What the highstreets will look like in 10 years?

[whoamI00]

According to DM, M&S announces it will be closing 67 stores over the next five years. It's understandable given previous lockdown and the fact that more people shop on-line. I presume if the big corporation like M&S closes their shops then small stores will be difficult to make enough profit and they may follow the same step as M&S does.
What do you think the highstreets will look like in 10 years?

Coffee shops and vape shops. That's pretty much how my local high street is currently.

I think that could be a real death knell for M&S.

Their website is rubbish and without street presence I am unlikely to shop there again.

It was the same with JL. I used to spend £3k + a year there but have spent nothing there in the 2 years since they closed our local store

M & S often caters for the older / mature customer so limited presence on the high street might not bode well.
I see high streets as social spaces , much more apartment living , paved spaces and walk to bars and restaurants.

The only things opening up locally are restaurants, cafes. Plenty of vape shops, charity shops already. Clothes shops shutting down steadily.

Hopefully technology will advance to a point where self-packing systems pack orders and load them into vans which are self-driving and take what people need directly to their houses and deposit them into safe desposit boxes (so no more waiting in for deliveries) and high streets will become redundant. It's such a waste of resources to have shops needing heating, lighting, staffing etc if this could all be automated. Post Offices can also vanish now they've finally decided they will collect packages. There's simply no need for shopping/ life admin to involve inconvenient trips out. Electronic signatures are valid in law so even estate agents, lawyers etc can easily move to an 100% online model.

I hope communal areas of villages/ towns/ cities would be used more for people specifically wanting to get together for sports, community groups, youth groups or other hobbies, and cafés/ restaurants/ bars.

Hopefully overtime they'll morph into spaces that are more hyper local. Depends on people having time to go and money to spend though!

I do think that local markets with local produce is a nice thing for people to actually visit though, or local festivals. But that doesn't require a high street of identikit shops, it can be done anywhere.

Loads of shops will be parcel collection points/Amazon locker type things rather than actually selling anything. They will have vending machines in to buy stuff or ‘impulse purchase’ shelves where when you take stuff it’s charged straight to your Amazon account like the Starbucks/supermarkets that currently do that.

@Moonwalkingagain so where are you shopping? Or where will you shop once all the high street stores are gone? Genuine question. Our high street feels decimated already, I'm being forced into online shopping whether I like it or not, and I really don't. Don't get me wrong it can be great for standard items that are a known quantity, books, groceries, etc but there's no substitute for trying on clothes in a well stocked shop in order to make an informed choice over what fits/suits your body etc. Garment sizing isn't well calibrated so you really do have to try on a particular sized garment to know if it fits you. Online is just so awkward, I've hardly bought anything new in years as I feel it would take a concerted effort to schlep over to the nearest city which I don't have time or money for. Even there the choice for women of a certain age is becoming more limited and expensive. I don't know how people do it nowadays, but judging by my targeted advertising online I think I'm doomed to be a Shein customer the rest of my life and only ever wear ill-fitting polyester crap.
It's sad OP, according to someone I know who works in our town centre it's down to the local council and their rates being too high. I don't know how true this is but surely pricing everyone out of the market and having all of their spaces vacant isn't doing them any good either

I think the only reason to have them at all is socialising. We need to look at ways to enable this in a cost effective way that doesn’t just involve alcohol. We also need to look at providing space for children and teens along with adults that are cost effective to run?

I hope we do see little independents survive though. Our local butchers, nail salon, bakery, sweet shop, high end kitchenware, hardware shops are doing ok in between the vapes and charity shops 🤦‍♀️

There will be more of what there is already- empty shops, charity shops, cafes, restaurants and high end jewellers. The sort where you have to ring the bell to enter.

M&S has a presence on our high street, but they may as well not. It’s dire. I think the food hall might remain, but the rest will go. I miss browsing clothes shops in the town, but there really are none left now. Topman and Topshop are a branch of The Ivy.

I'm actually sick of shopping online and would rather go into a shop! It will be interesting to see if this is a common feeling and of it will be have any impact on shops.

I live in Bristol where the local council are gradually cutting off access to the centre of town, and all the shops. I assume they want to get rid of the shops and put housing on the land, making us all go to out of town places to shop. I feel very sorry for all the retail workers who be out of a job.

Marks closed their shop in the centre and it's an absolute pain, loved getting a sandwich and some extra school uniform on a lunch break. Time will tell.

My nearest town centre is awful. The last time I went I actually felt unsafe, spent less than 30mins there.
The only chain stores are Boots, Next, Primark, River Island, WH Smith’s and Argos, Poundland and B&M
The Boots is really poor now, Next is ok but there is a larger store out of town which is better.
It isn’t a place I’d go clothes shopping, I now buy online.
The rest of the town is a combination of banks, betting shops cafes, nail bars, vape, cheap discount shops, charity shops and takeaways. It’s tatty and dirty. The only growth in the town is due to it having a university.
There are large amounts of drug addicts and North Face ninjas.
The council are aiming to spend a lot of money to regenerate areas and change some retail properties to housing along with more bars and restaurants but I’m not sure that’s what people will want, it doesn’t seem popular locally

Apple shops.

(not the fruit )

I haven’t shopped in Marks for years! For me, they never quite get it ‘right.’ I do t even buy their underwear anymore. Personally speaking, I won’t miss it.

Our local M&S closed during their first wave of closures. It was a large, modern store and was really the hub of our shopping centre and left a huge gap (now filled by a small Lidl who only use the ground floor). Debenhams was our only department store and that's gone as well now.

For clothing we have TK Maxx, Primark, H&M, River Island and a few cheap 'clubbing' style clothes shops. For some reason though we do have a few shoe shops.

There is nowhere to buy more quality stuff unless you shop online or go to London or Milton Keynes where there's a bigger selection of shops. A trip to the shopping centre now is to stock up on basics and then get out pronto.

I was in Bham City centre yesterday, it has a large M & S on the high street. The city was full of closed up shops, a few chains and beggars. It felt dirty and unsafe. It's not a place I will be returning to.
The business district whilst busy was nowhere near the level of business pre covid and the office workers and shoppers just dont seem to be there.
I am just as guilty as I only go into the office one day a week.
Online and out of town centres with free parking seem to be the place where people now go

Our nearest town is full of charity shops, phone shops and cafes. I hope the m&s doesn't close down. Not that I go there often but do like a treat there every now and again and always get a few Xmas bits at that time of year too.

M&S stores are forcing people on line because they never have stock in all sizes in store.

Boots stores are awful - same issues as M&S.
WHS, dingy, dirty, too expensive.

We're being pushed into shopping on line. I personally hate it, especially food and clothes shopping, so will probably end up in rags well on the way already . If we end up doing all transactional stuff on line, I reckon no-one will bother going out for any reason - society will become screen based

Post Offices can also vanish now they've finally decided they will collect packages

How will you send a recorded delivery letter?

I'm in a small historic market town South East. It's the county town, but we don't have one useful shop. We have Vegan Korean cafes, Bill's, Pubs, other cafes and restaurants, shops specialising in knitted and felt vegetables, Nordic gifts, shops selling yak hair whatsits, antique shops but not one place to buy a t shirt or knickers. The Boots is small and a waste of time, WHsmith is grubby and expensive, and other than that we have a New Look which isn't any bigger than my kitchen and far less interesting. Heaven only knows what it will look like in 10 years, it may even improve!

I would hope that they would have fab playparks, community gardens, cafes and restaurants. Outdoor gyms, tennis courts, table tennis tables etc would also be fab. Lots of benches under trees, picnic benches and so on. Basically places for people to gather and relax/exercise together. A good library and swimming pool close by also.

Jigsaw, White Company, Hobbs (occasionally), Toast (very occasionally) all with a high street presence in my local city.

Massimo Dutti, Moshulu, on line. I am not adverse to online but I need a decent website where I can see what I am buying and where the sizing is fairly consistent.

M&S fail on both counts. Their website is just tiny, blurry pictures and their sizing a real mishmash.

Vinted is also a great source of blouses etc, if you stick to favourite brands and select New, or New without tags.

Why can't some shop spaces be made into apartments? There's a housing shortage and young people in particular like to live in towns and cities. Some spaces can be made into cafes and restaurants and green spaces introduced as well.

I never visit the shops. They're crap. Many people shop at supermarkets or online now. Shops have had their day.

I would much prefer to shop on the high street but end up buying all my and my family’s clothes and shoes online because I’m fed up of traipsing to the shop only to find the style or size I want isn’t in stock and I have to order it online anyway.
It seems to be too difficult for high street chains to carry a full stock range on site. Even the book shop nearest to me has decreased its range massively and now is really more of a gift and card shop than a book shop.
Our local high street is a mix of charity shops and other random shops selling very niche things that I don’t know how they survive and am convinced they must be some sort of money laundering front. There are some good food shops though e.g. fruit & veg shop and these are the only ones I visit.