To ask if you think all retail shops will be gone within 5/10 years?

[FryingPanWithJam]

I ask because so many of them seem so dead. Or used mostly for collecting online orders

Maybe they will close 90% of shop and only have flagship type shops in places like London, Milton Keynes, Manchester Old Trafford, Blue Water, Lakeside etc

I went to pick up my M&S order today and as usual, it’s really busy inside! Seems people have yet to lose their love for the place

The John Lewis store not too far away is always quiet now. As is every other shop in my local retail park such as Matalan and H&M

Poundland just opened (yet another one) and they are always busy!

Yes, I think slowly they will. Then, at some point someone will come up with a great new concept where, instead of buying online, you can go somewhere to look at the goods, try them on and take them away the same day...

No I think the switch to online has basically happened so the remaining demand for in person will probably stick. Our local shopping centre is always pretty busy- it’s not high end- basically H&M, Primark, New Look, Wilco, JDs etc but it does get good footfall. My teens are always keen to have a mooch around.

All shops in 5 years? Nope.

but yes more decline over the next 20 or so years seems inevitable.

Nah

I hope not. To me there is a real pleasure in looking at touching handling an item before purchasing. A more considered purchase. Marshall’s Tjmaxx and home goods always busy here in USA. A

Shopping is the great leisure activity, sitting in your house clicking on some shite made by slaves in china just isn't the same and it won't die out, it might well come and go and brands will die and be reborn but there's nothing like in shopping person especially for clothes.

Retailers need to step up. Going into store needs to be an experience.

Right now now it's like visiting a glitchy, dusty internet. Shuffling around, hoping you'll find what you need, scanning and packing it yourself.

Retail needs the return of the helpful, personal touch.

I was thinking this the other day, seems like less and less 'real' shops...but how can you try things out like smelling a perfume or feeling the texture of a fabric?

😂😂😂 This, it will be retro too!

I think so! There’s no point going to highstreet anymore unless you want a coffee or your mobile phone unlocked.

I absolutely hate shopping in person, it’s definitely the opposite of a leisure activity for me!

However, when I have had to venture to the shops (children’s shoe fittings etc), I have found it busier. I think with more flexible working it’s beneficial to high street shops. I have never understood UK high street opening hours - most people are at work during those times!!

I sometimes worry I’ll be the last person in the shops! I hate buying clothes online and never do it. DD thinks I’m old fashioned but I don’t care! I like trying things on and looking at them, you can’t really tell what clothes are like just from a photo. We don’t really have online grocery shopping around here but I don’t think I’d like it even if it was possible.

There’ll definitely still be shops in 5 years, but in 10, or 20? I don’t know.

Yeah. My local TK Max (UK equivalent) is busy too!

That would be a nightmare. All the decent shops gone and just rows of depressing American Candy stores. I hope not.

What do you mean American Candy stores? I’ve never seen anything like a shop resembling one but I’m intrigued

How can you buy clothes without touching them and trying them on?
(Except things like sports wear that are very stretchy with a good margin of error)

And no I'm not wasting £££ buying awful, ill fitting clothes and failing to faff at returns then having to charity shop them months later.

If I can't try it on in the shop, I ain't buying it.

I'm no shopaholic, but it's nice to occasionally go out and browse and have a physical experience. Shopping online is dull and utilitarian.

I hate online clothes shopping. I need to see and try clothes on before buying, and I hope that shops don't close.

However, I was in M and S earlier today and couldn't find anything in my size. Due to their inconsistent sizing M and S is one retailer I really wouldn't want to buy online from.

Where I live I can’t see that happening at all, it is regularly busy on the high street and the shopping centre but I’m in Brighton. There is a big student population and my DC well Dd does tend to like going with friends like I did as a girl. In the market town my Dad lives in in the south midlands lots of shops have closed down and it is pseudo chicken shops or coffee shops and Greggs!

I have been in various top retail organisations for over 25 years and while some retailers go bust, others thrive. Primark for example have chosen not to go online, only with a click and collect service but what they focus on is what they do best. Fast fashion, low prices and the shopping experience. They don't pretend to be anything else. They are already planning opening more stores globally. Other brands that fail, do so because they struggle with reinventing themselves, remaining contemporary or lose their brand identity to an extent. Stores with excellent service, clear and inspiring visual merchandising are the ones who always do well. A retailer must stick to what it does best and what its core customer base wants and be one step ahead of the market. It's not always about affordable pricing. There are many high end brands who consistently do well and those who don't. They shouldn't however, attempt to sell products that don't align with their brand perception. Whether that's a luxury brand retailer or one that does quick service and affordable products. There are many retailers now pressured into being sustainable and ethical and while Body Shop did very well for a time it lost much of its sustainabile credibility when it sold to L'Oreal and lost its way a bit after that.

Probably see mergers like Argos, Sainsbury's

Morrisons and Currys
Aldi and TK Maxx
Etc

M&S have played the social media game brilliantly. They are appealing to a new audience and doing very well on places like Tik Tok. John Lewis need to catch up.

I’m currently looking for a particular piece of furniture, costing between £500-1000. It is virtually impossible to go and view what I am buying in an actual shop. Instead I have to take my chance based on an online photograph, the measurements, and hope the quality is good.

You order several sizes/ types and touch them/ try them on at home, returning any that don't hit the spot.

I miss proper shopping. Spending the day mooching about having a browse like we used to as teens after school.

New look, Bay trading, claires, river island, jane norman, HMV, la senza, British home stores etc. You could make a day of it.

We don't have many clothes shops where I am now.

My dh has been in turkey all week visiting family and is in his element shopping. Shops thrive over there.

Is it just the UK where it's dieing?

That doesn't work for me. I don't have the time to keep nipping down to the post office to return 9 of the 10 things I have ordered because they don't fit.

It is quicker for me to window shop online and decide which shops to visit and try clothes on. I really struggle with trousers as I have long legs, hips and a waist. It is just easier to try clothes on in a shop for me.

The last couple of dresses I bought online don't fit very well either.