Retailers 'facing critical financial issues'

ukcarper

worried_jim wrote: »

I haven't been "high st" shopping since 2005. I have a 24hr Tesco superstore and an M&S on an out of town site half a mile away with free parking. If they don't sell it, I don't buy it. For everything else there is Amazon and ebay. Why would anyone go any where where they have to pay to get to (bus etc), pay to park and be surrounded by shell suit wearing, shoplifting alkie scallies (Brighton city centre).

It's obviously you haven't they stopped wearing shell suits a long time ago.

Going4TheDream

grizzly1911 wrote: »

Not even clothes?

Whilst I am not really any bigger than 5 years ago (honest) I do find that sizes don't seem as well proportioned as years gone past.:(

I agree but most internet clothes suppliers tend to have a free returns process, no more hassle than having to take something back to a store but without paying for the car parking to do so?

HAMISH_MCTAVISH

We do about 90% of all our shopping online, usually from wherever is cheaper provided they ship quickly.

Instore customer service is only important for a tiny minority of items, but when it is I choose to frequent those places that offer the best service and don't really care about the price.

The retail environment is changing rapidly, suspect it will look a lot different in ten years.

hillcats

I think that the end result will be a few 'viewing only' retailers that will remain and after viewing the only option will be to purchase on line as per the norm now... My first thought before most purchases is can I find the exact same product cheaper on line!
I've even been in a large retailer very recently and whilst viewing a product I was interested in, I found exactly the same but it was £25 cheaper online which couldn't and wouldn't be matched by the store, I walked out and ordered and have since taken free delivery of this item.
We are killing our own stores, with the unfortunate loss of jobs which will eventually follow, sad but true.

Miss_Havisham

WHS is a really good example of companies just not moving with the times - are they arrogant or just not aware of what is going on around them ? Why pay £3 for a birthday card when you can get an equally nice one in the market or Card Factory for 85 pence ? People can't afford to be so "precious" about the quality of cards, wrapping paper etc etc (same goes for Clintons).

I used to go into our local WHS for books - they replaced half the book section with a coffee bar. Result - Waterstones move in next door with a tremendous range of books and they are packed out most days, people still like to buy "physical" books. The appeal of a book is very often the front cover illustration, the back cover info and having a guilty flick-through and read. They have a lot of celeb book signings too - WHS doesn't have room now that the espresso machine takes up half the first floor.

Staples - a large shed of a building with a much reduced range of stock over the past few years. They sell stationery, packing materials etc but they don't offer post office services and they stopped their fixed price courier services. They sell photo paper and inks but don't offer a photo-printing service. They could offer art and craft supplies, computer classes (set up website, photo editing etc)

Stores need a "gimmick" nowadays to pull people in. Once in, shoppers will look at other stuff and hopefully buy. Prime example - the M&S £10 dinner for two promotion. How many people nip in to buy it and don't pick up several other items they hadn't planned to buy ? How many men will buy the meal as a romantic surprise for their women ? They pick up flowers, bottle of wine, birthday card etc at the same time - no searching they are all placed next to the food or the tills. In and out the store in 10 mins. Result.

Costa Coffee use just 3 main ingredients - coffee, milk and water. Add in a few bottles of flavourings, fancy tea bags and a small range of cakes (bought in daily) and you've got a store with easy stock control, minimal storage needs and getting good prices on high volumes of a hand ful of supplies. Ditto McD's - they offer a lot of items but most are based on the same burger,bun and fries with just minor diffs.

Thorntons - years ago you had to go into their shops to buy their chocs, and what a wide range of unusual goodies they sold and they were viewed as a premium product. Nowadays you can pick up a box of Thorntons when you pay for your petrol and their shops have dropped the more luxury end and specialty chocs.

Anyway just my ramblings.

Miss H

i_love_it

also been doing majority shopping on line for more than 5 yrs now.
Some larger purchases I do like to go instore.

Earlier this month needed a new laptop, old one long overdue, saw this as large purchase investment did not want cheapest product but genuinely interested in latest technology and wanted informed advice, test out product and take away that day.

John lewis I considered (having worked there 20 yr ago) have knowlegable staff and Im so out of touch I want advice.
Will certainly pay for this.

No avail, not one member of the staff knew a thing about windows 8, couldn't give me a demo, told me instruction would be inbuilt, etc
Ok, but just looking t this model, I cant even get the basics, how do you close a page or switch from net to mail.......

You would have thought I was asking them to recite passages from Shakespeare.

The high street still produces impulse feelings via their shop windows, once you are out and about many of us are caught out by an impulse buy, shop windows displaying stuff we never knew we needed, recently I saw some shoes I absolutely did not need of a brand I previously loved, I asked inside the store do you have these in a 6 or 7, I rambled on I am really a 6.5 but would like to try,.,,...
assistant came back we have them in black in a 5? would you like to try........

One more incident, I went to buy some recordable dvds to dub films from my hard drive recorder I've had for years but never used the record to disc option, a bit confused in store by the dvd+ or DVD- options, I made the mistake of assuming a sales person could shed some light on the difference......

Err these are dear what your looking at, we've got some cheaper ones ere, why don't you just try a pack of dese and then chuck em if its not the right one

My first job was in retail so I hate to appear to belittle retail staff, I know they are not academics (me neither) but seriously, what happened here. Cant they know a little of what they are selling or even apply a little common sense (the size 5 shoe)
No wonder the high street is almost extinct.

I bought all 3 items btw, online after a bit of googling

vivatifosi

Sky News is running a piece on the high street this morning. Says that the number of empty stores has increased from 1 in 20 stores start of recession to 1 in 6 now. It also mentions the increase in pop-up shops as a retail concept, but said there are no stats to measure their impact.

i_love_it

flashnazia wrote: »

Meanwhile on the Grabbit board some of the usual culprits are striving away to find the latest 'glitch' or 'code stack' in order to rip off retailers and then complain that they 'will never shop there again' if their dodgy orders are declined.

Yes rent is an issue but so is the problem of 'consumers' having a misguided sense of entitlement; as if shops are evil for wanting to make a profit hence it's somehow morally ok to rip them them off...

I think you are referring to the high street giants here and they are always one step ahead of us, the realisation of our dumb down nature to pricing and product worth has these big players taking the proverbial out of us ordinary folk.

For sure I have taken advantage of an M&S glitch or a boots offer double discount but no where near as often as I visit the store to buy essentials

Never have I got so hung up on a discount deal on something I don't need or really want that got declined that I got that sense of complaint to allow it to consume me and rant over it (although I have seen it so get that angle of your view)

But retailers like m&s used to offer an honest price, never the cheapest but honest for the product quality.

But they have sold soul to compete, so they sell xmas trees, on 3 for 2 ?
Who??? wants 3 xmas trees?

I remember a thread on here maybe 2 yr ago when fellow mse's were joining forces to buy this deal

M&S laughing all the way to the bank, the divided charge for 3 was the target retail price, it was never a deal for us........

Same goes for boots, how they get away with 3 for 2 boxed up tat year on year pushing this as a deal is beyond me but us, the consumers lap it up.#

The last honest purchase I made was a new mini back in 2004 I say honest, of course mini maximised profit, but it was honest because the price was set, people were willing to pay it, you knew the sale before yours & the sale after yours was the same ££
No discounts, no gimmick. it was worth it because consumers paid it,

I'd love to return to that, everywhere, an honest price for 6 eggs, 6 yoghurts

Even the more reputable companies have cashed in on our misplaced eye for deal, everything is 30% off year round.


Rant over on having the wool pulled, the retailers I really want to support are the indies, the ones who's livelihood depends on our custom, who supply us with quality stuff be it food or unique home furnishings or clothing if budget allows. I really want these guys to stay on the high street, of course the big players are required too as they get better deals and discounts on mainstream supplies to pass on to consumers but I really would like us to return to honest pricing to accommodate everyones need whether single or family of 9

The current strategy has run its course & isn't really working for consumer or retailer it would seem

kabayiri

i_love_it wrote: »

...
Never have I got so hung up on a discount deal on something I don't need or really want that got declined that I got that sense of complaint to allow it to consume me and rant over it (although I have seen it so get that angle of your view)
...

I know exactly what you mean.

I was thinking about one of the latest discussions in the MSE bargain forum - this Archos tablet in Tesco at £49.

I am sure it's a good price, but do I really need it? There seem to be plenty of laptops and ipad thingies here already.

I tried to shop for last minute pressies in our local village; beauty therapy vouchers mainly. I know this will put money back into the local economy.

BobQ

Thrugelmir wrote: »

Wonder if Amazon will now become a hot news topic in the New Year.

Guess it's up to us as consumers to make a choice of whether we want a High Street or not.

True but as ever the problem is that you could be wasting your money saving the high street while the rest of us look short term and go to Amazon etc.