To feel I’m in a minority of one?

[JontyFilks]

So many threads on MN (understandably, just an objective observation, not a criticism) about internet shopping sites and the resultant parcels etc -

but to be honest I NEVER buy online so I’ve never used -

Amazon
Evri
Temu
Etsy
Vinted
Yodel
Uber
Uberests
Deliveroo

i did have an internet purchase birthday delivery from colleagues - from Scentsy - which nearly sent me into a tailspin as I’m not used to this 🤣

Still I’m living in 1983, 3 Channels etc, jumpers for goalposts all of that ..

AIBU to think I’m unusual ?

Was going to say not being an internet shopper one of the advantages is not having any of the associated problems!

Or any of the associated choices or convenience either. 🤷‍♀️

True true…

I definitely think you’re an outlier!

Can I ask, is it an age thing? I’m in my 60s and I shop online all the time!

It’s getting harder and harder to buy from actual shops these days though as the range of shops and the stock in the remaining shops is so limited. I miss the days of being able to go from shop to shop
in pursuit of a particular item but it really isn’t possible anymore.

People in Buxton voted reform - one of their complaints was the lack of normal shops - bet most of them spend online. Bet a lot used to look in the store and then buy cheaper online.

people worry about climate change - look at Jamaica and how storms are getting worse - yet so need the latest piece of fun amusement from Chinese stores based on very dodgy labour practises - and then wonder that there are fewer jobs in the Uk because they are too expensive

and the convienece of having empty calories delivered to you door because you are too busy to cook , and too tired as you are carrying excess weight

modern life is so strange

I’m 53 so not necessarily an age thing as my 93 year old neighbours shop online!

This is sadly VERY VERY true

Of those I've only ever used Amazon, and I think the last purchase I made from them was years ago. The only two places I get takeaway from have their own delivery people. I have probably used Just Eat or Deliveroo on holiday when I had an exhausted sleeping child with whom I'd just got off a flight, and couldn't leave the hotel room.

Like others, I wonder how you manage to avoid shopping online.

I’d like to be able to shop more in person but the shops either aren’t there or, in the case of clothes shops, never have the sizes I need in stock.

What else are you not using? Do you travel everywhere by horse? Wash clothes with a mangle? How are you accessing MN?

It is indeed very very strange

didn’t know that about Buxton !

Buxton is one of the places I’ve got excellent memories from from mid 2000s!

Very very good point !!

when I visit pubs I ask the barman the inevitable question

“where can I stable my horses?”

What’s your reason for not doing anything online?
and why did it send you into a tailspin that someone else bought you something online ? X

In seriousness though -

I don’t use any streaming services like

Netflix, Apple TV, Amazon Prime… it’s all alien territory to me.

I don’t have home broadband

I buy a lot from bricks and mortar shops as a result of their online marketing!

Bit of an exaggeration I said ‘tailspin’ just not used to parcels etc being delivered from online shopping

Reason tbh is nothing more than habit

i do book hotel rooms online and pay subscriptions for things like genes reunited

I work with someone the same age as me who doesn’t ever shop online and struggled with work tech too.

I agree I do a lot of clothes shopping in Sainsbury’s/Tesco

In some pubs now, you order digitally from your table!

Yes, you are an outlier. If it works for you, great. But you are behind and that will limit your options in terms of what you can buy, variety, pricing etc.

My parents (68 and 73) have never shopped online, they get everything they need from big supermarkets like Sainsburys or Tesco, or somewhere specific like a B&Q if needed. They also spend a lot of time in B&M and The Range type places.

They don't have a huge circle or do very much though so their needs are much smaller!

Is it just that you didn't have anyone to explain or help with the technology or is it a deliberate avoidance of new fangled stuff. Shopping on line is incredibly convenient, you can actually get the size you want in the style you want (mostly). All the years trailing around shops and no one has what you like in the right size!

Out of your list, OP, the only one of those I've ever used is Amazon, and that only as a last resort when I can't find what I want elsewhere.

I'm finding it more and more difficult to avoid online shopping. We've lost our hardware shop and Homebase has gone, so buying anything DIY related in person involves a minimum 15 mile round trip. The town had 4 shoe shops, now it has one, an expensive independent, and clothes wise there's nothing between New Look and Jigsaw, and nowhere you can get underwear apart from Tesco, which, being small, only has a very limited range.

And when I venture further afield to somewhere with a decent range of shops, I invariably find I can't get what I want in the right size or colour and end up buying it online anyway, so it just turns out to be a waste of petrol and parking charges.

I think it’s more habit and the feeling I can muddle along with existing shops etc rather than deliberate avoidance