To feel sad that the 'corner shop' is now the 'parcel shop'?

[bananamilkshake123]

Prepared to be told AIBU as I use vinted and both send and collect parcels at times but I feel sad at how my local shop has now just become the parcel shop. I imagine this happens all over due to the popularity of selling sites and returns for online retailers.
Last time I went into our local shop my son couldn't even choose sweets as the kids shelves were completely blocked off by parcels awaiting collection. As I say, I'm aware that I'm probably part of the problem but I wonder if its just me who feels this way...

Not my experience of any of the shops round here

I am delighted if a local convenience store has found a new source of income in a world where newspaper, magazine and tobacco sales have fallen off a cliff.

I reckon these parcels are helping the shops stay open tbh 😊

Every corner shop ive visited to do my returns has been quite empty of stock 😬😬

Its the times, op 🥺

surely it’s brings them a bit of business though from people grabbing stuff they realise they need whilst collecting their parcels otherwise they wouldn’t do with the hassle

I think they are they must get a fee for being a parcel shop? And they are open early/late so it is convenient. Some villages dont have a post office any more so it saves trying to find somewhere, I see it as shops diversifying and not sad.

Of course they get a fee!

Not here, I can’t even think of a local shop that does parcels. Our nearby big Co op, yes. And the petrol station. But all our little local shops are little local shops where the kids buy sweets and ice creams after school and where you go to buy overpriced milk and bread and butter.

It's great - we have a shop that is also a post office and parcel shop. It's opened far longer than post offices and we are much more likely to use it if it has multiple services.

I didn't think my off the comment deserved an exclamation, it was just a general question!

They do parcels here - but vapes are the main product now

Two of the nearest parcel shops, Evri/Inpost etc seem to only sell vapes or alcohol. Energy drinks and probably cigarettes in a cupboard.
The Evri one does have milk, bread, sweets and sandwiches, but I only use to drop off my Vinted sales.
Our actual nearest shop is a post office and has food. If I have a choice of return I always use post office.
But it’s good that it’s a source of income for them.

I get why you'd feel like this but actually I think it's great that they're able to have an extra income stream. It must be worth their while or they wouldn't continue it.

Our local Spar has a separate PO which opens 9 to 5 plus til 12 on Sats but you can also do PO type things at the main counter until 8pm. I send & collect a lot of my Vinted parcels from there & often pick up a bit of shopping or a scratch card. The staff are absolutely lovely. They have said that the amount of parcels has rocketed but it’s mostly a good thing I think.

I've actually stopped picking up parcels at the nearest shop as there's just massive piles and sometimes it takes forever to find your one so I pay a few more pence to get it delivered to home or use one of the local lockers if offered. But I agree with what others have suggested that maybe as an income stream it's helping local shops survive.

We have two local Post Offices. One is primarily a post office that sells stationery items. It's always busy and has a post box outside that has several collections per day. It's on a local suburban high street.

The other is down towards the large common and right next to the local primary school. A few years ago, the owners were concerned that the primary school's successful bid to close the road just beyond the shop would ruin business. It didn't, the shop is a post office, an Amazon drop off/pick up point, a really good convenience store, off licence and THE place for new/special edition chocolate bars you've not seen anywhere else. There's stuff you can't get at the local Coop.

How do you think small businesses make money? Do you think they go the trouble of opening a shop just to be helpful?

"Well, I suppose as I'm going to be open anyway, I might as well inconvenience myself by becoming a kind of free post office for anyone who wants to return a parcel."

The one near me has a handwritten sign by the label printer that basically shames people into buying sweets or a drink while they are in.

Our village lost its only shop before parcel shop dropoffs became a thing, so I think anything that helps rural shops not close altogether is a good thing.

Our corner shop has a machine outside. Shop fairly normal inside. Bread horrendously expensive and toastie.

The one up the road looks like a parcel.shop. never going in there again.

Of course they get a fee. They’re not going to be providing that service for free are they!

I’m guessing @Lomonald doesn’t run a business if she thinks shops operate a parcel service for fun!

Yes, they do get a fee; but I can well see how you could think their business interest in processing parcel returns could be purely in giving people a reason to come into their shop, naturally hoping that they will spend money whilst there.

With big supermarkets and online shopping itself, physically getting people inside your shop door in the first place can be quite a challenge - so anything that brings them in has to be a potential win.

my local one gets about 20p a parcel so it’s not huge amounts but it definitely adds up and brings people in as well. I occasionally make a point of buying an overpriced chocolate bar as well 🤣

The thing is, though - and I'm absolutely not getting at you personally - that we see their goods as 'overpriced' when compared to prices at supermarkets; but is that the actual reality of it?

How many people who own and run their own local shops earn so little that they have to rely on UC to top up their income to a living wage? Whereas with the big supermarkets, there are many, many workers in that boat - so if taxpaying consumers are having to subsidise big businesses that pay artificially low wages, are the goods that you can buy from there at a lower price actually cheaper overall if you look at the bigger picture?