To ask where all those who said that WFH would be good for business are now?

[ChampagnePuppy]

Sorry, sort of a rant.
I work in a small local foodie business in the South West. I know there is a cost of living crisis, but I also feel that WFH culture is killing us.
So many said that they would spend more in their local high streets now they were WFH but that seems to have stopped.
People are online food shopping and then not leaving their houses. Three local businesses announced they were closing this week, two bakeries and one restaurant. I can count five since Christmas which have folded.
I know a lot are feeling the pinch from gas and electric but a lot of people are just WFH, squirrelling their money away, saving and then saying 'oh that's a shame' on the Facebook posts when a business announces they're folding. Why not support them? I'm not talking about those on the breadline but those who are financially comfortable.
If you want a diverse high street, you have to support local businesses or we won't be here in a years time.

Sorry....companies/businesses need to move with the times (websites/bespoke products/ deliveries etc.).... I've saved literally thousands on petrol and childcare from WFH and seriously pray my circumstances don't have to change with the current cost of living......!!!

I get what you're saying, and why you're saying it OP. But this all reads like "I wish the British people weren't British". You DO live in a capitalist society, a society which voted for Brexit and over a decade of Tory rule after a Labour rule which was economically socialist, and socially capitalist. You're talking about a lack of community, of social breakdown, all worsened by hard economic times.

It is posts like this that make MN a joke, I'm having to travel across europe next week for face to face meetings, I cannot wait for the usual talks about the high street dying to say it is because the UK voted Tory and brexit ....

and people think bots are only right wing ..

Those supplying the non essentials to the little boutiques have decided to sell direct to the customer online as it means more money without a middle man, a lot of this is a generational/technology shift.

Yep definitely elements of this too.

I think this is one of those situations where time/technology/culture has changed the face of how businesses operate.

Just like way before there were complex machines, there were people working in warehouses to put together an item. Now mostly machines do it all so as a result lots of people lost their jobs.

Online streaming killed video rental stores.

I feel that it's similar (outside of the COL issue) with local businesses. WHere I live there was a line of restaurants that depended on the local workers to eat breakfast/lunch there, but some of them have closed down as not as many people were patronizing them as most of them were working from home. Now add to that prices going up, I think it's tougher to stay in business unless you can find a way to adapt.

Yes that's us, we are paying the same mortgage, but the cost of everything else has gone up so much we have a far less disposable income than we had this time last year. So our spending in independent restaurants/coffee shops etc has stopped, but it's not like we have transferred spending the same amount to chain places, that former disposable income is now going on bills and off-setting rising grocery bills.

My energy bills have at least doubled over the last year, my food bills have gone up over 15%, general inflation has been over 10%.

I have received a pay rise of 2% this year after a generous pay rise of 0% for last year.

I could have worked in the office every day and the above still would be the case. I wouldn't be going out to cafes near the office either.

I'm not WFH but with a £400 gas and electric bill I have no spare for nice little extras in life. I can't waste money on parking so I only go into town if I must. If I have spare cash I'd rather put it aside for next winter as we are going to freeze. If I want a item of clothing it's only totally nessary and from Vinted. I'm scared. That why I'm not browsing my high street

People probably don't have time and eat at home, when I was in the office I didn't go out to eat, I took in lunch as going out was quite time consuming so people in offices probably don't visit the high street either

The OP wants you to stop squirrelling the money away for your heat and give it to her, you tight git😂

It’s not WFH that’s the problem, it’s the cost of living crisis - people are cutting back everywhere they can.

Our high street is full of barbers and nail bars, I think they all got the memo about AI coming soon so set up business, it's not really somewhere I need to frequent.

I am not sure you can complain if businesses move ahead with the times. Soon all jobs will be run by artificial intelligence and many businesses will collapse and we will all have to find something else to do- especially new generations.

WFH benefits environment because commuting (especially by car) has a massive impact on the air quality and also energy resources as extraction of oil means more pollutants.
It benefits mothers and children who can spend more time with each other, also everyone else who is not stuck in the traffic every day (at the same time) which is totally bonkers.
It also benefits disabled, carers of disabled and elderly etc to remain in the workforce.

I really don’t understand why humans have commuted for so long, it’s bonkers, the whole city stuck in the traffic, every day, at the same time- what for?

If WFH is saving you £££ on childcare and commuting then I feel you have some sort of obligation to share that wealth rather than just support Amazon or Tesco or whoever.

No-one is obligated to do anything. What a weird view of business you have.

Businesses are supposed to be attractive to people, you aren’t supposed to have to beg, guilt-trip and browbeat people into using them.

Seriously it’s not all
sunshine and roses working from home. I WFH most days but go into the office a few days a month. My travel costs when I worked in the office were £40 a month. My utility bill is 4 times what it was before the pandemic: so I’m really not saving anything. You seem quite bitter.

I don't know why OP is just picking on WFH because all the places I have worked, people took their lunch in from home or occasionally got food from the visiting mobile van, people didn't go trekking to the high street

OP, you are hugely underestimating the impact of the cost of living crisis vs the WFH factor currently. I do both WFH/Office but I simply couldn’t afford to justify spending money in a small local foodie business right now. When I go to the office I bring sandwiches, fruit, and only have hot drinks I’ve made in the staff kitchen. In the past I would get a latte on the way in, and Pret or similar at lunch, at a minimum.

I wasn't complaining at all, I was just passing comment on why people probably don't visit the high street. I'm retired now so can do what I want, when I want and don't have to worry about getting a job or moving with the times or going to the high street.

I'm so tired of people moaning about wfh. Wfh allows me to hold down a job despite my disability. And then some posters find all sorts of reasons to moan about it whilst not actually giving a shit about all the disabled people who have been able to get work where they would otherwise have struggled before.

But then I'm guessing I wasn't the OPs target customer anyway, as many small shops aren't always accessible, one of the reasons I was shopping online more long before the pandemic

I’m not sure you’re the friendly, ‘Gio from the cafe in the corner’ type that you’ve been describing. You don’t seem to like the people you serve, I’m sure this isn’t lost on them. Maybe this is your issue. They’ll just go home and order from Waitrose/Ocado.

What business are you in OP? Perhaps we might be able to offer some suggestions.

The artisan bread, for example, I wouldn't pay £10 for a loaf of bread and I definitely would not walk all the way into town for a loaf of bread but I would uber some artisan snacks like nice cheese with crackers or some nice savory pastries if I was having friends around for a drink.

I wouldn't walk all the way into town for fancy, low-calorie vegan snacks when McDonald's will deliver it to my door but if they were on Uber and advertised to me appropriately I might give them a try for lunch or breakfast one day.

Most people seem to go to those awful places like Nando's rather than small foodie places, our shopping mall was heaving this week because of half term so it was probably full

Sorry your business is struggling, but businesses need to adapt to changing environments or they fail. Whether that is a small local cafe or a national chain.

It isnt up to your potential customers to "support you", you come up with a service/product people want, how and where they want it and they will come.

Get yourself online, social media, deliveries, click and collect, lunch time great deals. There's ways to stand out and survive people WFH, change with the times.

This is probably just as much down to the cost of living crisis and budget tightening

Perhaps look into offering local delivery deals or innovating in similar ways.