Sainsbury's changing rooms closed?

[PreferAnimals]

Does anyone know why Sainsbury's have permanently closed changing rooms since Covid? I used to get a few bits for work, but I'm not buying without trying and as I live a good few miles from my local store it's a faff taking it home to try on the having to drive back and return if not right. Surely closing changing rooms is damaging sales?

And apparently cameras secreted in the changing rooms where footage can be accessed remotely.

Our local one has had them open for months now.

My local Tesco and Sains have both closed their changing rooms permanently.
I guess some pen pusher has decided that they'll make more £ using the dressing room space for Quality St mountains.

It's less of an issue for me now my kids are older, but (as pitiful as it might sound) I enjoyed my little trying on sessions combined with supermarket trips when a trip to the supermarket trip w/o kids was a treat. It's not the same trawling it all home and then back again.

I know someone that used to work in a Sainsbury's clothes department.
They didn't have enough staff to put the clothes out let alone monitor the changing rooms so essentially the changing rooms got used for :

• people to go in and cut labels of clothes to steal them
• people to go in with boxed toys etc and remove the toy from the box to steal them
• people to go in with food they have just taken of the shelf and not paid for and eat it and leave all the empty packaging there
• used them as a baby change place and leave the dirty nappy there because there was no bin because it's a changing room not a baby change place
• a place to take a piss or a dump

(There are perfectly good toilets and baby change facilities in the store) At a different retailer a staff member I know used to find used drug needles in the changing rooms. That's why.

Local town Sainsburys just has 2 aisles of clothing, no changing room. Slightly further away city Sainsburys has a much bigger clothing department of many aisles, their changing rooms were open last time I went in July.

Our local one reopened a while ago

I work in a large Tesco store - in the area one of the stores did not reopen whereas ours did but it will be shutting in the next couple of weeks. It is a staffing/cost saving measure as we are allowed extra hours to man the changing rooms. We're going to have to cut staff in the department & overtime and having them open hasn't seemed to reduce the amount of items returned.

I tried clothes on in Sainsbury's (SE London) about 2 weeks ago, so it's not all of them.

I agree, my husband will only buy new clothes “when he’s in the mood “, so whereas before he would sometimes spend 3 or 4 hundred pounds probably 3 times a year at Sainsbury’s now he will not buy anything as he can’t do with having to take things back. I’ve tried to explain to him that this is probably how it’s going to be now , but he will now only buy from places that he can try on before he buys. I’m sure there must be lots of people like him. Sainsbury’s must be losing out big time.

I've bought far less from Dorothy Perkins since it's gone online 😭
I need to try and see stuff first

I went in to my big Sainsburys recently and picked up lots of clothes to try on (I'd say a good £150 worth at least) to buy a whole new work wardrobe.

Then I saw the changing rooms no longer existed and I wanted to cry. Sainsburys was the only place local to me that had a huge selection and was always quiet so i never felt in a hurry. It was my favourite place to go if I needed something last minute because I knew I could try it on in store and be able to wear it out straightaway.

I put all of the stuff back and now won't bother buying anything from there again.

Ours closed them ages and ages ago to make room for the Argos click and collect. Asda did the same shortly before covid, so it's not a covid thing.

I remember when my 2 were little, supermarket clothes were all I ever wore because I could try a couple of things on until their patience wore out but at least I got something! Ours have closed too and it's certainly reduced what I buy for me. Not so much for them as it's still a good guess based on height.

I won't buy items I can't try on. I try clothes on over other clothes where I can and not bother buying when I can't. Needed summer trousers so wore a skirt and pulled them underneath in Tesco. T-shirt went over tight fitted top so could see which size was best.
My local Asda got rid of the changing rooms well before Covid as some of the customers are terrible (someone knew the manager and it was ranked as the worst for this). I think lots of clothes went missing which I'm not surprised as packs are pilled/ripped open everywhere and there's always incomplete sets in the children's wear and homewares.