I'm thinking the high street deserves to die?

[highstreetdiestreet]

Urgently need a black dress for a funeral, looked around the whole of York, nothing.

Utter dross.

Is it covid/brexit/mid-season/my being pregnant's fault?

High Street stores don't have huge warehouses attached to them ~ they can't compete with online amounts/choices etc. That's why so many are going/have gone bust. And the ones that haven't are hardly making any profit as hardly anyone uses them, so the stock gets smaller. No support !

I don't think there will be High Streets in the not too distant future. Just towns with houses and maybe offices.

"Work somewhere else. It’s not a unique concept. Has been happening since the dawn of time."

The thing is @sst1234, millions of people are employed in retail. If they worked somewhere else, then where? What industry could absorb millions of excess retail workers? Yes, some of the high street retail workers could shift to the dotcom side of the business, but that definitely wouldn't accommodate even half of them.

@AwaAnBileYerHeid

There does need to be a better variety of high street shops, better stocked etc. The irony is, if shops on the HS are shit, then people will turn to online. The more people that then shop online and shun the HS, the worse HS shops will get. Until there are none left.

High street is not dying as a consequence of online shopping. Online shopping thrived because of the poor state of service and product on the high street. Not sure why businesses and sectors who don’t innovate and have crap products and service are surprised when shoppers turn to a better alternative. How about treating your customers better. Novel idea, isn’t it?

It deserves to be better. To have decent clothes, fairly made, that people are confident to spend a bit on because they aren't faddy or going to fall apart after 2 weeks. Inclusive sizes and accessible shops.
There has been a race to the bottom until it became just a sea of tat and no better than the supermarkets.

I don’t think women buy enough maternity wear to sustain a physical shop with high st rent in most places. Most women need it for 4-6 months in their life and the styles don’t change so much so you just rewear it if you have more babies, it’s not like it’s worn out or out of style. It’s also not like it’s really tricky to get the right fit when shopping online, so not the same pull for in person shopping- they’re mostly designed to accomodate growing bodies so pretty flexible, I’ve not had a single issue or second thought with my entirely bought online maternity wardrobe, which is very different to general online clothes shopping! Not to mention many pregnant women are unwell/worn out/hurts to walk, so less likely to be inspired by a day of walking around the shops. It all turns into a poor commercial proposition.

High street is not dying as a consequence of online shopping. Online shopping thrived because of the poor state of service and product on the high street. Not sure why businesses and sectors who don’t innovate and have crap products and service are surprised when shoppers turn to a better alternative. How about treating your customers better. Novel idea, isn’t it

I agree.

@AwaAnBileYerHeid

"Work somewhere else. It’s not a unique concept. Has been happening since the dawn of time."

The thing is @sst1234, millions of people are employed in retail. If they worked somewhere else, then where? What industry could absorb millions of excess retail workers? Yes, some of the high street retail workers could shift to the dotcom side of the business, but that definitely wouldn't accommodate even half of them.

Why not. Your are making a ton of statements that don’t make sense. In dot com, the product still has to be taken to a storage facility, put away, picked and shipped and then delivered. Then there are people employed in running these facilities - engineers and automation experts as well as managers and supervisors. It’s exactly the same principle as retail shopping, except the products are shipped to customers in high density deliveries, rather than customers making individual journeys to shops.

Clothing is one of the few areas that doesn't really suit online shopping.

You write that in a month when despite visiting 5 real-life shops, I was unable to get5 what I wanted with each one saying "have you tried online ?".

The problem is, when I hear that, I know that it won't be their website I go to first.

High street is not dying as a consequence of online shopping. Online shopping thrived because of the poor state of service and product on the high street

In part I agree, but online doesn't have the same overheads so they've been able to squeeze prices more, many people find it more convenient- even with amazing service and ginormous shops that carried the amount of lines someone like asos does, they wouldn't be able to compete on other factors that they can't change. I think it's a shame, I used to love going shopping with friends growing up, and enjoy perusing the shops now.

@sst1234

"High street is not dying as a consequence of online shopping."

Sorry but you're wrong. It's exactly why the high street is dying.

Physical shops pay vast sums in rent and rates that online retailers don't pay.

[quote AhNowTed]@sst1234

"High street is not dying as a consequence of online shopping."

Sorry but you're wrong. It's exactly why the high street is dying.

Physical shops pay vast sums in rent and rates that online retailers don't pay.
[/quote]
Sorry but I’m right. Says the declining footfall in the high street. You can’t force people to shop where service and product is subpar.

The thing is @sst1234, millions of people are employed in retail. If they worked somewhere else, then where? What industry could absorb millions of excess retail workers?

"Working in retail" is - like the high street itself - hardly a divine calling.

[quote CBUK2K]@sst1234 Which scenario do you think creates more jobs and local investment?

1000 books sold by amazon via its fulfilled centres.

1000 books sold by small independent bricks and mortar book shops?[/quote]
Do you think Amazon are shipping from outer space. Or all other online retailers for that matter. Not only that, but anyone can sell on Amazon and eBay. If that’s not democratisation of retail, then what is? It may be fashionable to hate online, but the fact is that it has never been easier for Joe public to set up their own business and sell from their local vicinity to customers nationwide.
Why should customers pay for the privilege of poor products and service from a shop on the high street that opens Monday to Friday 9-4 and closes half day on weds too. And half the time is out of stock.

Everyone should have a black dress, a black top and a black skirt, or a black trouser suit, precisely for this occasion.

Derailing somewhat OP - but I have been to a few funerals in the last year, and no-one was wearing full black. I think most people just dress in smart muted colours these days. Most of the women wear trousers too..... just my experience though. So you may not need a black dress?

You can’t force people to shop where service and product is subpar.

Oh yes you can - ask anyone who lived in the USSR. Or come back in a few months

@Maskless

Everyone should have a black dress, a black top and a black skirt, or a black trouser suit, precisely for this occasion.

Yep. You're right. Being 22 weeks pregnant makes that slightly more difficult.

Plus a lot of my clothes are in storage after moving recently... sooooo I needed to buy something suitable.

@DGRossetti

The thing is *@sst1234*, millions of people are employed in retail. If they worked somewhere else, then where? What industry could absorb millions of excess retail workers?

"Working in retail" is - like the high street itself - hardly a divine calling.

Wow, nice snobbery there, have you considered that perhaps people like working in retail?

@BigWoollyJumpers

Derailing somewhat OP - but I have been to a few funerals in the last year, and no-one was wearing full black. I think most people just dress in smart muted colours these days. Most of the women wear trousers too..... just my experience though. So you may not need a black dress?

(waves at Aesop ...)

@BigWoollyJumpers

Derailing somewhat OP - but I have been to a few funerals in the last year, and no-one was wearing full black. I think most people just dress in smart muted colours these days. Most of the women wear trousers too..... just my experience though. So you may not need a black dress?

My grandmother would have worn black so I feel like I want to do the same for her.

Plus Cyprus is really conservative etc.

Just feel like black is a good idea.

Why should customers pay for the privilege of poor products and service from a shop on the high street that opens Monday to Friday 9-4 and closes half day on weds too.

Sorry, are you shopping on the high street or 1982? It’s very rare for shops to not be open at the weekend

@sst1234

"Do you think Amazon are shipping from outer space."

No, but the cost of running a fulfilment centre in Middlesbrough is not the same as as shops on the high street.

The likes of John Lewis will pay literally millions each year.

People simply got used to the convenience of online shopping.

This drove many retailers, even before Covid, out of business.

It's simply not a level playing field.

Either online retailers will be forced by govt policy to pay some form of sales tax, or our town centres will be boarded up ghost towns.

I do have this jump suit that fits me like a glove and looks very smart.

I'm not sure it's right for a funeral though?

However, it's corally which is my grandmother's favourite colour and it's got flowers on it which are her favourite things.

I'm on the fence though.

Should say it looks more coral in real life than in this picture