No This is why the high street is dying and household names are failing!!!

Pennywise

Road_Hog wrote: »

Buying food or clothes, is a complete no, no. These items need to be seen and chosen in person.

Fresh food, veg and meat - yes. But not for tins, packets, frozen foods, etc. I go to the shops for the former and order online for the latter - best of both worlds.

Clothing - in theory yes, but in practice, most town centre shops stock a poor range of clothes - far less choice than their own websites in terms of styles, ranges, and sizes. I usually order several items online and then take or send back what I don't want - far more convenient than struggling around town centre with shopping bags and waiting in long queues for fitting rooms and cashiers.

IronWolf

I don't bother shopping at all nowadays except for clothes and food like everyone else.

Firstly, there's the time spent looking around shops for what you want, then there's actually getting to the shops. And all that might be worth it, but for the fact that its usually cheaper to buy it online anyway!

The only reason I go shopping on the high street now is if I need to buy a gift and have absolutely no idea what to get, I look around for inspiration. That's the one thing thats really hard to do online.

Kennyboy66

Road_Hog wrote: »

This is an urban myth that still persists. Due to slaughtering rules & regulation, not many butchers buy locally sourced meat. Many of them buy it on the wholesale market, just like supermarkets. You as just as likely to get ropey meat in a butchers.

I think the point was that you choose exactly what you want at a butcher (and the exact amount) rather than accept a pre packaged quantity that may have next to no shelf life.

Add that to the fact that typically the butchers I use has miles better quality product than the worst of the supermarkets (Asda and Tesco's whose meat is tastless pap) and for many cuts is cheaper.

If I had to go to a supermarket for meat, it would be Morrisons of Sainsbury (no Waitrose where I licve).

gailey_2

What a bad trip sames happened to me in past so frustrating!

My bugbear is very few high streets have a clarkes these days.
to get kids shoes in half and wide fittings is very limiting.

only 2shops in city centre

no small clarks in city suberbs anymore they all out of town which require a car and I dont drive and usually dont have and then its wasted flipping trip.

So best option for me is out of town mall free parking with hubby.
They have huge clarkes but rarly have my girls sizes so go few doors down to cliquards or john lewis andn usally get something I semi like for sake of having to get something.

I try and shop locally at corner shops.
nearest supermarket is large co-op
next one is saisnburys which is rubbish availaibility, crap service and even more self service tills.

had bad experince in nearest out of town boots only went in for aspirin for hubby.
tehy installed nearly all self serve but as it was medicine wouldent let me pay for it said go pharmacy.
pharmacy had huge queue and one member of staff.
lot of customers waiting had baskets full of sale stuff no medicines trying to avoid the self serve tills which keep shouting place good in bagging area.
so think be smart beg photo counter promise im not on suicide mission no they cant sell go to pharmacy.

then wait 15mins only to be quized where did i pick the tablets up from they shouldent be out on shop floor they over the counter only as was 32 pack! grrr!

Went to brantano they had no shoes in babys size.

was 3 for 2 on peococks but again short on sizes.

argos i try check online before going and reserve.

my local spar last year had drinks cabinet out of order for 3months in summer!

Im old fashioned yes love doing online but love instore too but service not what it used to be hate self serve! should get flipping discount for self serve!

hate going sorting office for parcels. think amazon setting up shops even.

Have done online food in past but like to see reductions and quality of meat and veg waitrose only ones I trust with fresh and they free delivery!

feel bit lost now tj hughues and woolies shut.
yes love jl but out my price range.
we go asda living as hate super stores as takes too long to get round so stopped going in tesco extras go lidls and farm foods where filling a trolly and paying takes 20-25mins!

Tippytoes

Ahhh...enjoyed reading this thread. I remember when....my local High Street (not a major city) had several supermarkets - anyone remember Pricerite and Fine Fare? - a small old fashioned department store (R U being served), McFisheries fishmongers, a "proper" babywear shop that sold coach-built prams, independent toy shops, butchers, Woolies, florists. In fact, you really could buy just about everything you needed. Goods were not mass-produced like they are now AND because most businesses were family-owned, prices were kean as well.

Same High Street in 2012? Woolies gone, no independent anything except the proliferation of Polish delis and world food stores. Bookies, charity shops and a Sainsburys. Oh, and lots of boarded up shops that haven't been occupied for years.

Pennywise

Shops just aren't moving with the times.

They're still in a time warp where they decided when to open, what to stock, what to charge etc.

Before the internet and retail parks, customers had no choice but to put up with what they were offered. Shops could get away with narrow ranges of goods, especially as the shoppers probably didn't know what was available elsewhere.

Take Lego - massive range as per their website or catalogue, but even today, toy shops (large & small) and supermarkets all stock the same limited range. If you want a particular set, there's no point in trawling around different shops as if Toys R Us don't have it, the chances are that Toymaster and Tesco won't have it instore either.

Chain stores and town centres need to re-invent themselves.

I think we are already seeing a return of smaller, independent, local shopping to cater for particular needs, i.e. specialisms and local requirements (i.e. where there is no convenient local town centre or superstore). I think the comment above re Polish shops was very pertinent. They're springing up everywhere to cater for local specific needs that the supermarkets and large retailers aren't catering for. I see that becoming far more common. If the town centres do contract then it's almost inevitable that we'll see at least a partial return to smaller stores - perhaps not on every street corner like it used to be, but certainly on shopping parades, in large housing estates etc., to cater for those unable or unwilling to drive to the retail park or superstore.

chewmylegoff

Road_Hog wrote: »

This is an urban myth that still persists. Due to slaughtering rules & regulation, not many butchers buy locally sourced meat. Many of them buy it on the wholesale market, just like supermarkets. You as just as likely to get ropey meat in a butchers.

the point was more that i want to see what i am getting before i buy it, so i don't get a lump of gristle that the man in the ocado warehouse has selected for me.

so if i could order my groceries online and then buy my meat from somewhere else convenient (regardless of where it was sourced from) then i would. however, there is hardly any point in ordering groceries online and then going to the supermarket to get the meat as you might as well just do all your shopping there once you get there, hence the reference to the butcher within walking distance.

A._Badger

Road_Hog wrote: »

This is an urban myth that still persists. Due to slaughtering rules & regulation, not many butchers buy locally sourced meat. Many of them buy it on the wholesale market, just like supermarkets. You as just as likely to get ropey meat in a butchers.

It's not an urban myth where I live. Three local butchers all source their meat from Kent and Sussex and display the names and addresses of the farms - and these are high st. butchers, not farm shops.

The quality is far removed from the shoe leather sold by most supermarkets (Waitrose honourably excepted).

Pennywise

Road_Hog wrote: »

This is an urban myth that still persists. Due to slaughtering rules & regulation, not many butchers buy locally sourced meat. Many of them buy it on the wholesale market, just like supermarkets. You as just as likely to get ropey meat in a butchers.

Not in our village butchers. He knows where his meat has come from (mostly very local, i.e. surrounding fields!). He has signs telling customers which farms (if local) the meat has come from. There is no question about the quality of the meat - it looks and tastes completely different from the feeble supermarket offerings. No doubt that's why he's still in business and often has a queue of customers outside onto the street on Saturday mornings!

A couple of the local farms also have farm shops selling meat that has come from their own stock. One of which does a roaring trade in salt marsh reared lamb every spring. Another has a few pigs and we actually won a "guess the weight of the pig" competition at the local village school - the prize was a few pounds of sausages and bacon from that very pig a few months later - and very tasty it was too!! There's another small holding that sells fresh eggs from an honesty box at the gate!

Greenst

I am glad I am not the only one to experience this retail madness, Mary Portas listen up !!!

It would be good to hear from someone on here who works in retail to get the other side of the view, the inside on why there's never anything in stock. Do the retail bosses not realise that cutting staff and putting in self serve tills only drives customers away?

Any retail workers out there? Can we have your views, especially anyone in management or decision making roles, be good to get your point of view!!!