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?

My black funeral dress no longer fits me I had exactly the same type of trouble OP describes in finding it, this was in 2019. I ended up buying a size too small at the time in Debenhams and squeezing into it. I am very pro wearing black at funerals as I think it's good protocol and respectful, but I was still v relieved that the latest memorial service I attended specified bright colours so I didn't have to go through the arse-ache of replacing said black dress. I know I need to do it, but I just don't understand how such a basic item of clothing can be so difficult to buy, even online.

Black dress is a category on the M&S website: www.marksandspencer.com/l/women/dresses/fs5/black

YANBU

I've stopped going into town for clothes as the last few times i haven't found anything i like and the few shops there seem to have as little choice as possible, it's effectively pushing you to go to their website where there's a lot more to choose from

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.

Only if that's what we want. Besides, aren't we supposed to worship at the altar of "The Market" according to our not so new Tory overlords ? I can't see "The Market" letting acres of prime town centre land go to waste.

[quote Dotoallasyouwouldbedoneby]Black dress is a category on the M&S website: www.marksandspencer.com/l/women/dresses/fs5/black[/quote]
Yes! Thanks.. but not the point of the thread

Don't most women need maternity wear at some point?
I don't think a lot of women wear it now, or at least for everyday wear. I just wore leggings and big t-shirts when I was pregnant, and that was over 20 years ago.

@sst1234

"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?"

High street is in part dying due to online shopping. If someone wants to buy a pair of black trousers out of Miss Selfridge...if they buy it online then they aren't going to go into town to buy it in person, are they? I'm not sure how you can say that online shopping isn't having an impact on the high street?
Also I don't agree that dotcom would employ less folk than in store. Realistically, One huge factory could service the orders (ordering, picking, packing etc). That factory then would obviously need less staff than hundreds of individual stores up and down the UK. Roles could be combined/condensed. Even basic things such as each store, say 300 stores, employing 2 cleaners to clean the store 7 days a week. A factory isn't going to need 600 cleaners, is it? Putting everything together will lessen the need for some roles.

No one is denying that poor customer service, poor variety of stock etc is one of the reasons why the high street is dying a death. Most people just understand that the death of the high street is multi factorial.

You say that " Your are making a ton of statements that don’t make sense.". No, I'm really not. Just because you don't agree with someone, doesn't mean that they're wrong or that they don't make sense. It simply means a difference of opinion, which most intelligent adults can comprehend and deal with politely.

@DGRossetti (waves at Aesop ...)

You think I am telling tales? How bizarre.

I don't buy anything for myself in any shop that lets men in the womens changing rooms.

I'd be quite happy for it to die if my choice is share changing rooms with men or have it disappear forever.

When I do occasionally go into town if I see something I like I just go & order it online anyway.
It almost never happens.

If my son didn't like going to one particular in the town centre on our way back from the museum I wouldn't ever bother going.
A couple of weeks ago my son saw some pj bottoms he liked in M&S online & as we were going through it the next day we went to see if we could pick them up because he really wanted them.
Not in stock in any size or colour.
Went home & wished I'd just ordered online in the first place.

[quote Dotoallasyouwouldbedoneby]Black dress is a category on the M&S website: www.marksandspencer.com/l/women/dresses/fs5/black[/quote]
Most of the dresses on this link aren't actually black. I can see 1, maybe 2 that might be formal enough for a funeral. Still better than the high street shops though!

[quote BigWoollyJumpers]@DGRossetti (waves at Aesop ...)

You think I am telling tales? How bizarre.[/quote]
No. But I know what the point of the fox and grapes story is .....

I agree op, I dont even bother going into town anymore because there is nothing there. Plus charges a fortune for parking.
Ide much prefer to jump in the car and drive 10/15 minutes to the local retail park which is free parking and has a variety of stores to shop in.

I totally agree. The whole point of a bricks and mortar shop is speed (ie available to buy now) or the experience - checking the fit/quality.

Now it's look around shop with randomly displayed stuff and notices to see the rest of our range on line - why did I bother schlepping into the shop and paying bus/parking when I could have a more convenient/otherwise identical experience online.

I feel like Primark and TK Maxx (which don't do online at all/well) are the only shops worth physically visiting now as they don't just direct you to their website!

There are lots of reasons for the demise of the high street.

• Increased rates - rent, council tax, utilities etc.
• Parking costs - in our town you need a parking disc (which only gives you an hour) or you have to park at the local council car park and walk, but the council car park fills up at 7am as it doubles as free parking for the local station.
• Increasing numbers of people shopping online - it costs money to ship stock to stores and hold it there, and if people don't buy it, it's not worth it.

When I worked in clothing retail, we (as a company) had to order at least 1,0000 items in each size of each style. There was no option to order less, so it often wasn't worth it to order 1,000 items in a size 22 or a size 4 as they wouldn't sell and constantly ended up in the sale, meaning we just weren't making any money on them.

I don't mind paying for parking as in our local town it goes into the Council's earnings to pay for other services. It's still less than the online delivery charges, especially if I buy from several retailers. I'm not going to drive 30 minutes each way though for shops who don't bother to stock a size 16, given its the average female size in the UK.

The only place I've had any luck lately for capsule stuff is John Lewis and Partners' own clothing range. Tops in thick fabrics, well cut coats and dresses, and decent trousers. They still struggle with stocks of larger sizes though.

@Divebar2021

Bit of a dramatic title because you can’t find what you want. Where did you go exactly ? I can’t believe John Lewis or another department store wouldn’t have a single suitable option.

Not every town has a John Lewis or another department store.

@ImNotDancing

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

Our local town is like this. It's quite common in rural areas.

Everything closes at 1pm on Wednesday and Saturday and nothing is open on a Sunday except for Tesco and Co-Op.

All the shopkeepers I speak to lose money if they stay open any longer than they do, as once they've paid staff wages, heating, electric etc. it's just not worth it. They make more money by staying closed.

Went to city centre for winter clothes shopping and it was very disappointing. Stock was sparse and uninspiring.

@Divebar2021

Bit of a dramatic title because you can’t find what you want. Where did you go exactly ? I can’t believe John Lewis or another department store wouldn’t have a single suitable option.

This. You want people to lose their jobs and for shopping in person to become obsolete because you couldn't find a suitable dress one day. Wow! I am not saying it's not annoying when you can't find what you need but lots of factors have impacted stock in many types of shops lately. It's not going to get better for a while but it doesn't mean the high streets should just disappear either. Lots of people still want to shop in person and a lot of the older generation don't want to or can't shop online. Yabu

[quote CBUK2K]@sst1234 Clothing is one of the few areas that doesn't really suit online shopping. You generally want to see things before you buy them, a lot of people return much of what they buy which is really hurting profits of BoHoo / ASOS etc. They will have to up prices to survive.[/quote]
I think it’s the opposite.
I can order in a number of sizes and colours. Try them on at home and see how the go with other items, shoes, different underwear etc and then return them. It’s better for me.

As for the cost to the company, I’d be interested to know how the cost of postage and returns all being processed at one central warehouse compares to the cost of dozens of fully staffed bricks and mortar stores.

You want people to lose their jobs and for shopping in person to become obsolete because you couldn't find a suitable dress one day.

I haven't said that at all.

Can't help I'm afraid

But sorry for your loss OP

York is shit for shopping these days!! I live in Newcastle now and have so many great shops plus the metrocentre! I still shop online though most of the time 🙈

@Mammyloveswine

York is shit for shopping these days!! I live in Newcastle now and have so many great shops plus the metrocentre! I still shop online though most of the time 🙈

It's better than Wimbledon.... but apparently still shit!

@highstreetdiestreet well what do you think will happen if the high street dies as you put it? Shops will close so people will be out of a job. And people won't be able to see goods in person, try things on etc. So yes, this is exactly what you saying if you want the High St to disappear