Enshitification

[Goodawn]

Is it just me or is online shopping becoming harder?

Idk where to look and google throws up utter tat for me - Shein, Temu etc. They take weeks to arrive and awful quality.

Shops that I used to like have now 5,000 dresses to choose from eg John Lewis.

I know exctly what i want, so not after inspiration.

I might turn to a local dressmaking I'm fed up. I don't mind paying more but I make mistakes with things I don't wear and thr gets expensive.

Anyone else?

I really really miss the high st, not a fan of online shopping, it's so difficult to browse.

I do find it weird that the UK has allowed in-person shopping to decline so much. Like, the UK has so many rainy days - what do people do when it’s wet, just sit around at home all day?

It can be a bit overwhelming on sites like John Lewis or ASOS. I use a filter so I look for a dress only from these brands, or this length to narrow it down. I do it in small chunks, so maybe 4 or 5 brands, then choose some more.

I do miss the old high street and even trawling round the individual websites for Topshop, Warehouse and the rest.

I think many people have more going on in their lives such that they don't need to equate shopping with leisure. Can you really think of nothing else to do on a rainy day?

The White Rose in Leeds is always packed on a rainy weekend!

God knows why, its awful these days. No decent shops at all

It's got a Spud-U-Like 😂

Yes, of course there are other things you can do on a rainy day. But I need to get out of the house every day without fail, and get some walking in. There are things like museums, but shopping (some window shopping and also picking up some needed items) adds a bit of variety too.

It's awful, a lot of places have started charging for returns too.

everything is so homogenous now & because so many prefer cheaper & more quantity a lot of the decent shops have lost out to cheaper competition. I understand why shops charge for returns though.

It’s so annoying. Shops never have a full range of sizes in stock and buying online for me is really unsuccessful size wise. Plus I just don’t like half the things when I see them in person.

Oh what a fabulous word. Definitely one that can be used for all types of shopping now especially food products. Eg Cadburys' chocolate has endured a significantly high level of enshittification in recent years. And yes I definitely think you're right in regards to clothes too!

I think this is part of the reason Im so sales obsessed TBH. If I just look at the sale options it cuts things from 1000s of options to just a few (plus I get a bargain as well!).

The thing that annoys me with searching online is when it's not possible to filter adequately. There's never as much filtering as I would like - I would like to exclude from the search all cropped items, and even I would like to exclude all things which are not 'cropped' officially, but too short on me, and nobody is offering me a 'search by measurements' - but some are very poor. If I'm searching for cotton or linen, I want cotton or linen, not 'cotton rich' or 'linen rich' items (or the same for wool). They're cotton or linen poor to my mind.

I do appreciate the availability of online second-hand shopping, as a person with specific tastes. There's a greater chance of me finding something I like than I could have in physical shops.

I'm plus sized. But most clothes I buy end up in the bin sfter a year (poor fabric quality). I have considered doing a course in sewing and clothes-making so I can do a bit of slow fashion and make things that last and wash well. But it's finding the time.

Or I've considered saving up a bit of cash and buying clothes that have good quality "build" and will last much longer. I love Marina Rinaldi but it's pricey!

It's a conscious decision how to buy clothing and the consequences for the planet. I hate shopping in person, as a plus sizer it's a dispiriting experience. Retailers like Simply Be, Very and New Look do cater for me, but I'm increasingly finding them to be a false economy.

Good point about filtering.

I would actually like Google to remember that I will never buy something shipped direct from China, so don't show me.