think shopping is losing its space as a leisure activity. People will still, outside of this covid pit, enjoy coming together to pass the time so those shops which can offer a shared experience, provide a service or offer a site that speaks to a common identity among their customers will do better but the high street in general won't be able to compete with the convenience of online retail outlets.

Personal service, offering something more interesting than online.
I’d much rather shop in Brighton than in Crawley for example, the experience is so much better.
Most people don’t have the time to search for the right item/size with ill-informed staff and the general fuss of crowded shops.

One thing that hasn't helped is that a lot of shops basically sell the same old shit. As each other. Which is invariably the high-margin tat that they think "everyone is buying". Meanwhile anything remotely less popular or not in fashion becomes "have you looked online ?"

Here's a doozy. Coat hanging loops. Metal chain ones. You need them because modern coats being cheapy cheap (that's manufacture not price) invariably come with a gossamer thread that breaks on contact with air. So I always sew a metal chain loop in myself.

Couldn't find one in my bits'b'bobs tin, so made the mistake of going into town for them (6 years ago). Even Hobbycraft (have you seen the size of them ?!) didn't stock them. (Although at least the assistant knew what they were, unlike many).

£3.50 with free P&P from Amazon.

Business rates are a big deal. They are set at half of the rental value, so very significant. Charity shops do not pay them, which is why so many vacant shops are taken by charity shops.

Trouble is if you lower rates, how will council services be paid for?

I popped into a shop yesterday morning very briefly....local town was empty.

@Eyewhisker

Business rates are a big deal. They are set at half of the rental value, so very significant. Charity shops do not pay them, which is why so many vacant shops are taken by charity shops.

Trouble is if you lower rates, how will council services be paid for?

Maybe just not provide them ? We're already halfway there anyway.

It's very sad. Our town is now almost exclusively charity shops, nail bars and barbers. So many barbers.

We are exactly the same stcharlotte
I wonder how local towns will look in 10 years or so .will the shops stay empty ,or become other things people would like ..I’m not sure what ..

Business rates and feckin Amazon, avoid for gods sake

The only thing I don’t like buying without physically seeing and trying it is makeup. There are no testers in shops now so brick and mortar retail is completely pointless to me now. I buy everything from my sofa.

I think they're struggling to compete with online prices. Also shopping online is easier although I do enjoy actually going to the shops.

In my area the out of town shopping centres have free parking whereas if I go into town I still have to either pay for the bus or pay to park. In fact I've noticed since lockdown has eased town is ridiculously quiet but our shopping mall seems back to normal.

For me the biggest irritation is the lack of variety. When I was younger I used to love a trip to Leeds, York or Edinburgh to look around the shops, I'm not as arsed now because one high street looks pretty much like the next.

Truthfully I can't actually remember the last time I set foot in a shop. It must have been March..(!). Also, unrelated but I can't remember the last time I used cash either. Consumer habits have changed massively in the last decade. There used to be a Mothercare near us that was actually doing really well as they had a play area, coffee shop and hairdressers. Something like that would draw shoppers in.

A joke on a postcard I've seen once:

A couple walking through a high street the usual shop signs all around.
He to her: Have a look at google maps and find out what town we are in.

I honestly can’t recall the last time I went “shopping” ..... as in, walking through a town centre browsing windows and going into this or that shop to buy clothes/shoes/household items/food etc, then returning home with several carrier bags containing stuff I’ve bought.

It’s tedious, time consuming and un-necessary. I can’t be the only one, hence the shops can’t survive.

Who would the high street as it was 10 years ago be catering to now? People who have enough time and money to try to find and pay for parking, to traipse around various shops in the hope that they will sell items that they want, at a good price, that will fit? Already seems like a stretch. Then on the off chance you actually find consumer products that you spend money on, carry it all back to your car and pay for the pleasure. Fuck that.

It’s not just rent, it’s rates, utilities, stock, insurance, wages...

The high street failed to adapt to what people wanted and now it’s suffering.

But I have to agree with this too

The main issue I as a customer noticed when I was last shopping in real life shops was the LACK of decent customer service!

And I speak as one who has worked in retail and knows the customers aren’t always delightful either...

But seriously the overwhelming amount of surly, disinterested staff who lacked knowledge of their stock and industry astonished me.

Plaster a smile on ffs and do the job you’re being paid to do! Don’t treat a customer asking for help like an inconvenience!

Also things like crappy changing rooms in clothes stores - their usp compared to online shops is the ability to try clothes on before buying and see in decent, clean, tidy, well lit changing rooms with decent mirrors is woefully lacking.

Parking is a major issue in our town. The council in its stupidity has implemented a permit only unnecessarily complicated and expensive system in the town centre which is HATED by both locals and visitors! Especially the few businesses there.

One thing that hasn't helped is that a lot of shops basically sell the same old shit.

Again totally agree with this. Last time dd and I went real life clothes shopping we BOTH (and she’s definitely not looking for the same as me!) bemoaned the fact that the clothes stores had no individual identities - they were all selling the same items in the same styles and colours.

It was all far too boring and frustrating. Neither of us really found anything we liked.

Given what I said earlier in my post about customers being able to try on clothes customers will take more risk I think with clothes they can try before buying. But it was all sooo.... safe! All the same colours too

Also as @outcomethewolves says there’s no longer regional variations it’s all very “cardboard cut out”

I just don't use town centre shops or out of town shopping malls any more and have not done so for several years. Just not a pleasant experience.

Buying online gives me more choice and the ability to order what I want straight away. Amazon's next day delivery has made a lot of companies buck their ideas up on delivery times too. I have my groceries delivered.

The only IRL shops I use are the half a dozen local small shops I can walk to 200 yards away: newsagents, small supermarket, hardware store etc. These shops are all well used by locals and most remained open throughout lockdown.

Whilst I freely admit I have never been a recreational shopper, I suspect more and more people's shopping experience looks like mine.

I think that the High Street has been in trouble for a number of years and Covid has exposed some of the problems.
As others have suggested, most town centres look almost identical. Chain stores seemed obsessed with having a presence on nearly every High Street. Business rates, rents etc are too costly so chains are now cutting back on their floor space.

Add into this , the rise of online shopping, with its convenience, fast delivery and greater choice as well as people now choosing more leisurely experiences rather than shopping , on their days off , the High Street as we know it, is possibly doomed.