The death of the high street.

[So]

We went Christmas shopping in Leicester last week. The shops were all but empty. Today we went shopping in Nottingham, which was busier than Leicester, but there were plenty of empty shops, lots of people who I doubt had any money to spend and not one queue at any till.

House of Fraser was FAIRLY busy because it is closing down and everything was reduced. Debenhams gave the impression of being on its backside. John Lewis had very few shoppers.

We bought a book from Waterstones. One book. There were many things we needed, but could not find. We decided to buy online over the weekend and went for lunch.

Whilst we were shopping the cleaner was at home taking in goods we'd ordered online.

The death of the high street has been mooted for several years, but I saw no real evidence. This year, for the first time, it seems like it is really happening. Or at least where we shop.

Has anyone else had the same experience, or are we just shopping in the wrong places?

[stevensdrs]

Yes the High Street is on Death Row and has been for several years now. There are one or 2 still successful businesses but they only do well because there is no online alternative. I bought some clothes in a shop yesterday and that is the first this year. Everything else I bought online.
There are 14 charity shops in our town centre, takeaway shops, bookies, estate agents and precious little else.

[Fast Bug]

I've just got back from shopping in Guildford which was pretty busy. Although I did ask for a game in the Entertainer toy shop which they didn't have, no offer to order it in for me so I guess I'll order tht one online then!

[dazwalsh]

Without looking at the statistics for online shopping i bet its way up vs a decade ago, that and the councils make it as hard as humanly possible to get in and park in our town and city centers. The out of town shopping parks still seem to do well however.

Also i blame the fkittery of black friday, people are inclined to start buying their christmas shopping in that bogus sale and then the retailers piss and moan that no one is visiting their shops mid december.

It is far easier to sit in your pants and order st off amazon these days.

[markcoznottz]

dazwalsh said:

Without looking at the statistics for online shopping i bet its way up vs a decade ago, that and the councils make it as hard as humanly possible to get in and park in our town and city centers. The out of town shopping parks still seem to do well however.

Also i blame the fkittery of black friday, people are inclined to start buying their christmas shopping in that bogus sale and then the retailers piss and moan that no one is visiting their shops mid december.

It is far easier to sit in your pants and order st off amazon these days.

A lot of people go to the out of town shopping centres to waste three hours, free parking, look round, buy the kid a krispey kreme, then go for a mcds. No good for retailers.

[Pan Pan Pan]

Have to agree, that the ease of on line shopping is one of the reasons the high street is in trouble. However, for me, another nail in the coffin for the high street is ease or not of access, with the parking policies, and charges levied by some local authorities being so high, it can make a quick visit to the high street a non starter. There are several town/ high streets now, that I make a point of no longer visiting, because of the parking policies of those who administer these facilities.
The UK is a small overcrowded island, so the above is partially understood, nevertheless where parking is limited / overpriced / and where parking seems to be used as just an add on cash cow for the place in question, and where parking enforcement seems to be run by over zealous, parking SS officials, they are turning the high street into a place that few could say visiting, is any kind of pleasant experience.

[Gecko1978]

markcoznottz said:

dazwalsh said:

Without looking at the statistics for online shopping i bet its way up vs a decade ago, that and the councils make it as hard as humanly possible to get in and park in our town and city centers. The out of town shopping parks still seem to do well however.

Also i blame the fkittery of black friday, people are inclined to start buying their christmas shopping in that bogus sale and then the retailers piss and moan that no one is visiting their shops mid december.

It is far easier to sit in your pants and order st off amazon these days.

A lot of people go to the out of town shopping centres to waste three hours, free parking, look round, buy the kid a krispey kreme, then go for a mcds. No good for retailers.

it's true I can take kids to a soft play out if town get some lunch etc an go home few hours later and not bought a thing from the shops.

[classicaholic]

There are loads of people in the big out of town centres but very few are carrying bags of stuff they have bought, just look and then buy on Amazon.

[Wobbegong]

Cost of parking / driving
Availability of parking
Increasingly st road networks designed to catch you out for fining purposes
Costs of business rates
Generally tatty looking town centres are not appealing


No wonder it’s struggling

[Pan Pan Pan]

I tend to avoid places that p*ss on my back, be it in parking charges, or restaurants for example who demand ridiculous sums for poor quality facilties - food - service etc, just because they think `their' places are trendy. I would guess, that no body minds too much paying high prices for places . service or goods, if the delivered quality of those items matches the price, but absolutely detest paying high prices for rubbish I hope places that do this eventually get the come uppance they deserve, and what they themselves have sown, (but in reality they probably wont)

[Wacky Racer]

Depends on the part of the country...

There are very few empty units in my local town Bury, seems to be doing nicely with a thriving market.

Nearby Rochdale and Bolton has gone to the dogs.

I was in Kettering last week, what a dump, but nearby Market Harborough was quite nice.

The huge out of town retail park Elliots field at Rugby was heaving, with hardly a parking space.

The high street will survive, providing parking is cheap and landlords don't get too greedy.

[fatboy b]

We’ve not been ‘to town’ for shopping since I was wearing shorts in the summer. We found that 2/3 shops were unfruitful because of poor choice or not our sizes. The high street has to take a lot of blame theirselves.

Out of town retail parks tend to have road systems designed by complete fkwits, so making entering and leaving too much of a chore to make it worthwhile shopping there.

[grumbledoak]

Councils have killed most of our high streets, either grasping for cash via parking charges or simply deterring visits with anti-car measures.

The out of town centres are now normally a far better experience.

And Amazon is simply far easier than either.

[BoRED S2upid]

There are still plenty of towns and cities that manage to get it right close to us there is Chester, Liverpool, Shrewsbury all busy town centres but have lots more than just shops to go and see they all still have plenty of shops as well as other attractions.

[MitchT]

Business rates.
Cost of parking.
Cost of getting there on the train instead of driving.
Cost of (and lack of) parking at the train station.
Stagnating wages while everything else goes up meaning you've nothing left to spend anyway.
Etc.

[21TonyK]

I have read numerous reports and listened to a variety of people speaking about the "high street".

I forsee town centres becoming "cultural entertainment centres", lots of food, arts, entertainment etc Shops will simply be showrooms for products you need or want to physically see before you order online from Amazon, Argos, AO etc

A few artisanal producers selling high end fresh produce, cafes, restaurants and showrooms.

Thats it, personally I don't see it as a bad thing. Lots of jobs to move around but once thats done it seems a logical development and progression.

[fatboy b]

BoRED S2upid said:

There are still plenty of towns and cities that manage to get it right close to us there is Chester, Liverpool, Shrewsbury all busy town centres but have lots more than just shops to go and see they all still have plenty of shops as well as other attractions.

Shrewsbury must have turned itself around then. I was last there about years ago, and it was dead on its feet.

[Fast Bug]

Guildford was free parking in the car park I was in after 4. Sadly I got there at half 3 so still had to pay for an hour, but I thought it was a nice thing to do. Parking was also free all last weekend in Petersfield which is my local town, so maybe the councils are trying to help out in the run up to Christmas?

[Alucidnation]

So said:

Whilst we were shopping the cleaner was at home taking in goods we'd ordered online.

The death of the high street has been mooted for several years, but I saw no real evidence.

And now you have, you are surprised??

[Ratski83]

I snapped my chopping board last night so popped in to TK Max near Clapham Junction on the way home around 4pm to buy a new one and it was absolutely heaving. The queue to the till was about 15 people long I almost walked out but quite liked the one I found.

Perhaps they could ship out all these unemployed shirkers away from London to your empty towns.