AIBU to think that high streets and small towns will be thing of the past?

[Lonelybunny]

Well now due to Jessops going broke and clintons and woolworths our town has hardly any shops left. It's so depressing down there, do you think the only shops left will be super stores, like asda and tesco? Maybe due to them selling everything and of course online shopping. I feel so bad for all the retail staff loosing jobs yet again.

Boots are a pharmacy though, i imagine that props up quite a lot of the business (plus the cosmetics side)

my boys love blockbuster but it always reminds me of the apocalypse

Blockbuster do the postal rentals though, didn't it. They're actually better than Love Film for them (in my opinion anyway). Shame they didn't actually advertise it and bother to tell anybody!

I hope the online DVD rental doesn't go bust - even if the shops shut.

Is anyone going to name any towns/villages where there are independents for us to shop in - I would like them to have my money. Perhaps a new thread so we can make notes?

I'll offer Frome, Somerset.

I agree re Frome - a great place to shop - lots of beautiful and quirky things. I haven't been for a few years, but I would put in a vote for Alresford, in Hampshire, as well.

I think that until councils lower business rates and sort out free parking then there is no way high streets will survive as they can't compete with online companies.

Farrah, I have started a thread - it is here - High Streets with a future

Chester is still nice to shop in- parking is free after 3pm.

I always thought it would be good if Blockbuster were like Lovefilm postal, eg they charge so much a month and you get unlimited rentals with say maybe 2 or 3 allowed at a time. They could give out cards etc. I would have preferred that to lovefilm as you could go choose what you wanted rather than wait to see what LF send you and wait for post.

I worry about WH Smiths, BHS, Boots. Hope Boots doesn't go bust!

Thanks Sleepy, off to thread now...

SleepysandI agree with you that WHS doesn't look like it's changed at all, but they had healthy profits in 2011. Not seen anything for 2012.

I've always thought of Boots as being a company that is bucking the current trend of online and supermarket shopping. They seem to have a loyal customer base, even though it is more convenient to throw your toothpaste and shampoo in with your supermarket shopping. Maybe their model works because they have such a huge pharmaceuticals business and produce a lot of their own stuff. I love Boots and would far rather pays bit more for stuff there than get it in a supermarket or discount store.

I'm amazed WHS is doing well. I find it extortionate. I usually go in there to see what's about, then go to another shop to actually buy it. Even their 3 for 2 offers are still really expensive.

I can't believe it's just their "bar of Aero for a pound" offer at the till that's keeping their profits up!

This is an interesting thread. My feeling is that the towns that have a thriving high street probably have a combination of (a) large number of pensioners (b) wealth and/or (c) tourism. Places like York, Oxford and Ludlow (which many reference) def seem to have a combination of the above. And let's be honest - a nice butchers and a green grocers is considered to be a luxury and often not always cheaper than the local supermarket where us 'plebs' have to shop!

I do, however, blame Councils for short-termism and being driven by income generation. Has anyone ever worked at a Council and seen the senior managers there? I have and it's dreadful. Many of them are saddo lifers, grey men wearing fleeces to work and going out for a smoke break between being paid 60k p.a. Not what I'd call a 'dynamic' environment; councils certainly don't recruit from Harvard!!

As we move to the internet maybe our high streets might change for the better - I wouldn't mind if they tore down the high street and created green space instead.

oh and I agree with WHSmith. What a mess. Crap everywhere. Candy plopped on countertops and in tubs by the queues. No real books. Messy as hell. Dreadful.

I love Boots and would far rather pays bit more for stuff there than get it in a supermarket or discount store

Agreed I LOVE their No 7 brand. My mum always gets me a No 7 gift set for Christmas. Its one of the most popular cosmetic brands on the high street.

I know that there are lots of factors which have not helped the struggling high street retailers but I do wonder why we don't appear to be taking responsibility for the fact that they are struggling because we mainly shop online for a bargain mixed with the convincence of having it delivered and because it is hassle to go to the market/greengrocer/butcher and have to work out prices by weight. It comes down to laziness and social responsibility. I do it myself but do not try and blame the local council parking facilities or the layout of WH Smith.
Time to take some of the blame.

Ive never internet shopped in my life. Ive always gone into town. i dont have a paypal account or a credit card.

Yes it would be a shame and in some places the councils make it really unfavourable to shop in the towns.

where i live, if you are resident in the borough you can park free for 30 mins and another 20p for an hour. I do try and go to the high street but in this cold spell it is a quick dash to the supermarket in the car.

also January and trying not to spend. Hate the shops all being the same.

Mandi- that's a valid argument but a lot of it boils down to finances. People are skint and Internet prices are cheaper. Supermarkets are cheaper and retail parks have free parking.

I've said it before and I'll say it again- free and plentiful parking, regular buses and a cab rank. If people can get to their high street and get home from there again easily, they will use it more.

If Amazon were forced to pay bloody tax they would have to put their prices up and we would use Waterstones again. HMV might have had a longer shelf life. If Councils lowered their rates and rents, there would be fewer empty shops.

We should welcome Pound shops and other bargain shops as they encourage footfall. Councils should encourage markets as they too encourage footfall.

People are skint and councils are greedy. When the councils make the connection they can start re-energising High Streets. It's no good Mary Portas coming up with yarn bombing and courses and street theatre. If people have to pay to park, they will go to a retail park where it's free.

Okay. Well, all the shops in our town close by 5:30. Go read any retail thread here and you can see no one wants customers through the door anytime from 5:15 onwards. Most people work and are unable to make those hours. Shopping at the weekend is a nightmare because of it. I reckon shops should close on a set day (say, Monday) then open late a night or two a week.

Parking is also expensive and a general annoyance.

Our town centre is dying, but it's killing itself. Even if prices were the exact same online, I'd shop online. I only shop in town if it's coupled with something else, like going to lunch or the GP.

"Go read any retail thread here and you can see no one wants customers through the door anytime from 5:15 onwards."

I think people in retail wouldn't mind if they actually got paid overtime. In most retail though, if a customer walks in at 5:25 and then doesn't leave until after 6, you don't get paid for the extra time.

I know that in the few retail jobs where you got paid until the time you actually left there was no resentment for last minute shoppers. But if you only got paid until the shop closed in theory you quickly realised that;
a) you would leave on time maybe once a month
b) people that walk in at 5:15 are more likely to be "just browsing" than actually buying
c) at least once a week you will have to deal with an arsey customer who thinks you should be grateful to be serving them for free
d) last minute shoppers also tend to be very good at ignoring hints that you are closing, and some are even selectively deaf when you ask them to finish their shopping as you are closing

I think that's another problem wit much of retail, very little time and energy put into the staff.
If the staff are unhappy then it makes shopping less pleasant for the customers.
If the staff are paid a pittance then they are unlikely to do more than the absolute basics, which puts off customers.
If no time is put into staff training (knowledge about products, customer service etc) then people may as well shop online

I think a lot of the stores that are closing tried to compete with the internet stores on things they just couldn't compete on. And forgot to put energy/time/money into the things that the internet couldn't do. Which meant they were always on the backfoot.

Mandi It might be laziness, but at the same time, if it's what people want then retail should be working to provide those qualities. People shouldn't do things that are inconvenient/more expensive just because retail can't move with the times.

jellybeans

"I always thought it would be good if Blockbuster were like Lovefilm postal, eg they charge so much a month and you get unlimited rentals with say maybe 2 or 3 allowed at a time. They could give out cards etc. I would have preferred that to lovefilm as you could go choose what you wanted rather than wait to see what LF send you and wait for post. "

They do almost this. You can pick and choose some of the discs, and you can prioritise the order so you have much more influence over what you get.

We have 3 allowed at a time, unlimited number of rentals. Turnaround is faster than LoveFilm as well (much much faster IME).

Wouldn't recommend setting up an account with them just at the moment though!

High Street shops need to ask one question- what does the customer want?

the customer needs sshops to be open after they've foinished work and not just whilst they are working and can't go, and they need to be able to get there without having to pay a premium for the privelege.

Sadly retail parks can do both these things, but if you can't or don't drive, you're stuck with the dying High Street.

Sorry about appalling typos!

In the past (well within my living memory) I would have said that high streets were constantly morphing....I am old enough to remember when the arrival of supermarkets became a big issue. In the 70s, 80s and 90s there was constant change on the high street with the arrival and departure of household name chains (and the small independent ones too). I can easily remember the advent of Waterstones, Next, Borders, H&M etc....There was a time not so many decades ago when Topshop seemed to be a bit of an anachronism but not any more....

The issue is that in recent years the number of new shops on the high street and the type of products they are selling has in a way ground to a halt. Just as we want to see new stuff in the food aisles we want new blood injected into our high streets and of late that just hasn't happened.

DW has always loved her shopping but her interest has waned markedly, even with Christmas shopping which she always used to really enjoy. She comes home saying "same old, same old" and really doesn't even bother going into a lot of shops because she is not inspired.

There is an issue that in a recession the shops play it safe even with the type of merchandise they are selling but in doing so they run the risk of being regarded as stocking boring goods. If your customers think that they won't shop there...

I think this notion of turning some retail units into housing is a good one. Get people living in the high streets and they will use them...

And I'm sorry but in this time of recession, although it would be lovely to pay the extra couple of pounds to buy on the high street, most people simply can't afford to...they will look for the best deal.

But what I have noticed is that the number of coffee shops/restaurants is not going down with the recession at all. So it is not entirely to do with consumers not having the buying power but more a shift in what they are prepared to spend their money on...

Agree with all the issues about free parking etc....