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Original poster

Is anyone “going for a wander around the shops” anymore

197 replies

Makinganewthinghappen · 22/07/2020 07:55

I used to enjoy going for a wander around the shops, charity shops, books shops etc and just picking up bits and pieces.

Since Covid though it’s just not enjoyable doing that - Don’t get me wrong I’m not complaining about the measures taken I know they are needed but it has made a relaxing rummage pretty impossible. Wearing a mask, the one way systems etc and notices not to touch anything your not going to buy makes are a little off putting!

I really miss my little trips to our local shops and I have been trying since they reopened to get back into the swing of it Smile one or two have on mine delivery which I have used but most don’t, a few have already shut down.

Is anyone else finding shops difficult to use at the moment? I feel bad for not supporting the shops - I literally live on the Main Street I look out of the window and see how empty they are!

OP posts:
fififorgetmenotforgot68 · 22/07/2020 09:58

I am ordering online from now on.. I can put up with the reistrictions in the shops..But the reason why I've stopped going is that I'm sick to death of the strange looks folk give you. To top it all the "Scarasic" comments folk come out with !!!...2 folk this week have had ago at me..I've done nothing wrong !! (One had ago when I was in a queue) ..If people feel like this towards other folk why don't they stay at home or even better keep there rude comments to themselves...These people are no more important than me !!! We "Are All In This Together"...

Yesyoudoknowme · 22/07/2020 09:59

Wearing face masks for me is a nightmare - I wear glasses and hearing aids and lip read. I will not be going anywhere other than for our weekly shop now I'm afraid. Mind you i won't half save some money Grin

Crimblecrumble1990 · 22/07/2020 10:00

I want to go and spend my measly maternity pay with a wander around the shops. Mainly to get of the house but also because I know they need it.

I could just about manage the other restrictions but face masks are the nail in the coffin for me in terms of a 'wander around the shops'.

The pubs/restaurants near me though are doing a great job of making things safe whilst still feeling normal so guess il be spending more time in those instead!

VoyageInTheDark · 22/07/2020 10:04

No not browsing anymore. I'm worried my toddler won't like seeing me in a mask

Jessemer · 22/07/2020 10:08

I would love to, but you’re not allowed to try clothes on, so I don’t see the point.

Nappyvalley15 · 22/07/2020 10:09

I've avoided shops with long queues outside but the ones I have been in have allowed customers to touch the goods. This includes clothes shops, a book shop and homeware. I also visited a shoe shop and was allowed to try shoes on.

DominaShantotto · 22/07/2020 10:12

Nope -the one way systems, queues and restrictions and generally unpleasant atmosphere fuelled by the mask issue mean shopping now is such an unpleasant experience that even the local supermarket induces a panic attack in me.

I won't be going at all after Friday. DH can go once a week and I'll be on the internet.

BeforetheFlood · 22/07/2020 10:23

I've had 2 attempts, one in our little market town and one in a bigger town with a shopping centre.

Little town - needed to buy birthday cards. There's one nice independent shop that sells lovely stationary, so I queued outside for 20 minutes to get in, and then felt rushed to choose the cards because of the people waiting outside, and forgot one birthday. Could have cried.

Big town - dd wanted something specific, so we went in and bought that item, then decided to nip into H&M as we passed it on the way back to the car. Except you don't really nip in anywhere anymore, so we queued and hand sanitised and walked around trying not to touch anything. Also trying not to be one of those catsbumface people about others not observing social distance. We both picked things up, but couldn't try on so went to pay. In the interminable queue we looked at the items we'd got and talked a bit about the things that have been in the news about fast fashion factories etc and decided that, actually, we didn't need these pretty 'meh' items anyway and put them back. (which probably isn't allowed.)

And I think that's my takeaway from that experience. Shopping itself isn't fun anymore and we don't need half of the stuff we pick up on a whim. So for me, from now on, it's buy a lot less and spend a bit more.

maddiemookins16mum · 22/07/2020 10:36

I haven’t had a wander round town since about 2018. As soon as M and S and Debenhams went from our town, I stopped going in.
I can get everything from Amazon, Dunelm, Asda/George and our brilliant Sainsburys which has a huge TU section.

WanderingMilly · 22/07/2020 10:42

I still go for a wander around the shops. More and more are opening up, the little market town near here now has stalls on market day and it's busy, meaning the shops get customers too. Garden Centres as well, there are some large ones not too far away, some are even opening their cafes (distanced of course) whereas before they were doing takeaway coffees only. And I've even found decent toilets which weren't crowded.

I don't mind wearing a mask so that isn't a problem for me. Yes, in some places there are queues but I wait.....I mean, what are people rushing back home to? I'm furloughed so nothing else to do, so might as well wait. Nice to browse once I get inside and I want to support the shops....

squishee · 22/07/2020 10:49

I miss shopping as it was in The Before Times. Taking your time browsing is no longer advisable, wearing a face covering gets me hot and bothered quickly, there are one-way systems and my pet hate - compulsory trolleys even if you only have one item. It's just no fun anymore.
I know all this is a necessary evil - just venting.

PumpkinPie2016 · 22/07/2020 10:56

I had to go into town the other day because DS needed shoes and I needed to have his feet measured. Plus needed a couple of other bits.

It was fine in the shops I went in but that didn't include clothes shops.

I could do with some new work clothes for when school restarts in September as I have lost a lot of weight recently. I'm dreading having to go and try and choose without being able to try anything on/limited touching.

I find wearing a face mask very difficult because my glasses steam up so it will be essential trips only after Friday.

FinallyHere · 22/07/2020 10:58

I've always hated shopping, from being dragged round the shops as a child while my mother and sister pfaffed around looking at everything

Lots of horrible things have happened recently and I am very, very grateful to the supply chain that enabled me to shop online.

If I never have to go into another shop, I BBC will count it a win.

starfish4 · 22/07/2020 11:01

OP, same as you I used to enjoy a potter, maybe having a coffee along the way. It's not the same and I can't quite relax like I used to. I've been into town twice as I need to get out and also trying to support the shops I'd like to be around whenever this is all over. Definitely spent less than normal when I've been though.

megletthesecond · 22/07/2020 11:02

No, but I never did. I'm a very focussed shopper.

I'll go to more shops from Friday when masks are mandatory. It'll be nice to shop for some food again.

OLGADEEPOLGA · 22/07/2020 11:07

I won't be going again any time soon, went last week and was just ridiculous and joyless. It was grim.

anon444877 · 22/07/2020 11:08

If you have a local shop you like but don’t fancy queues etc, worth calling or emailing as a lot have diversified into deliveries of various things.

OLGADEEPOLGA · 22/07/2020 11:11

No, won't be going as it's turned from a joyful experience to really quite grim.

OLGADEEPOLGA · 22/07/2020 11:12

Sorry told me my post hadn't posted so I rewrote it

Toddlerteaplease · 22/07/2020 11:20

Yes. Mooching round John Lewis is lovely now as it's so quiet!

SquirrelFan · 22/07/2020 11:25

I will be as soon as masks are mandatory! Looking forward to it.

JoysOfString · 22/07/2020 11:26

I love a potter round the shops and I like to take a day off work maybe twice a year to have a city wander, coffee and cake out, browse in shops and have a tour of John Lewis. I might buy clothes or make-up or something for the house, but typically it’s not about spending much, just a lovely potter. (I do actually mainly shop online because I’m fed up of never finding my size etc. And my city doesn’t have Uniqlo, other stories or a lot of the other shops I like.)

But I don’t want to go if it’s not going to be like that - it’s the freedom and being left alone that makes it nice.

The best option for a browse at the moment is a big supermarket, the kind with clothes, kitchen stuff, stationery etc. I go every couple of weeks to do a big food shop and have a wander round the other stuff too.

BogRollBOGOF · 22/07/2020 11:26

I had been shopping several times since June and have spent £££ catching up on the needs of growing children.

A couple of weeks ago I went to the museum in town and popped in to Waterstones and made some impulse purchases. It was nearly normal in there and in the likes of warehouse outdoors shops.

I will buy the DCs school shoes tomorrow and then shun as much retail as I can because I am frankly dreading masks coming in. I have claustrophobia, and struggle breathing in stale humid air and form for occasional panic attacks from those triggers. I also lip read and my auditory processing does not cope with the mask mumble.

I am frankly bricking myself at having to endure buying food (intolerances make it difficult to buy online).

So good bye non-essential retail/ High St, I'll see what survives when real normality resumes in 2021. Lets hope the masked crusaders are flush with the cash...

Northernsoullover · 22/07/2020 11:28

There is very little stock too. I popped into DW sports the other day and it was very sparse. The man on the till said they weren't going to get stock until the end of August.
I went into the local cancer research shop too and I got 'told off' 3 times. First was because there were already 6 people in the shop (I counted 4 but didn't see 2 hiding) second was for not gelling my hands (I had done them with my own rather than touch the machine). Then I went around the one way system the wrong way Confused.
I absolutely understand why, I was completely in the wrong but I still felt like a twat and I don't want to feel like an accidental twat when I go shopping.
I'll probably head into the shops when I can sit inside somewhere for lunch but only because my mum wants to go. Otherwise I won't bother.

Yellowbutterfly1 · 22/07/2020 11:29

I think once the wearing of face masks comes in on friends it will be the final straw for a lot of people.

I have no issue with using the hand sanitizer when I enter a shop and never get too close to others anyway but I won’t be going to shops unless I absolutely have no choice Come Friday.

I am not happy about the mask wearing but as I’ve said I will do if I have absolutely no choice but to go to a shop but I also refuse to stand outside and wait to be allowed in, they will just lose even more custom.

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