[Closed] Will retail shopping be dead in ten years? your thoughts please

What items do you think you could never see yourself buying online?

Food.
Petrol.
Clothes.
A car.

bike stuff i wont buy online. nor food . in fact the only thing i have bought on line is an itunes voucher for my daughter

I always though that I'd never bother buying clothes and shoes online because of the need to check the fit. However, after a recent customer service nightmare at a high-street shop I came to realise that I'm actually afforded more protection buying on line. I don't think it's so much the case that the high street will die, more a case that it will commit suicide.

Not buying food? You boys wouldn't have someone else to go to the supermarket for you would you. Oh and Peter you don't get parking fines online. 🙂

more a case that it will commit suicide.

i think your right. some of the customer service i receive is so shocking.

i'm not going to go into a bike shop rant - but i have the choice of a few LBSs, they all sell bike stuff, they all have workshops guess what swings it customer service.

diesel is about the only thing I go out to buy these days. Just about everything else is delivered. Sometimes its easier to browse in a store for clothes or shoes, or a present for my wife or kids, but that's about it. Easier to return stuff too, online as Onzadog says. Bought some tires for the van last week, and even though I had to go out ot get them fitted, it was 25% cheaper to order them online from the same place that fitted them than to walk in there and buy them.

Men may well stop shopping on the high st

women however ............ 🙂

Service and experience is everything. I think shops will increasingly have to become places to go to hang out, have a coffee, maybe buy something or try something before buying online later. I have a LBS that I do anything to avoid buying from because I hate the experience of going in there, stricly emergencies only.

Most British consumers believe every 'rip-off Britain' story they hear. Therefore they always seek the cheapest item. To maintain margins the shop has to pay staff peanuts and so most high street retail outlets are staffed by teenagers working a Saturday job. Consumer then wonders why service is less than perfect when staffer is not blessed with the authority/common sense to sort a problem and in truth they probably do not care if you never darken the door again as they get paid the same, come what may.

I wonder if any of those answering "yes" to the thread title have been to Meadowhall (or similar) on a weekend recently?

Not buying food? You boys wouldn't have someone else to go to the supermarket for you would you. Oh and Peter you don't get parking fines online.

No, no food online. You can't get the bargains you see in store, you can't check the sell by dates, you don't get to do tasing sessions in Tescos, and it costs more to get it delivered, especially when most of the time we cycle there, with a trailer, so no parking to pay either! 😉

And all my meat comes from a local butcher too.

the 'taylored for the masses' high street will be fine - small independent/specialist shops will probably bear the brunt of it

Things id never buy online, mostly anything over 200+ and a bracket that falls within perfume,kayaks, jewellery, bikes, cars, fresh food, gifts, furniture.

In ten years on prediction, I think economics thus income and hours spent working v time, will have a lot to do with it. Its also sometimes cheaper to buy online because theres not many resources to cover it, its also quicker but only if you know what your buying.

In essence someone is always going to be less knowledgeable on certain trades and will most likely need assistance in their purchase if its means enough to them.
You’ will get others who don’t appear bothered about what they buy and will possibly make mistakes in their purchase and will therefore after a long period time want to seek advice or maybe try before you buy which would possible become favourable in the end. Ultimately I don’t think the retail industry will disappear completely in ten years.

We've had catalogue shopping for years. Just cos it's on a screen it doesn't remove all the problems.

i refuse to buy shopping online because the majority of ours is fresh fruit and veg - and one experiance with online resulted in a bunch of pretty rotten fruit and veg....I was expecting that though - it was a test and they failed !

Bike bits , If its something alpine will stock i buy from them - if i need advice or the piece ordered ordered specially i will travel 50 miles to where i worked as i trust them more.

cars - i have a favoured mechanic that i trust - again hes 50 miles away - worth it for piece of mind though

For these reasons alone i dont see all trades dying. White electrical goods maybe

i think (and even hope) that increasing fuel costs might actually create a shift in the opposite direction with increased local production and retail.

It won't disappear, because for a lot of people there's more to shopping than just getting hold of the item. Depends what sort of a consumer you are.

Personally I've found myself buying pretty much everything online now except groceries. I used to avoid buying clothes online, but I go into town very rarely so it's no more hassle to send something back if it doesn't fit than it is to make a special trip to the shops.

I quite like shops. I try generally to avoid going to them too often, but it's fine when I do. Online shopping gives me absolutely no satisfaction at all, which is a bad business when I'm handing over any significant amount of money. 🙂

Online for me, better service, better selection, better prices.

The high street will adapt. People enjoy going into town and hanging out.. I go 'shopping' but don't visit many shops. I just eat, drink and walk about usually.

I do wish the shops woudl get their arses in gear tho.

I love online shopping. The only place I feel the need to go out and make real purchases is the pub 😉

If Newcastle city centre gets anymore coffee shops and the like taking over the area then the only thing you'll actually be able to buy in town is a latte.

They keep putting in coffee shops cos they keep being able to make money from the people who want lattes...

Can you imagine buying a TV online having never seen the picture on it? that'd be weird, although there's little to stop you checking it in a store then buying the same model online.

I think we will end up with hybrids maybe - like John Lewis are (sort of), where I placed an order on saturday afternoon online then collect from a collection depot on the sunday afternoon - could just have easily bought it at the sime price instore too though - but it was a hoover - I don't get all excited about buying hoover so online was fine!

Can you imagine buying a TV online having never seen the picture on it?

People just read the reviews, don't they?

Probably more of an extended Argos model, than a John Lewis model. Read the (online) catalogue. Order and either collect in store, or delivered to your door.

Shops won't be able to sustain a 'showroom' type approach very long. Shops in city centres are very expensive to rent - why let people check your goods in the knowledge they're gonna go online and order from somewhere cheaper who can offer it cheaper because they don't have to pay huge rents on shops.

There'll always be people who care about service and happy to pay full price for something if it comes with a knowledgeable chat about it's suitability etc. Whether that hits the big retailers or the one-man bands the worst I'm not sure.

Can you imagine buying a TV online having never seen the picture on it?

Can you imagine buying a bike without riding it off road?

avdave2 - Member

Not buying food? You boys wouldn't have someone else to go to the supermarket for you would you. Oh and Peter you don't get parking fines online.

no i go, why?

Due to the price of things on the Isle Of Man and lack of choice / stock, we pretty much do all our shopping online.

Although we use the local Tesco store for food, that is done via the net and they drop it off.

The only things that we get locally is veg and meat from a farmer and getting jobs done on the house and car etc.

Post is so quick now, even getting things sent to the Isle Of Man only takes around 48hrs.

For example I ordered a roof air vent for our van yesterday at 10am and it arrived today at 12pm using normal post!!!!!