Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Covid

Mumsnet doesn't verify the qualifications of users. If you have medical concerns, please consult a healthcare professional.

Original poster

Have you been non-essential shopping yet and was it busy?

83 replies

PuzzledObserver · 17/04/2021 19:44

We went to Solihull yesterday - nearest big shopping centre, 15 miles away. Seriously exciting to get outside of home turf for the first time in months..... not that Solihull town centre is exciting in itself, just that it’s the furthest I’ve been from home since July.

I wouldn’t say it was particularly busy, either in the streets, or inside the shops we went in. Apart from Marks and Spencer - we had to dodge people in there.

Sad to see several empty shops. Especially since one of them was Cotswold Outdoor, which was our main reason for going there.

OP posts:
AnxiousAlpaca · 17/04/2021 19:47

I went to the city centre on Monday early for a hair cut and it was the busiest I’ve seen it in a long time. Definitely more people on public transport too. Still not heaving though. Oddly gym was packed on Monday, come Tuesday it was dead again Grin

IceCreamAndCandyfloss · 17/04/2021 19:50

No, seeing the pictures on news websites remind me how much I enjoy shopping online.

Retrievemysanity · 17/04/2021 19:52

We went today. Also West Midlands (not Solihull). Loads quieter than I thought it would be. We needed school shoes. Really nice actually.

MRex · 17/04/2021 19:53

@AnxiousAlpaca

I went to the city centre on Monday early for a hair cut and it was the busiest I’ve seen it in a long time. Definitely more people on public transport too. Still not heaving though. Oddly gym was packed on Monday, come Tuesday it was dead again Grin
Maybe people still had to get their January single trip done!

We're going on Monday as lots of schools go back but DS is still off pre-school for an extra day. He's 3 and close to bursting with excitement but doesn't quite believe there are toy AND book shops, because he doesn't remember them. He only went to farm shops last summer and food shopping very recently. Hoping it'll be quiet so he has lots of room to explore.

IggyAce · 17/04/2021 19:54

Been to the local outlet park today, it was busy but the only a few stores had queues. I got ds stocked up on t-shirts from gap.

sherrystrull · 17/04/2021 19:59

We went to the local toy megastore on Thursday night. Was really quiet. I was surprised

RachelRavenRoth · 17/04/2021 19:59

I went to debenhems on thursday. It wasnt busy hut by the looks of the shelves it was busy earlier on the week!

roses2 · 17/04/2021 20:00

I went to London Oxford Street today. A reasonable amount of people but nowhere near pre covid levels and none of the shops had queue to go in. Really sad to see.

TheTurn0fTheScrew · 17/04/2021 20:02

went to the city centre on Thursday AM as the DC had Christmas and birthday vouchers that they were itching to spend. It was fine. Ridiculously long queues to pay in Primark, although not to get in. short but slow moving queue to get into Forbidden Planet. No queues anywhere else, and we had a lovely lunch out in the sun.

HeddaGarbled · 17/04/2021 20:05

Small town, high street busy but not the individual shops. I hope they do get the customers soon.

Angel2702 · 17/04/2021 20:06

It was a lot quieter than I expected, didn’t have to queue to get in any shops and not too busy inside. Had to queue a bit longer to pay but not the dreadful experience I had expected. At least the kids have clothes that fit now.

BogRollBOGOF · 17/04/2021 20:08

I did some essential shopping at a shop on a retail park as there's a limit on how long children can keep wearing holey, bald trainers and undersized clothes. The ball pump was also essential as 10 flat balls are all pretty useless!

The car park was comfortably busy. Not hard to find spaces. No queues. Well I can't vouch for the blue Swedish shop at the far end as the entrance wasn't in my line of vision.

I've got no interest in browsing for pleasure until the more impractical and unpleasant restrictions are gone. I haven't set foot in the big shopping centre in town since 23rd July, and won't unless absolutely essential before I can walk around it without fear of harrassment.

TheTurn0fTheScrew · 17/04/2021 20:14

locally, the big blue Swedish shop was fine off-peak. DH works opposite one. I gave him a ( 2 item) list on Friday to pick up at some point over the next month whenever it looked quiet. He turned up with the things that evening, having called in at 17.00 after work, seeing the car park was pretty empty.

MRex · 17/04/2021 20:22

I feel bad for hoping it's quiet on Monday, I want the shops to do well. I'll have to buy more.

fizbosshoes · 17/04/2021 20:29

I went to the local school uniform shop on Monday, it's a small shop and 4 people only. There were 4 of us in there when I went and 1 person waiting outside. Having said this, I've no idea what their usual level of custom is on a Monday morning outside the school holidays. It was fairly busy in the town I live (all the hairdressers were busy!) but not excessively so.

TheFuckThatIGave · 17/04/2021 20:30

Yes, I trundle in to our local town centre three or four times a week anyway and we will now go to the pub for a quick one every Sat & Sun as well. It's much much busier this last week and long may it continue - its so good to see life back in the place!

AnnaSW1 · 17/04/2021 20:31

Today yes. Busy but not pre covid busy.

picklemewalnuts · 17/04/2021 20:34

I'm fancying IKEA and Decathlon. Possibly with a bit of M&S thrown in, too.

Can't quite bring myself to go yet. Hoping everyone else will go first.

Amelia666 · 17/04/2021 20:49

It was quieter than expected (although I was only walking to a facial rather than inside shops), but it was so love to see everyone out in the sun - the joy on faces was fabulous to see. Everyone just relaxed and normal except more aware and respectful of everyone around them than normal 😂

FeelinHappy · 17/04/2021 20:58

Lots of space in our small town today. No real queues, even at the kids' shoe shop. Less busy in any one shop than in more local shops like Tesco express etc.

2boysand1princess · 17/04/2021 20:59

Went to my local shopping retail park to return some kid’s stuff I had bought online, was much quieter than expected for a Saturday.

needadvice54321 · 17/04/2021 20:59

I've been into town to go to the bank and get DS's hair cut, but didn't go into the shops. I need to get a few bits soon though, but will wait for a week or so

MythicalBiologicalFennel · 17/04/2021 21:05

Yes and it was very busy. I went to two shops, one (locally owned) well-managed and the other (national chain) where the staff couldn't care less about social distancing or maximum number of people and I felt unsafe for the first time this pandemic.

CinnamonStar · 17/04/2021 21:06

I took Dc in last week for some new clothes. We looked in a handful of small clothes shops, there were others inside but not busy.

Dd2 was excited to spend her Christmas money in the toy shop, and we enjoyed having lunch outside a cafe.
Small town was bustling, it felt optimistic and uplifting rather than uncomfortably overcrowded.

Bordois · 17/04/2021 21:08

Yes, we went in this afternoon and it was fairly busy but not too mad. Most restaurants/ bars had loads of people sitting outside eating and/or drinking and plenty of people were shopping. Was lovely to see.