Do you still enjoy shopping on the high street or mostly online?

[MarmaladeSandwich7]

I tend to do more & more online shopping, which is great as far as it goes, although it’s a bit too easy! But I used to love going out round all the clothes shops etc for a day, treating myself to a nice lunch, then home with all the carrier bags & I do miss that. Really can’t remember the last time I did it. Are you the same or do you still shop “ in real life” rather than virtually?

There are no shops left on the high street in my town centre, other than Primark and Yours Clothing. They have all closed or moved to out of town retail parks.

I know what you mean though, I used to spend the morning shopping for an outfit to go out in that night, pub lunch and then back home to get ready to go out!

I’d love to shop in real life. Realistically, the cost of travel and parking, the lack of affordable shops with sufficient variety to make a trip worthwhile, have rendered it mostly impossible now. There are very few ‘high street’ clothes shops, but plenty of coffee shops, restaurants and one or two high end clothes shops.

I used to go for a mooch round House of Fraser, with all the concessions in one place. That went in 2019 and nothing replaced it.

I mostly buy my stuff online, however every couple of months DC and I will head to the local retail park and go shopping and out for lunch.
A couple of times a year we’ll head into the city and make a day of it, especially if she’s been saving up for something.
I understand what you mean though @MarmaladeSandwich7, as a teen most Saturdays were spent mooching round the shops at the local shopping centre with friends, I definitely don’t shop as a hobby any more!

I mostly shop online, I stopped shopping much in person when I had my eldest and it was so much easier to do it all online.

We're in London and can get to Oxford Street in under 16 mins so we have plenty of shops to browse! But I can't actually remember the last time I went there for clothes shopping. We take the dcs there to see the lights and browse the toy sections but don't buy much.

DCs are school/nursery age now and I've lost quite a bit of weight so I might treat myself to a shopping trip when they're in school! Though I've also got into Vinted and paying retail prices for clothes feels ridiculous these days.

I went into Bath last Saturday for a quick look around the shops before an appointment. It was too people-y for me (tourists, rugby fans, stag and hen dos, plus locals like me). I couldn't wait to get my train home. I was reminded why I only try and enjoy a bit of high street shopping if I have a day off midweek.

I love a trip to a city such as Leeds or Manchester and a big clothes shop. Only like a couple of times a year. Looking online isn’t the same.

I prefer high street/shopping centre for clothes, just purely for the fact I can try on clothes. Hate ordering things and having to send back.
Other things I prefer to buy online.

I do mostly clothes- shop online now, for the simple reason that whatever I really like - assuming I can find anything ! - can almost guarantee that they won’t have it in my size/the colour I want.

Much prefer real life shopping rather than online.

I like to try things on knowing I don't have to return something the following week. My SIL used to go into town, not try anything on then go back to return items after trying them on at home. Who can be bothered to do that?!

I've reverted back to physical supermarket shopping, mainly as choice has increased locally and I currently have the time to go.

So far as most other shopping 99% is now online, mainly as physical shops no longer have the range of items they used have, or are out of stock. I can also do far better research online about a potential purchase than ask in store.

I have a John Lewis less than a mile away, so can collect same day, and would like to support them. However three examples why this failed in the last month.

1. Robot Vacuum, JL list 7 on the website, but none in stock, and none of them had the features I wanted anyway. So I bought two from Amazon, (£1,000)

2. Philips Razor, JL website price more than double than the price on Amazon, so I went to the store, to see if they would price match. The item was on display, but no price, I went to "Pay Here" and out of the 4 tills only one was operating, but with a queue of 6 people. Likewise the other nearest Pay here. So I bought one from Amazon (£250)

3. Sage Kettle, found the one I wanted on display, queued at the till to pay, "sorry none in stock". So I bought one from Amazon (£69)

So far as clothes, I don't buy much in the UK, mainly abroad, especially US when it was better value.

We can bemoan the demise of the high street, but it's not delivering what most people want anymore.

I just don’t have the time to mooch anymore. My only free time is in the school holidays or weekends and that’s a nightmare with small kids. Rather stick pins in my eyes. So I do more online shopping. Even grocery. Stops me from picking up extra items too so I do feel the saving.

I live in a small city. With 10 minutes drive there is 2 large retail parks and a massive designer outlet.

In the city centre we still have
Primark
Next
M&S
River Island
Zara
Fatface
Seasalt
Jigsaw
Hobbs
Lucy and Yak
White stuff
Tk max

Plus loads of others.

For me the problem isn't lack of shops, but parking is very expensive. I head to the retail parks because of this reason.

I used to absolutely love shopping in person but since Covid, not any more.

Firstly where I live, parking for over 2 hours costs £15.

Secondly, so many shops have shut that the choice is crap.

Thirdly, shops used to carry good amounts of stock. The last two times I’ve been into town and wanted to buy something I’ve been told they don’t have it and I should look online 🙄

I mean, with all of that why would I shop in person? It’s a pointless and expensive waste of my time.

Its a real shame but I now far prefer shopping online where I can be comfy and warm

Online, sizes seem to have changed and vary from shop to shop nothing fits. I can order and send back it’s much easier!

I only shop online as I live in a little village in Suffolk. I hate driving to Norwich so I'm left with Ipswich and there is nothing there. I occasionally would use the park and ride to go there, have a mooch around Debenhams squirting perfume and have a good lunch somewhere. It was a lovely place. Now it feels empty and there are often (well there was, haven't been for years) groups of men loitering on the street corners looking threatening.

I now shop 100% online. I do my Tesco food shop online, my clothes generally all come from Roman as I know they fit and I buy everything else from Amazon. The last time I walked into a physical shop was last December as I had a £125 M&S voucher which couldn't be used online, and I used it to buy some luxury groceries for Christmas.

I occasionally go into the local Co-Op for a few fresh items, but they are robbing bastards who charge you the earth for 'convenience'.

Much prefer real life, luckily we have several thriving big towns and cities within easy reach. I love being out and about in busy shopping centres amongst other people. online is a pain trying to find anything you lie, waiting for it to be delivered, the disappointment when hardly any of it fits and having to package it up and send it back again. I do food shopping in person too, online is such a poor experience.

Online and I used to love it in real life. I get a bit overwhelmed now 😬.

I buy all of my clothes and footwear online and have done for years. A day of mooching around shops is my idea of hell.

We but pretty much everything online. Food from Ocado, wine and beer deliveries from Majestic, laundry/cleaning supplies from Amazon. All my makeup, hair products and toiletries are via Look Fantastic.

We have a small M&S Simply Food here, and I don’t mind going in there, but the thought of a supermarket shop would be horrendous.

I used to adore a day out shopping but it’s not the same any more. Only a handful of shops and the chances of them stocking the thing I might want are limited. I get the same sort of buzz I used to get shopping on the high street via Vinted these days.

Busy shops give me panic attacks. I'm so grateful for online shopping.

Yesterday I was in the Apple Store Regent St and thought I’d walk a bit before getting the bus home. First time in years. I looked in Next, Uniqlo, TK Maxx and saw nothing except one pair of trousers that looked ok on the hanger. Popped into Primark tried a few bits of rubbish, and bought only what I needed, a cosmetic bag.
I was shocked at how run down and boarded up it was. Years ago I used to walk the length of Oxford St and there were always so many stores to visit, the TCR side was always poor, but yesterday the very clear decline was in both directions

I hate shopping, and have done for years. My only exception for "real" shopping would be bookshops, stationery and museum shops!
But for clothes etc, online wins.

When I was young we'd have to have a whole day shopping, as it was a bit of a trek to shops. Involved a hovercraft trip. I hated it though as nothing in shops fits me, online is much easier.

I would prefer in store shopping. But when you go in now, I find the shops hot, very loud and horrible bright lights. Clothes rails packed in so you’re literally squeezing around the shop. Next is really bad for this.
Poor stock levels and lack of sizes. And there’s a lack of merchandising these days. M&S seem a bit better at it, but you often walk around and there’s no inspiration and weird grouping of clothing. I think the clothes brands pump the money into online merchandising instead so the in store experience has become very poor.

We’ve recently moved to a town with a decent variety of high street shops so I’m enjoying using them again.
It makes a good change to where we lived before where the once thriving town centre now consists mainly of charity shops, opticians, estate agents, barbers and nail bars.

I’ve also cancelled my Tesco home deliveries in favour of shopping in person. I was fed up of being sent shortdated perishables.