Do you think the likes of home bargains/b&m need to close?

[mammamia345]

I don't understand why they are open.
Keep the supermarkets open (obviously ) but the majority of people don't go in home bargains etc for food so just close them.
They don't need to be open.

Sanitary towels and toiletries are so much cheaper as is washing powder we use almost half the price useful when there is allergies in the house.

I love home bargains and I love b&m but at the minute you've got people going in and buying a lamp,a coffee table,some 50% off Xmas stuff
Cordon off the aisles that aren't food/toiletries/cleaning products

The thing is though, plenty of people do use them for food. Okay, so some don't, but if you close them, the supermarkets will get busier. I think we need them open.

If we go into full lockdown I would actually be in favour of non-essential aisles being roped off, but then there's the battle of which ones they are.

It's always seemed unfair that we can still buy toys/electronics from supermarkets, yet specialised stores had to close. The supermarkets will have seen trade boom over the pandemic, whereas others will be pushed towards permanent closure.

Tape off the non essentials, limit numbers and stop groups shopping. Many are using it as a social active rather than only going out for essentials.

My point Is if your gonna shut the local furniture shop as it's "not essential" but then allow b&m to still sell flat pack furniture ..it's not right.

I buy a lot of food there as they are cheaper. Plus the cleaning products. If its not essential they don’t sell it.

You do realise that your chances of getting covid don't increase if you purchase a non-essential item, right? Also I'm presuming that everything you have purchased in a store since March has been an essential item that you absolutely could not be without yes?

If they properly limited numbers and one person per household/no social shopping that would be sufficient.

@mammamia345

My point Is if your gonna shut the local furniture shop as it's "not essential" but then allow b&m to still sell flat pack furniture ..it's not right.

What difference does it make? You let people in or you don’t. It doesn’t matter a flying fuck what they buy when they’re in there. Some people just love misery and seem to have been yearning for this all their lives.

@mammamia345

I love home bargains and I love b&m but at the minute you've got people going in and buying a lamp,a coffee table,some 50% off Xmas stuff Cordon off the aisles that aren't food/toiletries/cleaning products

Again though, there are people buying arbitrarily defined 'non-essentials' in all shops. Why have you singled out Home Bargains and other low-cost shops?

I personally think all shops should be open, I don't think they're fuelling transmission in any way and reducing the number open just brings people closer together.

I am a frequent shopper in Home Bargains and B&M and must be one of the few who don't buy much homeware stuff.
Nearly 100% of what I buy is food/drink. So I do see them as essential.

@IcedPurple what other shops ? Tesco/Asda etc ? They are main supermarkets which need to stay open as food is the main thing they sell.
Stop them selling the non essential items like scented candles /electronics too.

I think they are essential.

Things I have bought in ours in the last 6 months or so have been toiletries, washing powder, cleaning products, stationery, printer paper, thermals, children's footwear , children's waterproofs, gloves, garden tools, seeds, face masks, batteries, light bulbs, scissors, vitamins, painkillers, allergy tablets, replacement water bottle, clothes pegs, new smoke detector...

Our local supermarket is small and doesn't sell half those things, or just has a tiny expensive range. I have needed to buy them all, and the shop is in walking distance.

The alternative would be driving to a bigger supermarket or ordering multiple small things online, and paying multiple delivery charges.

I may be wrong isn't it because they sell pet food?
The one in my local area is within walking distance of two massive housing estates and I think a lot of people use it for cleaning stuff and bulk pet food also logs for wood burners.

They should close, supermarkets and food only shops. If B&M is to remain open all non food/cleaning items should be off limits.

I hate lockdown, but let's do this properly and make it the last one, please!

Going down the road of what is essential and what isn't is not a good idea.

@VinylDetective would you be saying the same if you were a business that was forced to close ?
Then you see "Sandra" in b&m buying one of the items you sell ? But you had to close as this item wasn't deemed "essential " enough for your business to remain open.

[quote mammamia345]@IcedPurple what other shops ? Tesco/Asda etc ? They are main supermarkets which need to stay open as food is the main thing they sell.
Stop them selling the non essential items like scented candles /electronics too.
[/quote]
But as has been pointed out many times, Home Bargains etc also sell food, pet supplies, cleaning materials etc. For many people they may be the nearest and/or cheapest place to buy such 'essentials'.

It seems pretty arbitrary to say that Waitrose can sell food and kitchen paper but Home Bargains can't.

Ours have been rammed with people, really unsafe, they all need to close except supermarkets with social distancing and a certain amount in at one time.

@IcedPurple like I said if they are going to keep them open keep those aisles open(food/toiletries /pet supplies etc ) but shut off the furniture /random tat

[quote mammamia345]@IcedPurple like I said if they are going to keep them open keep those aisles open(food/toiletries /pet supplies etc ) but shut off the furniture /random tat [/quote]
So no different from supermarkets then? Don't really see the point of your post.

As a foster parent I can have a new little addition to our home any time, day or night. I don't have everything I need for every age group so how do you define 'essential'? My nearest supermarket often doesn't even have basic babygrows so at times B&M et al have been essential to me for kitting out for a new arrival.

@Wannabegreenfingers

They should close, supermarkets and food only shops. If B&M is to remain open all non food/cleaning items should be off limits.

I hate lockdown, but let's do this properly and make it the last one, please!

Only if supermarkets shut off their non food/cleaning items too.

At the moment, the unfairness is appalling. Small shops forced to close, many with no support, yet the big supermarkets and Amazon filling their boots.

I've got a B&M near me and they're closer than the local Aldi and Iceland.

I would sooner go to B's than risk further exposure by going further.

The non-essential stock will be depleted and not be replenished anyway.