Trip to the high street worra waste of time!

[merryone]

Got to buy a pressie for a relative who's birthday's in a few days, bit of a rush 'cause I'd kinda forgotten, anyway I decided there was a dvd she might like and searched hmv's website to see if they stocked it, yes they do and what's more it was on a 2 for deal. It's my day off today so I decided I'd get her the dvd and choose one for myself and perhaps watch it this afternoon, as I've nothing planned, thought it would be quite nice. Walked into town today went straight for the dvd racks and after much searching couldn't find it, so I went up to the counter and asked. I was told sorry but you can only get it online, however we can get it in for you next week. Oh well, may as well go home and order it online and have it delivered and hopefully it'll come in time. Good grief! A few years ago if they'd not got it in one store there were plenty of other places -Now there's nothing! Woolies, Virgin, Smiths to name but a few. Woolies and Virgin are no longer with us, and as for WHsmith's wtf do they do now, magazines and greetings cards, oh and I think they still do books - hopeless!

Looking up and down our high street and round the mall most of the shops are either clothes shops (obviously surviving 'cause people still like to try things on), mobile phone outlets, coffee shops and eateries. I have nothing against online shopping, but there are times when I just want to go out and buy something there and then but time and time again I come home empty handed 'cause I haven't been able to find what I want. As for department stores, we've got Debenhams, which is mainly clothing and beauty products, and Argos, which is great, but not exactly "browsable" is it?!

Note to self - if get the urge to go shopping - switch on your computer, 'cause that's what you'll end up doing. It's such a shame!

 

[donna255]

Yes, they all disappeared, people now download. Or mainly the recession caused so many record shops to close. Even HMV closed many stores we had two now just one.

Now its Starbucks, Greggs, Starbucks, Greggs, Costa, Starbucks,Cafe Nero, Starbucks. LOL Long ago on a Simpsons episode they went to the local Mall and all the stores had closed down apart from rows of Starbucks. How true has that become.

We are not too back in Belfast we have Poundland,B&M cheap cheerful for little things which fills the gap left by Woolies,Primark,Boots, M&S, House of Fraser,Debenhams and other smaller shops.

 

[grovesy]

We have just had a John Lewis open here last week and it is just small departments and I suspect they are expecting more sales via internet! There customer collection section is bigger than some of the departments!

 

[merryone]

Poundland! We've got more than our fair share of those ...we've got 4 branches all in walking distance of one another, plus a branch of Pound world and another smaller independent pound store which is virtually opposite one of the poundlands! They're handy don't get me wrong, but I'd be happy to lose a couple of them to make way for some decent shops like Wilkinsons, John Lewis, B&M....but no, it never happens. I don't mind having a look round the charity shops 'cause you never know what you'll find and it's a bit of fun...but the high street is no longer a place for serious shopping!

 

[mediastar]

I am afraid, I am as guilty as the next person, I use Amazon/ebay for dvds/cds for gifts. I couldn't abide the pounding background in HMV that you would have to traverse to get to the less "popular" (for that read quiet) ranges of cds and dvds! We no longer have any mainstream music stores here, but a shiny new shopping centre is slowly arising out of the bones and ashes of the old shopping area, we know it went ahead on the basis of a branch of John Lewis opening for the first time.

 

[merryone]

I am afraid, I am as guilty as the next person, I use Amazon/ebay for dvds/cds for gifts. I couldn't abide the pounding background in HMV that you would have to traverse to get to the less "popular" (for that read quiet) ranges of cds and dvds! We no longer have any mainstream music stores here, but a shiny new shopping centre is slowly arising out of the bones and ashes of the old shopping area, we know it went ahead on the basis of a branch of John Lewis opening for the first time.

Me too, I buy loads of things online, but there are times when I'd just like to be able to go down to the shops and buy something I fancy there and then, it's such a shame there just isn't enough for both high street and online shopping to thrive side by side. I can totally understand how this has happened,especially with music, what with downloads and everything being digital these days. In the olden days lol you'd probably meet a friend to go shopping and might pop somewhere for a quick coffee afterwards, now it seems the coffee and the food's the main event, and you might have a quick browse round the shops after if you can be bothered! A shopping trip just aint what it used to be, and is it just me here, but if I want to buy something in particular and I can't find it, I can't be bothered to buy anything else either and end up coming home empty handed, which I suppose can't be a bad thing! I just wonder which will be the next big high street name to bite the dust!

 

[Minx In Space]

I have enough love for shopping that there's plenty to go around for both online retailers and the DHS! It is true, though, that if we don't use the bricks and mortar shops, eventually they won't be there any more, and - I don't know about you - but I would hate not to be able to go shopping any more!! I'm very lucky where I live, as I'm in easy reach of Bluewater and London, both of which have fantastic shopping, but smaller shopping centres and high streets definitely aren't what they were. I would have thought WH Smith's would be the next to go, as I know they've been struggling for a while, but they seem to be moving all the local post offices that are shutting down into branches of WH Smith's, so maybe that will give sales a boost. I would imagine book shops must be feeling the pinch, as - of those that still buy physical books - a fair few probably order them on Amazon, or pick them up at the supermarket. At the moment, coffee shops are doing a roaring trade. Keep expecting the market to top out, but more and more seem to be opening and staying open, they're particularly popular with Mums with babies / young children around our way.

 

[grovesy]

Where John Lewis just opened here , I was surprised that Foyles have opened a store in the same area too! From that outside it looks like any other large book store! Half of this development is going to be cafes and restaurants and if that is not enough part of an older shopping precinct has been turned into a food area !

 

[merryone]

Do I NEVER learn! I was lucky enough to draw out an "easy to buy for" secret santa this year. Good mate of mine in and out of work, though we don't normally exchange gifts only on birthdays. I set about looking on line, and as she's a girl who really feels the cold, I found a pair of gorgeous fur trimmed mittens, a woollen snood, some funky wool covered handwarmers and a pair of snow grips to go onto your boots. ...all coming in at just a few pence more than the £10 suggested spend...Perfect, then I saw that p&p was an extra fiver, so I opted for click and collect, found that was also a fiver, however this comes with a five pound money voucher to spend - so why did I not order then and there? No, silly me, remembering that there's a branch of this retailer in walking distance of home, I decided I'd go down there and just buy the stuff, quicker and cheaper! WRONG!!!!
Walked into the store, found the gloves quite quickly, popped them into the basket and noticed they were a pound dearer than online, oh well! Snood - well of course they'd sold out of those, only having ones that cost 3 times the price of the one I was hoping to buy, hey ho, I'll buy it somewhere else, hand warmers? Looked around, couldn't find them, asked an assistant who said they'd be upstairs, couldn't find them, asked another assistant to be shown to the only hand warmers they sell, which were basically little foil wrapped bits of plastic that you use once and throw away, I said I'm looking for the reuseable ones with woollen covers...Oh we don't sell them, Oh and snow grips...sorry!!!! Disheartened, I popped the gloves back and looked around some other likely places...no joy could only find stuff that was really expensive, and not exactly much fun for a secret santa pressie. Came home and ordered what I wanted online! Oh, and some of the shops are already totally chaotic and it's not even the weekend yet!

 

[merryone]

Just to add to the lack of choice on our high street HMV are closing down in our town WTF?! When they're gone there's officially NOWHERE to buy new music and films in Brighton. I say "new" because we have a number of second hand outlets that sell such the like but none of it's in order, just loosely racked up under genre and of course no guarantee you'll find what you're looking for. WH smith and Boots do a tiny selection of films and I mean tiny, which is largely childrens and some of the high charting current stuff. I'm guessing our lovely HMV shop will be turned into a coffee shop or yet another clothes shop!

 

[grovesy]

Well I am suprised HMV are still around at all they nearly went out of business completely a few years ago.

 

[merryone]

And again!!!! Used to buy Punjaban curry sauces from bid, whenever they had a p&p deal as it didn't seem right to pay an extra £8 to get food items delivered. Obviously when bid went that was it. The other day after using a disappointing shop bought curry sauce, as I couldn't be bothered to make my own that day, I remembered the wonderful punjaban stuff and did a google search to find that Holland and Barrett stock the range and not only that they qualified for the buy one get one for a penny deal! Went to my nearest H&B which is a small branch so wasn't suprised not to find any there, but I thought oh what the hell, I'll walk right into town and try the other two much larger branches- Did they sell them? Of course not, they're available online only! and checking online not a word about being part of the deal. If you spend over £20 you can get free p&p, but I'm seriously not sure whether I want to spend £20 on curry sauces! I'll see how I feel next payday, I might just stock up. At the moment a trip into town serves only as exercise for me, with the amount of luck I've had recently in finding anything I want. I guess exercise can't be a bad thing, but I'd give myself a much better workout if I was to come home with loaded shopping bags!

 

[Dave]

Just found out on yesterday's news feed about Poole High Street, MacDonald's closes tomorrow, Burger King closed just before Christmas, and Argos is leaving the High Street. Hardly seems much else will be left soon except internet shopping. What with BHS and Woollies gone, hardly worth the trip to see a half empty shopping centre, and all for the cost and privilege of paying the staggeringly expensive car park prices. Ho Hum peeps, there is always t'internet.

 

[grovesy]

Well Argos is now owned by Sainsburys.

 

[merryone]

Just found out on yesterday's news feed about Poole High Street, MacDonald's closes tomorrow, Burger King closed just before Christmas, and Argos is leaving the High Street. Hardly seems much else will be left soon except internet shopping. What with BHS and Woollies gone, hardly worth the trip to see a half empty shopping centre, and all for the cost and privilege of paying the staggeringly expensive car park prices. Ho Hum peeps, there is always t'internet.

Blimey! A suprise there on all counts, thought fast food was one of the only safe things on our high streets, that and coffee shops! But Argos pulling out of a town, well that really is the slippery slope. Don't get me wrong I do like the convenience of internet shopping but once in a while it would be nice just to be able to go out and buy something!

 

[mediastar]

Just found out on yesterday's news feed about Poole High Street, MacDonald's closes tomorrow, Burger King closed just before Christmas, and Argos is leaving the High Street. Hardly seems much else will be left soon except internet shopping. What with BHS and Woollies gone, hardly worth the trip to see a half empty shopping centre, and all for the cost and privilege of paying the staggeringly expensive car park prices. Ho Hum peeps, there is always t'internet.

That's so sad about Poole, last time I was near there I was going to the Swanage folk festival on the bus from Bournemouth Railway Station. I grew up in North Dorset and we used to go to Poole for a day out.

 

[grovesy]

My City in the last 18 months or so has seen an explosion of cafes and restaurants opening or planned even a so called food quarter, I can't see them all lasting. Many are parts of chains so they don't offer anything differnt.

 

[Dave]

That's so sad about Poole, last time I was near there I was going to the Swanage folk festival on the bus from Bournemouth Railway Station. I grew up in North Dorset and we used to go to Poole for a day out.[/QUOTE

I think Poole is no different to many padestrianised high Streets! As soon as the council started ripping off for car parking, it started declining. Sign of the times I guess which is a shame to see such a decline in such a lovely area!

 

[merryone]

....and again!!!! I've got a few little presents to buy for upcoming birthdays and because this month I'm more flush that usual due to some premiums in my wage packet I decided that I'd buy what I needed for birthdays coming up in July. When it comes to buying presents I am very careful to buy things that I know the recipient will love or at least will be useful, so after a lot of thought I went into town this morning armed with my shopping list and after about an hour of traipsing around the shops I'd ticked absolutely nothing off my list. I came home empty handed and extremely hot and bothered. I went straight online as soon as I got home and found everything I wanted in about 5 minutes, all ordered and on its way. Lesson learned? No probably not.