Today I bought....

[Silver Fox]

I am not an average shopper just a go in, get and leave rather than a browser.It might be my age but High St. shopping is hard work also the shops are not attractive environments and so much stock is just the same old.I recently had the chance to visit one of the smaller chains and it was bright, sparkling, with lovely displays.Whether it was because I had not been shopping for so long but it was uplifting and encouraging to buy.I feel very sad at the demise of so many of our established shops and the staff working there must have been existing under a cloud for so long but a shake up was needed for a long time and those who should have seen it didn’t, I don’t put this all down to on-line shopping.

 

[maymorganlondon]

I am not an average shopper just a go in, get and leave rather than a browser.It might be my age but High St. shopping is hard work also the shops are not attractive environments and so much stock is just the same old.I recently had the chance to visit one of the smaller chains and it was bright, sparkling, with lovely displays.Whether it was because I had not been shopping for so long but it was uplifting and encouraging to buy.I feel very sad at the demise of so many of our established shops and the staff working there must have been existing under a cloud for so long but a shake up was needed for a long time and those who should have seen it didn’t, I don’t put this all down to on-line shopping.

I think people are looking for shopping as entertainment, so it needs to be a fun, memorable experience. You need space and staff for that. The shops don't have enough staff, and they are obsessed, understandably , with getting sales out of every inch of store floor space.

 

[Kathy]

I bought a Cozee Home soft twist rug a few days ago, I just had an email from Hemes to say that it is on on the way to them.
I am looking forward to seeing it, as it had good reviews,but it did seem rather cheap to be very good.

 

[stratobuddy]

I used to enjoy browsing around shops but all the shops I liked have now gone, such as Maplin, Tandy, and various gadgety shops.

We still have a Debenhams and HOF, but last time I went to town (a 2 hour round trip by bus) I just collected the click-and-collect pen from Rymans and caught the next bus home.

When there were rumours of DEB and HOF in trouble about a year ago, I did have a quick look around (and I mean quick) and wasn't impressed.

 

[lynnonthelake]

I have booked a shopping slot at My local M&S for 8am next week, it means I don’t have to queue have given up on trying to get a delivery with Ocado.

 

[loveallthingsitalian]

I was going to do it Lynne but it only works with the sparks card and only for the one named person so one of us would have to queue anyway.

 

[loveallthingsitalian]

My 2 Skagen watches have been despatched, one yesterday, one today (they were ordered at different times).

But the strange thing is, one has full tracking, and the other has none.

As I said we have a lot of Skegan purchased since they first were available in UK so I know a lot about them.
I purchased one 2 weeks ago from another outlet and was dismayed when the inner cushion was replaced by a cheap bit of cardboard which had no shape. Thought it was the retailer and worried I had bought a return or something.
Then last week I purchased direct from Skagen a brand new design and low and behold it came with the cardboard as well. Luckily I have a dozen cushions so I picked the best one and used it as it was for a present.

TBH astounded that they resorted to this as it must have save half pence .

 

[stratobuddy]

The email with the tracking is from SKAGEN and shows it coming from Germany.

The email without tracking is from FOSSIL (the owners of Skagen) so I don't know where this is coming from.

I have one Skagen from about 5 years ago, in a titanium case. That had the cushion.

 

[loveallthingsitalian]

Mine usually come from Germany.

 

[Twilight]

I am not an average shopper just a go in, get and leave rather than a browser.It might be my age but High St. shopping is hard work also the shops are not attractive environments and so much stock is just the same old.I recently had the chance to visit one of the smaller chains and it was bright, sparkling, with lovely displays.Whether it was because I had not been shopping for so long but it was uplifting and encouraging to buy.I feel very sad at the demise of so many of our established shops and the staff working there must have been existing under a cloud for so long but a shake up was needed for a long time and those who should have seen it didn’t, I don’t put this all down to on-line shopping.

I love shops & shopping & it doesn't matter what I'm buying from clothes to DIY. There were many reports about retail companies being in trouble before the Chinese horror arrived & for many it was the final straw. I feel really sorry for all those losing their jobs & the fact that so many jobs are being lost in other sectors will make finding new employment even more difficult. Greed often causes a business to fail & as with empires their decline happens because they become too large.

 

[Toril]

I rarely go shopping, other than grocery shopping, unless there’s something that I really need and can’t get cheaper online and then I go to the shop, get what I want and go home.

 

[Deleted member 21102]

These shops really have been missing a trick. Why don't they flatten out their prices to average between online and high street so you get good high street prices, and the touchy-feely display in shops will pay their rent etc? That's one area where they can beat the online stores only.

 

[SusieSue]

I think people are looking for shopping as entertainment, so it needs to be a fun, memorable experience. You need space and staff for that. The shops don't have enough staff, and they are obsessed, understandably , with getting sales out of every inch of store floor space.

I must admit that I'm biased because I work for them but have any of you visited The Works recently?

Yes we have lots of tat for the kids but we do have a fantastic range of books at huge discounts, paperback novels at 3 for £5.00 for example plus biographies, history, lifestyle, children's picture books at £10 for 10 and loads more, and we do try to make sure that the stores are safe and the welcome is warm.

And the staff don't get freebies

 

[Twilight]

I must admit that I'm biased because I work for them but have any of you visited The Works recently?

Yes we have lots of tat for the kids but we do have a fantastic range of books at huge discounts, paperback novels at 3 for £5.00 for example plus biographies, history, lifestyle, children's picture books at £10 for 10 and loads more, and we do try to make sure that the stores are safe and the welcome is warm.

And the staff don't get freebies

I've been a regular customer for years. My daughter did Art GCSE & A level so I was forever buying sketch books & equipment & with a 7 year old granddaughter who loves drawing it's my first place for gifts. The book offers are great & I've been introduced to a number of authors I now love. A happy place to shop.

 

[Vienna]

I must admit that I'm biased because I work for them but have any of you visited The Works recently?

Yes we have lots of tat for the kids but we do have a fantastic range of books at huge discounts, paperback novels at 3 for £5.00 for example plus biographies, history, lifestyle, children's picture books at £10 for 10 and loads more, and we do try to make sure that the stores are safe and the welcome is warm.

And the staff don't get freebies

I love The Works. Both of my grand daughters are mad keen artists and go through art supplies at an enormous rate but I`d much rather that than them glued to a phone or a games console . I missed calling into my local branch during lockdown.

 

[merryone]

I rarely do high street shopping in my town, and this is because we've got hardly anything that isn't either a ladies fashion store, or a coffee shop. Debenhams was one place I did go fairly regularly due to their wide range of goods, the brilliant sales, and perfume department, again often loaded with bargains. Long live Robert Dyas, that's all I can say!

 

[Sazza]

As I said we have a lot of Skegan purchased since they first were available in UK so I know a lot about them.
I purchased one 2 weeks ago from another outlet and was dismayed when the inner cushion was replaced by a cheap bit of cardboard which had no shape. Thought it was the retailer and worried I had bought a return or something.
Then last week I purchased direct from Skagen a brand new design and low and behold it came with the cardboard as well. Luckily I have a dozen cushions so I picked the best one and used it as it was for a present.

TBH astounded that they resorted to this as it must have save half pence .

I would suspect it could be a recycling issue not necessarily trying to save money, a lot of pressure on companies to make packaging that can be recycled.

 

[stratobuddy]

HOW ILLOGICAL

My £2-55 luggage straps are coming by Hermes and fully tracked.

But the silver eek necklace (much more expensive) is coming by RM with no tracking.

Both had the same PP,

 

[Vienna]

Shopping in all its forms is no longer special. Whether it`s in bricks and mortar stores, online or on the telly.
Those of us who recall pre internet shopping from our teens can maybe remember how a shopping trip was a twice a year luxury.
Our local town had lots of small shops and a thriving market but no large stores. Money was tight back then, few people could afford lots of clothes or expensive toiletries and so trips to nearby "big towns" were something to be excited about.
As a young teenager I remember catching a bus into Manchester with my Mum a few weeks before Christmas and it was my special treat going to choose some new clothes as my Christmas present for that year. The likes of C & A, Freeman Hardy Willis, a much bigger branch of Woolworth and so on, were teenage heaven. A new dress from C & A, some latest style shoes from FHW and some new makeup from the budget ranges in the big Woolies. Sheer heaven and that trip would be the last one until nearer the Summer when it would be a return trip to buy a few new items for our one week holiday to Butlins.
My Mum treated herself once a year on our pre Christmas trip to a bottle of Youth Dew so we`d head into one of the big department stores which was a perfumed paradise. The minute you went through the swing doors you were hit with the smell of a thousand cosmetic counters, each manned by elegant perfectly made up women wearing name badges and brand uniforms or colours.
Some of the perfumes were already gift wrapped in gold paper and with a ribbon and whilst Mum was waiting to be served at the Estee Lauder counter I`d be wandering around the other counters and was bedazzled by the beauty of them and testing everything from perfumes to lipsticks. I`d travel home smelling of things I`d never smelled before and itched for the day I would be able to afford lipsticks in gold cases, cut glass perfume sprays, fancy boxed soaps or diamante eye shadow palettes.
Our treat was to have lunch in the department store restaurant and it was dainty sandwiches and tea served in a china teapot and teacups. Then the bus home feeling happy, chuffed with our few purchases and something to talk about on the school bus the following Monday.
My Mum would walk around the department store handbag department and gently stroke the (to her) expensive leather handbags on sale there. She owned about 2 handbags similar to the style the Queen still uses and she`d had them for years. She loved the smell of the leather in that department but always said her one black bag and her one brown bag would serve every purpose but I remember her falling in love with a beautiful dove grey one.
When I left school at 16 and got my first full time job (wage was £7 per week) it was my first time going Christmas shopping alone. I headed off one Saturday and the first thing I went to buy was a dove grey leather handbag. She still had and used that bag many years later and when she died in 1987 and Dad asked me to empty her wardrobe, there was the bag, well used and containing her usual embroidered hanky, a few sweets and a comb.
By heck those shopping trips were special and nowadays nothing compares, we can buy what we want more or less when we want and without leaving the house if we choose to.

 

[Evie]

Vienna, you have captured the spirit of those special times perfectly You have taken me back to the magic of the sixties and some special times I was privileged to experience. Mine were based in London but just the same as yours.