i am not surprised shops are closing with so much online shopping

[Marshtit]

i am totally guilty of online shopping
the thought of actual physical shopping for christmas fills me with dread
but i am not helping the small businesses

I dont feel guilty! Online shopping is much more convenient for me due to my working hours. Where I live, it costs £15 to park for more than 4 hours at a time, then you have to battle crowds of people, shops have less and less people on the tills so it takes longer to get anything. The last 3 times I tried to purchase a makeup product in a department store they didnt even have it in stock so it was a complete waste of my time -no guilt here I'm afraid.

Why should I go through all of that just for the sake of shopping in person?

Well, on the plus side for people like me who hate online shopping, the shopping centres are less crowded than they used to be, and the ones round here are still doing well. I love going shopping.

I went into a large shopping centre a few days ago. I found it totally overwhelming. Shops were chaos with stuff tossed around everywhere, no shopping assistants, huge crowds. I absolutely hated it. Sticking to online shopping. Going into shops is my idea of hell now.
its not a calming, fun experience. Loud music, confusing signage, jostling people and mostly poor choice.

It’s £5.50 per hour to park where I live. Hardly any tills open, men allowed in changing rooms, lots of stuff not in stock in shops and only available online. No guilt here at all!

I've done all my Christmas shopping online. I need to get one item from a shop, and I'm about two weeks off having a child free moment to get there buy it - IF they have it in stock, that is!

Online is easy, and retailers make it impossible to find things in store, no staff, self serve check outs only, are out of stock, or having to find time to fight for a (timed) park, to find it's out of stock - try the other store 15 min away.....

Scroll, click.... It arrives on my desk at work. And no impulse buys!!

I do feel sorry for the job market though and those who would have jobs in retail losing out.

Most of the small business where I live have extortionate prices. Some products are very well made and worth the price but a lot of the tat less so. We're constantly being guilt tripped into buying local but it's just not feasible for many folk.

Not to mention the chuggers in shopping centres now making the trip thoroughly unpleasant.

I shop online because it's easier for me than struggling to get to any shops. I still use our high street for the excellent butcher though....and sometimes just a mooch

Lots of small businesses to support online!

Yes- very true. Plus their prices are likely more reasonable due to not having extortionate overheads of renting a shop front

My dad just got a £60 parking ticket for being ten minutes over his allotted time. He has mobility issues and was horrified
parking is always awful and is killing off the shopping culture.

I can't stand shops these days. Never find what I am looking for and the parking or bus fares are high. Also, working full time means sacrificing visiting my grandchildren or mum at the weekend or any downtime at all if I trek to town. Online shopping rules here.

I feel like shops don’t actually want shoppers in anyway.

The self-service tills, the weird requests for email addresses (so they can promote their website) instead of receipts and occasionally the staff give the vibe that they just don’t want to be there.

Shopping in shops has become an utter chore.

Also, my town just has phone shops, charity shops and coffee shops. The nearest city to me has complicated parking where you have to text a number and wait for a reply just so you can pay to park.

It is very easy to buy from independents online. There’s a massive difference between supporting small online retailers and tipping your pockets out for Amazon for all your Christmas present requirements.

We have an online shop... there is no point to having a physical one. Our customers are all over the world.

I'll be going "Christmas shopping" one day but it will be stuff like Primark!

I do try to shop in person but it is rare I find something I like in my size, only one changing room open, no staff to be seen together with the ridiculously high parking fees puts me off.

Earlier in the year I went to nearest city with a long list and came back with nothing:
JL-make up oos/clothing & swimwear not in my size
Zara -looked like a jumble sale & massive queues
M&S - such a tatty store, grubby changing rooms & no sign of the lovely clothes shown in adverts

I could go on!

It's a bit of an egg and chicken situation because I would, genuinely, do more in person shopping if the whole experience wasn't quite so bad.

Parking in one of my nearest towns is pretty cheap and easy but the town layout is awful, requiring quite a bit of negotiating with traffic to get around, the place is tatty, half the shops are boarded up now and the other half are in a dire state: even the bigger brands (like Boots) look like a run down market inside.

The other town is much nicer but parking is tricky to find and expensive when you do find it - and like a pp said, payment is a bit more complicated than a few coins in the mtre now. Because less people shop like that, stock levels can sometimes be quite low so it's easy not be able to find the right thing in the right colour or size.

I try to avoid spending money at Amazon and so look up smaller retailers online - but that can make it harder to browse for inspiration for someone when I am not sure what to get them.

For the first year ever, I'm starting to wonder if it wouldn't all be much better if we (my friends/family) stopped getting each other presents and each just spent the money on ourselves on something we really wanted...

Well you all stay at home, it makes it much easier for me! We have a big centre close by with ample inexpensive parking, never been chugged, great range of shops, emails etc just say no, So much nicer being out and about with other people than stuck behind a computer screen, get enough of that at work.

Sorry but I think a lot of shops only have themselves to blame. I used to absolutely love going shopping in person and then covid happened.

The second lockdown ended I went out joyously to get back to shopping and the first shop I went into had this ridiculous one way system with arrows pointing literally everywhere- it really wasnt clear which way you were meant to be walking and lots of people were confused by it. I accidentally walked the wrong way (nowhere near anyone else) and got berated really rudely and loudly by a security guard who treated me like I'd just murdered someone in front of him.

I remember thinking at the time, if you carry on with that attitude, you'll be shut within a few months. They were.

If you want to compete with online shops then you have to treat customers with respect and be polite. They simply wont return otherwise- there is too much competition elsewhere to act like an arse and expect people to come back to you.

I feel like shops don’t actually want shoppers in anyway.

I agree with this. I went into 2 shops at the weekend and asked for help finding an item, both times I was told to check online.

For the first time this week they wanted my phone number so I could get my receipt.

No thanks!

I feel guilty too, but it is SO much more convenient to shop from your computer in the comfort of your home than it is to drive into town and park or take a bus or a train. Then you have to trail round the shops through crowds of people looking for what you want, half the time don't find it and you have to shop online anyway, then drag all the bags back to your car or on the train home. You arrive back after spending hours of your time and loads of extra money on parking/public transport than if you'd just shopped online and had it all delivered to your door.

Yes lol, this has been my experience the last few times I have been. Nothing I wanted in stock, told to look online.

Why on earth would I bother going back if I just get told to do it online? ridiculous.

I have never liked shopping and don't understand why it is seen as a leisure activity.
I order online where possible and tend only to shop for necessities.