Failing retailers

daveyjp

You are all wrong. Businesses are failing due to the weather, it must be true as it is mentioned every time another retailer goes under. Last year it was too cold, this year it has been too warm!

wymondham

HAMISH_MCTAVISH wrote: »

For the first time this year, I've completed all my Xmas shopping online. And thinking about it, this year around 70% of the money I've spent purchasing stuff has been online....

I don't think we can underestimate the massive change that's happening in the way people buy things nowadays.... An awful lot of money is being taken out of spending in high street shops and going online instead. Inevitable that more will close in coming years I suspect, and that the amount of retail space will shrink.

Indeed - the days of having high street shops for anything other than daily basics must be coming ..... Who buys a fridge/freezer from the guy in town when its cheaper with wider range, free delivery and online elsewhere..??

wymondham

vivatifosi wrote: »

That's an important point. Personally I don't like buying clothes online but will buy pretty much anything else. I tend to use testimonials on sites like Amazon and customer-centric resources like Which? magazine. One thing I hate about internet retail though is being asked to rate my "customer experience" (yawn). At least when I go into a store I don't get someone grabbing me on the way out and asking if I was happy with service.

Whenever I get asked (which is annoying) I always leave a bad review - often you will be contacted and sometimes compensated... makes online even cheaper!

misskool

I buy everything online. The last thing I bought in the shops was a jumper in the middle of an airport as I dropped one going through immigration and I was cold.

Many shops have free delivery and free returns which means you can try clothes in the comfort of your own home. Shoes are not a problem, just buy 2 sizes and return one.

I don't like crowds and my main problem is that shops normally have the heating on too warm. You have to take off your coat and sundries to browse and then put it all on again when leaving the shop.

chucknorris

HAMISH_MCTAVISH wrote: »

There will always be a place for some types of retailer on the high street, not everything is suitable to being sold through an online business model, but I wouldn't be surprised if there were half the number of shops around in 10 years that there are today.

Well this is the problem, it's going to have an impact on the value of commercial property, I think we might end up doing what I never thought I would and just hold cash (and a bit in shares of course) and just suffer the depreciation.

chucknorris

misskool wrote: »

I buy everything online. The last thing I bought in the shops was a jumper in the middle of an airport as I dropped one going through immigration and I was cold.

Many shops have free delivery and free returns which means you can try clothes in the comfort of your own home. Shoes are not a problem, just buy 2 sizes and return one.

I don't like crowds and my main problem is that shops normally have the heating on too warm. You have to take off your coat and sundries to browse and then put it all on again when leaving the shop.

LOL I won't tell you what I thought you said about 'taking off you coat and .........'

We also buy most things online including our weekly groceries, delivery is free by Sainsburys Tues - Thurs if you spend at least a £100, although that means sometimes we only have 3 deliveries a month.

HAMISH_MCTAVISH

chucknorris wrote: »

Well this is the problem, it's going to have an impact on the value of commercial property, I think we might end up doing what I never thought I would and just hold cash (and a bit in shares of course) and just suffer the depreciation.

In my opinion there is too much retail space in this country for the future needs of retail, but the likeliest scenario is that the space will simply get used for something else. Either another form of commercial use, offices, pubs, restaurants, leisure, hotels, etc, or converted to residential.

At the end of the day most retail locations have a lot going for them in terms of being central, close to the things people want to do and places they want to go. Which makes them ideal for conversion to alternative uses.

HAMISH_MCTAVISH

chucknorris wrote: »

LOL I won't tell you what I thought you said and taking off you coat and .........

We also buy most things online including our weekly groceries, delivery is free by Sainsburys Tues - Thurs if you spend at least a £100, although that means sometimes we only have 3 deliveries a month.

Some Tesco stores now do more business through online deliveries than they do instore.

Which of course is little more than a return to the old days when the local grocer would have a fleet of boys delivering groceries on bicycles.

The more things change, the more they stay the same.;)

Joe_Bloggs

It might help the prospects of online retailers if there was a better way of collecting stuff when you are not in. Letter box sized cans/packages are a thought.

More secure places to pick up stuff in your local area are worth some investment.

Why not pick up online stuff from local shops, for a fee. It's not original but it's not really taking off as a national system.

J_B.

MrRee_2

Barrets Priceless shoes are utter rubbish ...... people have plenty of money these days, everyone knows that you should never, ever buy a cheap bed or a cheap pair of shoes!!

Shoes should cost you a minimum of £100 - anything less and you are cheating yourself.

Peacocks are in trouble too - again, cheap tat for sale - people want to spend decent money on decent items of clothing.

Blacks - well, they are just sitting without a customer base ..... Go Outdoors and Millets do what they do, for cheaper.