December 21, 2020 / Ben / 0 Comments
Christmas shopping has been quite
strange this year with many of the shops having to close at certain times
throughout the last few months. It has also meant that some areas of the
country have seen more shops close than others and this has made Christmas
shopping a bit of a nightmare. The run up to Christmas is also a bit manic with
people saying out to by last minute gifts or to fill their freezers with party
food, but this year has been even worse. Due to social distancing, many people
have had to cue to get in and out of shops and then queue again to pay for
items. This can add hours of time on to your shopping trip and you may find
rather than of doing it all in one day, you have had to go back to the shops time
and time again.
If you haven’t finished your
shopping yet then you may want to get moving as some shops already seem to be
clearing away the Christmas gifts and decorations. If you are ordering presents
only, bear in mind that they may not arrive before Christmas if sent using the
normal postal service as they seem to be experiencing massive delays.
September 10, 2020 / Ben / 0 Comments
Many people see shopping,
especially for non-essential items, as a bit of therapy. It is often referred
to as retail therapy because for some it helps lift their mood.
During lockdown all the non-essential
shops where clothes and many people had to turn to online shopping to feed
their shopping habits. For many this is not the same and the fact that you have
to go through the hassle of often paying for delivery and then paying again to
return it if it does not fit, put many people off.
The shops have no reopened and
people have started flocking to the centres. Although the shops are open, the
experience is very much different from how it used to be. The majority of the
clothing shops do not have their changing rooms open meaning that you cannot
try anything on before you buy it. Many shops are even not allowing you to try
coats etc on over the top of your own clothes due to the risk of contamination.
For many of us, we simply cannot always walk into a shop and know that an item
will fit. A pair of size 12 jeans in one shop may fit perfect but in another be
too big or small. You will have to purchase items and then take them home to
try them on before being able to decide if you want to keep them. Shopping certainly has changed, but hopefully
one day it will return to normal.
May 27, 2020 / Ben / 0 Comments
With the UK
still under lock down, the postal service seems to have been struggling a bit.
As the majority of shops are shut most people are turning to online shopping to
get their supplies. Places such as Ebay, Amazon and clothing retailers have
seen a huge spike in traffic and purchases through their sites and this has had
a knock on effect on the postal service.
Some retails
send mail out via the Royal Mail and others have their own delivery drives or
use third party couriers to dispatch items. It seems that all logistical
companies have been hit and with social distance rules that have to be adhered
to and staff members self isolating, this has just added even more pressure to
the situation.
The Royal
Mail had said that they were going to cut out Saturday deliveries for now to
catch up on mail in the sorting office, but this only seems to have happened in
some areas.
If you have
ordered something online, most retails are cutting the cost of their delivery
charges and stating that delivery times are expected to take longer than usual
at present. If this is not the case and you paid for delivery within a certain
time which didn’t happen, I would contact the company and ask them to refund
you the delivery fee paid.
April 17, 2020 / Ben / 0 Comments
With so many
of us not being able to get out other than to do a weekly food shop, many of us
are missing our bit of retail therapy. It may even be that you do not like
shopping, but if you need items that you cannot get from the grocery store you
may have to participate in a bit of online shopping. If you are not sued to
online shopping then you may worry about security. If you use one of the big retailers
and ensure that you are on the genuine site then the security level is usually
pretty high.
Paying with
a credit card for higher cost purchases or using PayPal will also give you a
bit of added protection.
When shopping
online you may think you are less likely to impulse buy but because you often
do not realise how much stuff you have added to your basket until the end, if
your not careful you can easily get a bit carried away. Many retailers have
tempting sales on at the moment which makes it even more likely that we will
spend too much.
Always decide before hand how much you can
spend and be sure not to go over that.
March 27, 2020 / Ben / 0 Comments
Since the
Coronavirus pandemic, the way people shop is changing. When it first became
apparent that this was going to hit the UK, many people started to stock up on
essentials such as food, cleaning products and toilet rolls. This led to many people
panic buying and buying in bulk. Now that the UK is on lockdown, people are
only supposed to go out for food when it is essential. This means that trips to
the local shopping centres are no longer permitted. The only stores that are
open are those that supply food and medicine and supplies for people in certain
trades.
Many
supermarkets are restricting what how many of a certain item you can buy now to
try and stop the panic buying and ensure that there is enough stock for everyone.
Some supermarkets have also put a restriction on how many people can go into
the shop at one time, meaning often there is a one in one out policy in place.
Shopping has
certainly changed very drastically for now and no one knows exactly when it
will return to normal. Shopping can no longer be the enjoyable outing it once
was for many, now it is purely an essential trip that has to be done at certain
times.