British High Streets Dying?

[Laura2919]

Do you think the British high street is dying?

Do you think because of large supermarkets doing everything now from electricals to food, we are losing touch with how it used to be?

I remember when I was younger and I used to go to stay with my nan and aunty every weekend. My nan used to take us to Macdonalds and then we would go to do the weekly shop, we would go to Woolworths where she would get all her bits and bobs then to get her fruit and veg in the market and then she would pop into the hairdressers and have herself sprouced up.
I loved it, now its so different.

Do you think its the end of the high street and how would you feel about that?

 

[shellie]

I remember shopping with my nan too, we'd go to the bakery, butchers, fruit and veg shop etc.... I live in the same area now, and although all these shops are still there every other shop in the area seems to be a charity shop now and the area is a lot less busy - it used to be REALLY busy every day!

Luckily enough there are still other shops here too, clothes shops, chandlers, key cutting shops, pet shops, etc... But I do worry that these will all disapear which would be a shame, as woolworths, ethel austins and various shoe shops have already all shut down here. There are now 4 big supermarkets here too which are always busy, so maybe thats why the rest of the area is so much emptier now.

I think there is still a sense of community in the area where I live though and maybe thats why people still shop in the smaller family shops as well as the big supermarkets. As I said I've lived here for most of my life and a lot of the families in the area have been here since before I was born and their children have grown up and got houses in the same area so people know each other - I think this makes a big difference as when I go shopping in the area its a time to socialise as well as just shop. xxx

 

[Nibblenic]

On one hand yes. Infact I put a suggestion into Evans yesterday.
I mainly shop for my clothes in Asda, 90% of mine and Ohs clothing is from there. I would say about 50% of Los clothing is from there the rest is 40% Next sale and 10% marksies/full price next.

What I said to Evans, is they are devaluing their brand by constantly having one offer or another on, always having a sale wrack. At one time me and mum would always go to thier cardholder event because they were once in a blue moon. Now they are trying and failing to draw you away from the supermarkets by having offers and sales. It doesnt work.

When looking for electicals I still normally head towards argos/currys/pc world. Rather than the super markets but i will look at the products they have available.

I do support my local butcher. However only because he charges only a little more than ASda for quality that is 100x better. I do try and support a local fruit n veg shop. But it is very difficult with Lo, they dont have room to get around with a pram and she is still at an age where she picks up things she wants. So I mainly buy fruit at Asda even though it is cheaper to buy it locally.

I would never buy furniture from anywhere I couldnt sit on it, never online or from Argos. Infact it is extreamly rare I shop online as I am a very tactile person. I have for example never bought a book from Amazon, which for someone with an English degree is very rare. But not my local boarders and Waterstones have now closed. So im not going to have a choice but to get books online.

I do think it is unusal for someone of my age to do so little shopping online. However I have a toddler, shopping isnt enjoyable or convient with her unless its all in one place as quick as possible. Which is why we buy so much at ASda.
I would like to support the high street more, but unfortuantly the government cut money, which cut my job, which basically stopped my spending on anything but essentials. Which will result in place I used to spend money in making less profit and then closing. Then the cylce continues with the people that get made redundant there.

 

[freckleonear]

It's certainly true in our town. We recently had a new supermarket built close to the town centre and it hit local businesses really hard with lots of them having to close down. Now they've given permission for another supermarket almost right next to it. We've never had so many empty buildings in the high street. I hate shopping in supermarkets for ethical reasons, but we're gradually losing the choice.

 

[indy and lara]

Our town centre is pretty poor. We have a Co-operative supermarket, 2 chemists, a butchers, a couple of bakers (one is Greggs. They always have a HUGE queue while the wee local one is much better and much quieter) and 10 hairdresssers/ beauticians. Yes you read that right, 10. No greengrocers or delis but more places for a cut and style than most big city centres.

I am not a Tesco fan and we do not buy our clothes or groceries there. I often go to a localish organic farmshop for meat. But clothes wise I rarely buy in Princes Street (Edinburgh's main shopping drag) but will go to George Street if I am looking for something more upmarket. I prefer out of town shopping for clothes/ electricals/ etc.

 

[Eternal]

I think it is, I hardly ever go into town, i used to more when i was in scotland and i always supported local, local butchers, bakery, farm stores etc.

However since i have moved back to wales, I have hardly been to town, the local butchers isnt great, no farm shops (except one which is terrible and doenst produce its own stuff), everything is so much busier, car parks cost a fortune. So I internet shop for the most part and use out of town places when i have to.

I def would make the effort to use local produce more if the quality were up to standard.

As for going into town, i dont think much could convince me to use town again unless the internet died.

 

[Lightworker]

I'm not really sure about the British high street per se, but in Kenya, my mom used to go shopping in a hundred different places. First the market for fresh produce, then the fish monger, then the butcher, then the supermarket for dry goods, then the textile shop for fabric etc..

As a child I HATED it. As an adult, I like the fact that I can go to Tesco and get most things. I do sometimes go to specific shops eg continental shops, etc but for the most part, I think I like everything under one roof, although I appreciate that in some ways, the quality of specific products may be compromised. x

 

[summer rain]

The high street in our area is very much alive and kicking, though there are too many charity shops-I did used to love charity shops but now that people sell anything decent on ebay, the charity shops get all the leftovers. I've noticed at least in London it tends to be the areas with a high ethnic population that have a wide selection of interesting and different shops springing up all over the place, Walthamstow for example has loads of new fabric and haberdashery shops as well as smaller food shops representing various ethnic groups xx

 

[Laura2919]

I think high streets have definitely changed, there was a time when Tesco just sold food now they sell you everything from a carrot to a TV and from a loaf of bread to house insurance because they have so many stores they are able to have their products for less which encourage people to buy them and take business away from other independant shops. We no longer have a butcher, an independant shoe shop and the fruit and vegetable market has pretty much shrunk in size because just 2 minutes up the road is Tesco.

The one thing I like about France is there supermarket has restrictions on when it can open so the stall holders also get a chance to sell their stuff. The same in Italy, when its market day the supermarket opens 3 hours later than usual. It works.

 

[lesleyann]

I only go into town a couple of times a year, everything else Im at Tesco/Morrisons/Asda..

I dont think we really have any good butchers here anymore or just fruit and veg places but again I dont look for them when I can buy a bag of carrots for 50p from morrisons lol

I like being able to go to one place and get everything I need.

 

[Laura2919]

But you pay for the quality you get with fruit and veg. Believe me I work with it everyday, you pay 50p you dont get the quality you would. All the fruit and veg you get in supermarkets is nice and most of the time its delicious but it isnt the same quality.

We could get a box of strawberries that cost £8 and then we can get a box of strawberries for £16, the quality and the growth is different.

We serve restaurants in and around London and we have the odd stall holder and they always say how business gets less and less as the year goes on.

 

[lesleyann]

But you pay for the quality you get with fruit and veg. Believe me I work with it everyday, you pay 50p you dont get the quality you would. All the fruit and veg you get in supermarkets is nice and most of the time its delicious but it isnt the same quality.

We could get a box of strawberries that cost £8 and then we can get a box of strawberries for £16, the quality and the growth is different.

We serve restaurants in and around London and we have the odd stall holder and they always say how business gets less and less as the year goes on.

See I dont know much about the quality of fruit or veg as I personally dont really eat it however Kyle would eat 2 whole bags of carrots just with dinner if you let him, to me it all tastes the same lol So we just go in morrisons and let him pick what he wants.

 

[Mum2b_Claire]

I try and support our local village shops but at the end of the day I can't afford to do so if they are much more expensive than supermarkets or other big name stores.
I'd love to support my local hairdressers for example but they insist on charging me every time I need my fringe trimmed whereas if I use the branch of Headmasters near my work they'll do it for free, so I obviously get my haircuts there.

We have a bakery that is great, I would not get my bread anywhere else, Ruby and myself dislike the kind of bread that comes in a plastic bag from the supermarket anyway, so bread is the one thing we don't economise on and buy locally.

When we have people over for sunday lunch we always buy meat from the local farmshop / butcher but generally, we buy it from sainsburys. The farmshop is a treat. If and when in the future we have more money we will buy all meat from the farmshop.

Fruit and veg, again we are limited by cost issues, so it's the supermarket. Not that we have a local fruit and veg shop anyway. It closed down presumably because of people like us!

It is a shame to see local facilities go but at the end of the day most of us are forced to be price driven. If we weren't price driven I'd absolutely use local shops.

 

[vaniilla]

I think its such a real shame, not just supermarket but products in general, so many farmers and trades are going bust here because companies that import things from abroad don't have to stick to the same production regulation as over here and can sell them for a lot cheaper, thanks to companies like danepack the british pork industry is at risk of vanishing. We make sure we only buy food made in the uk and try to buy local as often as we have the chance.

 

[Eternal]

I came accross something the other day and thought of this thread. Tesco now are selling ... kitchens and bathrooms. As well as all their finicial products, cars etc etc.

I automatically think how crazy it is how one company has so much of the comsumer market, but the sad thing is i would def use them. The prices are really good, and you wouldnt worry they would go under next week like MFI. Plus you get clubcard points.

Having currently had a terrible time with local companies and trades people its really tempting to avoid them all together. Trying to get flipping quotes is a nightmare, and getting them to actually do the work is worse, then the finishing touching doesnt happen! grrrr! I know most are that way but at the moment my experience says otherwise. Anyway, Its sad to think so Tesco's new venture could affect other smaller business.

 

[deafgal]

not in UK, but small businesses in the U.S. are not doing well either. We used to have woolworth in several places (in my state) where I grew up. I remember going shopping there with my mother in those days. sad they are not around anymore.

They blame it on Walmart but if you ask me, I think it is the internet technology age that changed things: people are not interested in shopping other than grab and go.

 

[Eternal]

not in UK, but small businesses in the U.S. are not doing well either. We used to have woolworth in several places (in my state) where I grew up. I remember going shopping there with my mother in those days. sad they are not around anymore.

They blame it on Walmart but if you ask me, I think it is the internet technology age that changed things: people are not interested in shopping other than grab and go.

agreedm the internet as a lot to answer for, although im def a internet shopper, id say at least 90% of my purchases are online.

 

[lesleyann]

I was just thinking it would be great if places like poundland and iceland would let you buy online oops haha sooo much easyer than trecking all round a busy town centre

 

[deafgal]

I was just thinking it would be great if places like poundland and iceland would let you buy online oops haha sooo much easyer than trecking all round a busy town centre

or let you know on the internet that it is available in stores.When I can't find something locally on google, I will order it (don't feel like driving around to look for it).

 

[lesleyann]

I was just thinking it would be great if places like poundland and iceland would let you buy online oops haha sooo much easyer than trecking all round a busy town centre

or let you know on the internet that it is available in stores.When I can't find something locally on google, I will order it (don't feel like driving around to look for it).

Yup I hate chasing items!! Oh just refuses to go to town so I have to bus or look in Asda/Tesco/Morrisons/Sainsburys or the internet really and tbh I hate getting the bus