To feel sad about how many retailers are going under

[Cinammoncake]

Just read about Clintons and I felt quite sad and nostalgic about all the losses and how many more shop chains there will be that will soon be lost from the high street.

Customer service in the UK tends to be pretty poor, especially outside of London. I actively avoid some of the shops on my local high street when I see that certain people are working there because they’ve been really rude in the past, some of them have been racist to my mixed race children even. There are literally two people on my high street with good customer service. One lady that works at M&S and one man who works at cafe Nero. The rest seem to be pissed off that they have to be a work, that they have to serve you when you go in etc. When you couple that with reliable online services and huge rates it’s not surprising that bricks and mortar shops are closing down.

youngatheart00 I didn't know that about private equity So a few individuals are making a fortune out of it, at the expense of our high streets.

I hate upselling also Superdrug are really bad for this, would you want this perfume, no what about this mascara, no

Completely agree with this. Rymans are also bad - want to buy this pen, these post it notes. NO! Shops should stop doing it because it's really off putting for people. Like I've gone into Superdrugs to buy some tissues, but now I'm here why don't I buy the ££ perfume since you've mentioned it. I bet no-one does this.

There are literally two people on my high street with good customer service. One lady that works at M&S and one man who works at cafe Nero.

Yet on another thread retail staff have been roundly criticised for talking too much and for being too friendly. It's like you can't win!

@Cinnamoncake yes - Pizza Express are a good example of this reported upon recently. Each store has £1,000,000 (one million!) of debt against it. Just think how many pizzas they have to sell just to pay the interest on that, let alone the staff bills and operating costs!!!

I think retailers have failed to keep up witb the reasons people shop online - much easier to find exactly what you need; much quicker to check out etc. Not our fault but yes sad for shop workers and others.

I try to shop in local shops. We have lots of lovely independent ones. But if im honest usually if I can get it cheaper online I will. Case in point... I'm about to order a huge amount of carpet (around 70ms2) l found the carpet I liked online (20.20 a sq M). I go to my local carpet shop and they have the carpet. They wanted 28.90 for it. This didn't include fitting or anything else... purely the carpet. I mentioned that the carpet was cheaper online and would they match. The lady told me they buy it from the shoulders for 15 per sq M. Well I said I would like to shop locally so could you come to 21/22 a sq M as I'd be willing to pay a bit extra to support you? the answer was no... so im ordering online.

My personal opinion is we need argos type places.

I love shopping at Argos. Order online or through ebay, get cashback, collect in person and know that you can return to store if you need to. It's really convenient.

*suppliers

I rarely send any cards these days especially at £3 odd, I'd rather go to card factory.
Shops never seem to sell what people want to buy and if they do it's not in stock. Yes they offer to order it in but I don't live nearby and hate online shopping because I need to try things on. I have massively cut back on buying stuff over the last few years, would rather go on more holidays and days out. And regularly buy clothes in charity shops rather than new, there is a lot more tat, badly made in crap fabric.

I was far more upset at the announcement of closures of shops like BHS, mothercare and Woolies. I have a Principles dress from when I got married in the wardrobe. Another one, which bit the dust years ago.

You can still get principles in Debenhams.

I will be devastated when Debenhams (inevitably) goes. I’m probably the only one that likes the store though.

Oh thx I didn’t know that! Not that Debenhams will be here much longer as you say....

I think it's a good thing. People are wising up to the fact that all this tat just ends up in landfill and the oceans, and makes us poorer. I buy less things so I can save more money and pay off my mortgage/stop working earlier.

Clothes are awful nowadays - everything in polyester, disgusting floral prints and pooey colours. Same "trends" in every single shop - cold shoulders, then culottes, then ruffles, now massive bishop sleeves. I learned to sew 3 years ago because the clothes in the shops were so bad, I felt it was the only option left (and charity shops). Also, The True Cost on Netflix was an eye-opener showing the horrendous working conditions of the poor people who make our clothes. The big brands force clothing factories into making the clothes for rock-bottom prices, and staff who protest for fair wages get beaten up and silenced.

I think the Western world is going towards less consumerism, hence less unneccessary work manning all these tills full of tat - and something like Universal Basic Income or a 3-4 day work week. And actually, a lot of the retail jobs will be replaced by delivery driving or warehouse jobs.

I used to spend every Saturday in my teens shopping and now I hardly buy anything from the High Street - in fact I wouldn't even take it if it was free.

The amount of consumption and waste is obscene, great if that reduces.

Clinton’s are overpriced, I’m amazed they have lasted this long tbh. Their competitors such as card factory are just so much cheaper and I also think less people bother with cards now especially Christmas ones.

Mothercare has gone because again, it’s overpriced. People want bargains and deals, Mothercare didn’t offer that. I also don’t think Mothercare had a great selection personally. Even their closing down sale is expensive, they’ve reduced most things by a pound or less...

Whilst internet shopping plays a part, I actually think the real issue is people just don't have money to spend without really thinking about it. Wage stagnation and rising cost of living are to blame.

Take Clintons and compare it with card factory. The queues for the latter snake round the shop. I bought ten cards for £1 the other day! Why would I pay more?
All the cheaper stores are always packed...b&m, Wilko, Primark. My local Lidl is heaving whatever time you go there, whereas the more expensive supermarkets only seem busy at the weekends.
People have far less disposable cash.

There is a Clinton’s in my town and I would never go in there unless desperate. It’s so old-fashioned.

They need to be more modern and have cards like Paperchase or John Lewis or Oliver Bonas.

I order almost everything online tbh.
It takes almost half an hour to get into the city centre
Parking is ££
Too many people
I don't want to spend my free time browsing
I know what I want and the shop might not have it in stock anyway

So 5 mins ordering online or a couple of hours of faff (and paying more for it), it's a no brainer.

Whilst internet shopping plays a part, I actually think the real issue is people just don't have money to spend without really thinking about it

Agreed. Plus environmental concerns and a trend towards decluttering, minimalism etc..

I also hate being pounced on by sales assistants.

"Hi, how are you today! Do you need any help?" the SECOND I walk in the door. Leave me alone ffs, I just want to look around in peace. And don't get me started on ones that try and sell you loads of tat or store credit cards at the till.

I agree with @ ItIsWhatItIsInnit clothes are disgusting on the high street. It’s why I end up ordering online.
I don’t do trendy and even M&S are no good these days for classic.

I used to love clothes shopping but since having dcs it is hard to manage to try things on in a shop so ordering online is more convenient.
I would love to browse the shops but they put so many extra things in the aisles (e.g. displays of seasonal tat) that negotiating with a double buggy is almost impossible.
Almost all our kids' xmas gifts are from Amazon or Ebay this year just because it's quicker. Otherwise I'd have to sort out someone to look after them at the weekend while I braved the crowds to buy their presents.
I think unfortunately the shops can't do anything to compete with the convenience factor of online shopping.
I am also trying generally to consume less, as are many other people so I am buying more second hand from Ebay or charity shops.

Whilst internet shopping plays a part, I actually think the real issue is people just don't have money to spend without really thinking about it.

People are still spending, they're just doing it online rather than in store. It's easier to order online, get yourself enough to qualify for free delivery and return whatever you don't want (also for free).

Shops are struggling as a direct result of internet shopping. Of course there are other reasons too but the increase in online shops doesn't help.

I feel for the retail staff however i stopped Clinton's shopping years ago. Card factory or town markets are now far better value in my opinion. Monetary and quality wise. I don't know anyone who uses them anymore.

There are some high street and many market stalls i try to support. Some are struggling despite trying everything, especially independent shops here, but some I'm not surprised to see struggling as they don't help themselves. The latter are those usually relying on their name or branding

I don't this this is particularly symptomatic of the UK. I was in a large, German city last weekend, where the turnover of retail outlets (and closure of a few) was quite noticeable.
The main issue I could see, from a cursory wander round, is similar to PPs' observations:
Low levels of stock in limited sizes
Lack of (expensive) parking
Duplication/triplication of merchandise on offer. So, for example, you have 2 or 3 larger department stores all with shops within shops (offerings overlap depending on the store) PLUS standalone branches of the shops within shops in the main shopping areas. The lines might differ slightly, but even the most avid shopper is probably not going to trudge round 7 or 8 locations in search of some illusive item.
For that reason, alone, online shopping is more attractive. Add to that zero or negligible delivery/return costs, the convenience of delivery to your door on a specified date and a saving of time, convenience and parking money and it is easy to understand why things are as they are.
In fact the only downside is disposal of the packaging for delivered goods, but you could easily do click and collect to remedy this, if you were so inclined.
However, I strongly suspect that this picture varies widely, according to location and according to whether your high street is largely composed of "chain" shops or independents.