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?

I think, perhaps you have been hit by the lack of work wear and "smart occassion" clothing sales in the last year. Everything is casual in the shops at the moment, even the previous safe bets for workwear don't seem to be stocking much. I guess when they do eventually get everyone back in the offices and we all find we are a dress size up, or the city centres are full of office workers popping out in the lunch break to buy new clothes, the city centre shops will go back to stocking the work wear styles.

I love shopping on Oxford Street, mostly for John Lewis, and also for MS Cos, & other stories, and wouldn't really go online to buy any clothes unless it was a sale. I like to wander round, get inspired, see who is stocking what, and what works well together.
I have another local high street, with Matalan, Next, Peacocks etc where I might go to buy underwear, school clothes or bedding but nothing else.

I used to work near Oxford Street and would avoid it like the plague!!

No one made a fuss when village shops closed in swathes and we had to go to high streets in towns to shop. All the family-run village bakers, butchers, greengrocers and general stores went, then the post offices. I do most of my food shopping in out of town supermarkets and almost everything else online. I have been to our local town twice in 18 months, and those occasions were because I met a friend for coffee. Which we took with us in our flasks and drank outside. I used to work in retail but our small chain was effectively shut down by Amazon.

After doing some bizarre limbo dance to actually get in, a staff member at the door said ‘We’re closing in 15 minutes’. (Funny way to pronounce ‘Hello’…) Has no one told shops that having customers is supposed to be a good thing?

there is a shortage of retail workers - they are paid and treated appalling by their companies and by the customers, not surprised they're in a rush to get home

Which we took with us in our flasks and drank outside.

Was this during lockdown when the coffee shops were closed?

I too lament the passing of the quality High Street. But everything you want to buy is still catered for if you choose to shop in a regular market town. Mine, Tavistock in Devon -- in case you are close, has about four good independent boutiques that can (and do) sell everything from a mother of the bride outfit, to posh workwear, to smart casual with the option of FatFace, White Stuff, j Crew, M&Co and Mountain Warehouse. At all price points from very expensive to everyday... but it's too small for M&S/Primark etc to bother with... they are 30 minutes away.

My local high street is Oxford Street and I'm finding that most of that is now quite difficult. John Lewis and Uniqlo are the only 2 shops that I feel confident will stock sensible basics.

Personally I think that business rates need to change so that there is a more level playing field between out of town warehouses and in town small shops.

@ivykaty44

After doing some bizarre limbo dance to actually get in, a staff member at the door said ‘We’re closing in 15 minutes’. (Funny way to pronounce ‘Hello’…) Has no one told shops that having customers is supposed to be a good thing?

there is a shortage of retail workers - they are paid and treated appalling by their companies and by the customers, not surprised they're in a rush to get home

But the shop closes at 7. Not 6.30, 6.45 or even 6.55. 7pm. They can rush home at 7.

We all have contracted working hours. Retail workers are no different - and when physical retail is in such trouble, they can’t afford to be.

But the shop closes at 7. Not 6.30, 6.45 or even 6.55. 7pm. They can rush home at 7.

You’ve clearly never worked retail.

A few years ago I was looking for a respectable black dress to wear for a funeral - I actually got one in Sainsburys!

But the shop closes at 7. Not 6.30, 6.45 or even 6.55. 7pm. They can rush home at 7.
We all have contracted working hours. Retail workers are no different - and when physical retail is in such trouble, they can’t afford to be.

Exactly. We have a local shop that keeps random hours. It should be open until 5pm on a weekday, but is often closed at 4.30. I'm sure they'd be the first to complain that there are no customers, but if they constantly close early then people will stop visiting the shop. Why bother making the effort if you have no idea if it's going to be open.

We have a local shop that keeps random hours. It should be open until 5pm on a weekday, but is often closed at 4.30. I'm sure they'd be the first to complain that there are no customers, but if they constantly close early then people will stop visiting the shop. Why bother making the effort if you have no idea if it's going to be open

that is generally the problem with indies - they do what they like. The chains are more accountable to their head office, so although they might close early if they have a crisis, generally they won't close early because the staff want an afternoon on the beach.

@EastWestWhosBest

But the shop closes at 7. Not 6.30, 6.45 or even 6.55. 7pm. They can rush home at 7.

You’ve clearly never worked retail.

What’s your point? I responded to a poster who suggested it was okay for retail workers to be closing the shop early.

@HDready

I don’t think anywhere does maternity in physical stores anymore, all online

They don't. I was in my local shopping centre a few weeks ago. Needed maternity leggings that day. JoJo Maman Bebe didn't have any.

Tried M&S, Next, New Look and Primark. None of them do physical maternity lines anymore. I couldn't believe M&S don't sell any maternity clothes.

All of them told me to look online. So I went online, ordered maternity wear from none of those shops and made sure not to buy any baby clothes from M&S or Next either.

I don't think the high street deserves to survive.

@Whinge

But the shop closes at 7. Not 6.30, 6.45 or even 6.55. 7pm. They can rush home at 7. We all have contracted working hours. Retail workers are no different - and when physical retail is in such trouble, they can’t afford to be.

Exactly. We have a local shop that keeps random hours. It should be open until 5pm on a weekday, but is often closed at 4.30. I'm sure they'd be the first to complain that there are no customers, but if they constantly close early then people will stop visiting the shop. Why bother making the effort if you have no idea if it's going to be open.

Yep. These will be the ones bleating about how nobody supports independent retail when they inevitably close down.

I remember years back now going past a shop on the high street by my office. It had a sign in the window saying ‘Closing down due to lack of support from the people of [town]’. I had an almost eerie sensation that the owner’s attitude might have had something to do with the lack of custom…

I have a black nobody’s child dress from
M&S that I wore throughout pregnancy - would be ideal for a funeral but also nice for smart evening occasions….I will see if I can find the link….

there is a shortage of retail workers - they are paid and treated appalling by their companies and by the customers, not surprised they're in a rush to get home
It still doesn't take much to say 'hello, just to let you know our store is closing in 15 minutes'.

Plenty of people want to leave work on time, but they don't start being rude because the end of the day is getting close.

@RoSEbuds6

I love shopping on Oxford Street, mostly for John Lewis, and also for MS Cos, & other stories, and wouldn't really go online to buy any clothes unless it was a sale. I like to wander round, get inspired, see who is stocking what, and what works well together. I have another local high street, with Matalan, Next, Peacocks etc where I might go to buy underwear, school clothes or bedding but nothing else.

And that's how the high street died.

Sorry quoted wrong bloody post!

ahsaidted I just think of Oxford Street as my High Street - it's only half an hour away from my house and I work very close to it. And as I said I do buy things from my 'local' high street, they just don't stock what I want to buy.

Ah - that makes sense - I wondered what made me uniquely culpable. @AhNowTed

Every time I try to shop on the high street these days it’s a disaster. They hardly stock any sizes and just tell you they can order it online for you. I could do that myself!

M&S is probably the worst. Last time I went in I was looking for a dressing gown and boys’ pyjamas. They had a lovely dressing gown but the rail had a dozen size 18s on it and nothing else. And they had NO boys’ pyjamas in an age 8. Zero. When I eventually found a sale person she told me to order online.
I would have spent about £40 with them that day, but in the end I couldn’t be bothered.

But the shop closes at 7. Not 6.30, 6.45 or even 6.55. 7pm. They can rush home at 7.

You’ve clearly never worked retail.
What’s your point? I responded to a poster who suggested it was okay for retail workers to be closing the shop early.

The point is that you generally stop being paid at closing time. It’s not a case of switching the lights off and going home at 7.

Really? M&S has a number of styles of black dress, and I had no difficulty when I was on a similar mission recently to find something for a funeral.