April 25, 2021 / Ben / 0 Comments
Many of the high street and
independent shops have now reopened to the public again and although you can
now go in and browse, not many have reopened the changing rooms. Unlike before
where none of the changing rooms were open, lost of shops are making their own
judgement on whether to open them up or not. If they are opening them up then
they are giving them a very quick wipe over the handles etc before allowing the
next person it, so queues are likely.
Shoppers are expressing their disappointment
at how the shopping experience that they used to get simply does not seem to be
the same anymore. Lots of shoppers say they feel like they are being watched
and that there is a lot of pressure to buy something that they have tried on or
touched. It can be hard to concentrate on shopping when you are also trying to
ensure that you are socially distancing from others and be sure that you are
adhering to all the rules.
Unfortunately many of the high
street stores and independent retails have not survived the pandemic and have
closed their doors for the final time. This is a sad sight to see and many
other retails are struggling to make their money back.
Sales are on in lots of places,
but not being able to try items on it still putting a lot of shoppers off. It
is very hard for some people to go and pick something up and know if it will
fit them, especially when sizes vary so much from shop to shop. Someone can
quite easily be a lady’s size 10 in one shop and a 12 or 14 in another. This
makes it virtually impossible to be sure if something is going to fit you and
look ok without purchasing it and taking it home.
Working it a shop is not an easy
task at the moment either. They are trying to get back to some sort of normal
and let shoppers have an enjoyable experience but there are so many rules and
regulations in place that it seems impossible to do so. Many are reporting that
some members of the public are being quite rude when they are having to enforce
rules regarding trying on clothes etc. and that the whole job role has
completely changed from what it sued to be a few years ago.
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.