February 9, 2021 / Ben / 0 Comments
Unfortunately, this last twelve
months has been extremely hard for many businesses within the retail sector and
this has seen a lot of them having to shut their doors for good. Shops that
have struggled to trade online or rely on passing trade have experienced
periods of no sales at all and although they have been given some support, for
many, it was simply not enough. It is likely that as the shops start to open up
again as we come out of lockdown, we will see more and more gaps on the high
street where high street stores and independent retails are no more. Over the
last few days we have heard that retails Topshop, Dorothy Perkins and Oasis
will not be reopening after lockdown and has been bought out by Boohoo, an
online retailer. Could it be that over the next few years more and more retails
switch to online shopping? There are advantages and disadvantages of this to
customers and retailers themselves. For the retailers, their overheads can be a
lot less as they do not have to pay to rent premises for their shop, but then
they have to invest a lot more in their marketing to attract people to their
website. For consumers, not being able to handle the item and try clothing on
is what often puts many off buying items online, but as many of us have had to
get used to this new way of shopping recently, it may be that some never return
to shopping on the high street.
January 19, 2021 / Ben / 0 Comments
So many shops are still having to
keep their doors closed due to the Covid-19 restrictions and therefore if they
do not trade online, they simply miss out of any sales during this time. Lots
of people do not like shopping online and although they may of put it off for a
while, there may of come a time when they have to. Shopping online has many
benefits; it allows you to compare prices easily and order from the comfort of
your home. There are also some down sides to shopping online such as having to
often pay a delivery fee (even for cheaper items), having to wait to have your
item delivered and maybe finding out that an item you thought was on its way is
actually out of stock. As we all know, sizes can vary from shop to shop and
even product to product so it can be hard to ensure you select the right size
without being able to see the product. You should be able to return most items
bought online but you may have to pay to return it as not all shops offer free returns.
This is definitely something you should check before purchasing.
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.