Obviously the economy has played a part in all these businesses going under but i think there is broader issue.
Firstly i know there is poverty in this country.
….but, generally standards are good, people have TVs, muic, smartphones, clothes, cars etc etc….how much more does a person(s) need?
Have we reached saturation point whereby the only new consumers will be kids reaching teenage and then adult years?….and seeing as the birth rate isnt great then this isnt exactly good news for vendors.
Have we as a society (at last) become satisfied with the creature comforts we have and become largely switched off to the hype machine of continued upgrading, consuming etc?
My own outgoings (bills excluded) these days are for food and music….thats it.
I have the mountain bike i want and wont be changing any time soon….i have the motorbike i want and thats been the same for 3 years now….car is the same, its perfectly reliable and been mine for 3 years, havent moved house in a decade, havent bought a fridge/washing machine/kettle/microwave etc for a a few years now, change my phones on 2 yearly upgrade cycles and have put together a ‘classic’ wardbrobe of clothes over the years that dont age with trends or fashion and therefore dont need replacing all that often….i must be a nightmare for the high street, i cant think of anything worse than going shopping on a saturday morning just for the sake of it!
Most of my friends seem to be the same now, we’re all early 30s, the only regular expense through choice seems to be eating out.