Do you feel guilty when local shops close.

As the useful shops close (unable to compete with supermarkets) they're replaced with barbers, nail bars, coffee and vape shops. When people have to stop driving in old age, there's no local shops so everything has to be delivered or they need help to shop.

My DIL's mother worked for one of the high street banks for 35 years; customer facing role. She was given strict instructions to refer every customer to the automated banking machines or internet banking because "it's so much quicker and easier". She did as she was told and was so good at it that they made her redundant last November. It's really not the cashiers fault.

We don’t do internet banking either nor do we want to, we use our local bank

No I don’t feel guilty when local shops close, I do feel sad for them though,we use our local shops as much as we can 3/4 times week. Our dentist is local as is library hairdresser barber Drs. Pharmacy all on our doostep. If we need something specific we go out of town for it, but shop online too

The cashier will be under instruction to try and persuade all of us to do internet banking. I don't want to, so I go into the Bank and always thank the cashier but remind them I'm not an internet banker type

That's wasn't very kind of you quizqueen - the poor sod probably think he's doing you a favour!

Or, more likely he's under orders to spout that information.

In either case your little outburst was unnecessary.

Every month I go into my local bank on the high street to pay my visa bill by cheque (I often pop in on another occasion a second time if I have share dividend cheques or cash to deposit) and I couple this with a walk around the other shops.
There's one cashier, a young man, who, every time he serves me, comments, 'Do you pay your credit card bill in full every month; you can pay by direct debit, you know'. Today he added, 'It will save you having to come into the bank'. He really annoys me as I make a special effort to use the high street and the bank so that the shops do stay open, So today I snapped back very loudly, 'I prefer to pay in this way, thank you. I use the bank personally to keep you in a job or would you rather I didn't do that!'

High streets full of coffee shops, nail bars and non-essentials are, I think, a sign of affluence.

I love that one can get a decent coffee almost anywhere in the UK these days. In my youth I stuck to tea because cafe coffee was so disgusting. Not that I could afford much cafe tea either.

we had 2 good butchers until today and from today we have one. I wonder what will take its place? prime position

It's either use it or lose it but one individual isn't going to make a difference. Malls and high streets seem to be getting getting emptier of stores and filling with coffee shops, nail bars and temporary shops selling cheap goods. Free, limited parking is available at some local supermarkets but it is quite costly elsewhere. When the powers-that-be are trying to discourage our use of private cars, I cannot see free parking being offered as an incentive to visit shopping centres. Like what we are doing now, it is part of the internet revolution. As the man said, our old road is rapidly agin', the times they are a-changin'.

To add to my comment, I don't buy shoes or clothes online. I much prefer to look and feel the goods. Same with household linen, sheets towels etc and fabric for crafting. All purchased from shops, the more local the better.

Simply cannot beat meat etc from a proper, high street butcher! No more supermarket, plastic wrapped, dubious looking meat for us! Local butcher all the way!

One street in our town is just like being in another country, or countries, every shop is E.European, Indian or Chinese, sometimes shops, sometimes cafes. The main part of the town centre is getting like a ghost town, several empty shops, mostly because the council rent charges were too high. We recently lost M & S, the department store we`re left with is locally owned and quite expensive. There are 3 large supermarkets plus a few lovely shops on retail parks on the outskirts of town, but without transport they`re out of bounds to folk like me. Therefore I, and my disabled daughter, do most of our shopping online.

I try to support my local shops as well as ones in the town centre.

Rarely do I buy things online.

many of us locals shop locally and more shops are appearing, latest is an artisan bakery with add-ons. These artisan shops in this historic market town with olde worlde atmosphere and very pleasant people, they are generating more footfall and hence more shops. We don`t have a phone shop, cheap booze shop or a betting shop and all hail the local council for being strict. We have free 3 hour parking and our cafes are wonderful

The shops provide what people want eg I can buy one potato and 2 apples and a small bit of meat and a vegan cake, all in different shops and there are always customers in all of them

The emphasis on shops, i.e. retail, is one of the reasons our high streets are emptying out. We need businesses and services to move back in to our towns. Doctors, dentists, key cutters, TV repairmen, post offices, drop in clinics with a variety of specialisms - mother and baby, the elderly etc - shoe menders, there are many so services useful to a community.

I was very sorry when three of my favourite shops in our town closed but that was due to retirement rather than lack of sales. One was due to lack of sales but her prices became too high. She told me nobody came into the shop anymore.

I buy most things online and have Amazon Prime membership. I do not feel guilty about it. You have much more choice online and it is cheaper.

It is all part of moving on. Things change. The high street became boring selling the same old same old. We need other businesses to come in to reawaken the high street not necessarily shops. Where I live if a shop closes often a coffee bar or restaurant moves in. We still go out for coffee, lunch etc but we just do not wander around the shops.

We have free parking in small towns and villages here but the shops are still closing down. Our nearest town is offering incentives to people to bring new businesses in.
As others have said I think we (UK) are past the point of no return now with high street shopping. The shops themselves in the main have lost interest and are poorly stocked and staffed. Some towns have attracted independent shops and they have worked well, its been a pleasure to shop there when I have visited. I think local councils need to look at new ways of developing their High Streets.

For me when the post office within the local shop closed I had to start going into the town to shop. I go into one of the big supermarkets and do all my food shopping there.

Anything else I buy on line and delivery is usually the next day or two.

Our High Street is now very sad with lots of empty shops I do feel a bit guilty but the faster things close the more I have to buy online, it’s delivered often free to my door
We have two out of town retail parks where I do my main food shop and before long I ll have no need to go to the High Street how very sad but I do think in our great grandkids time they’ll be saying what on earth was a high street ?
It’s too late to alter parking or sales assistants attitude or anything else I personally don’t think there’s any coming back they ve gone I think little market towns or villages will continue but any high street that has the nationals in it, no too late ?

Buffybee, you have hit the nail on the head. People go to the shops near you because they are accessible and the whole experience is pleasant. The exact opposite of our nearest town.

Hetty58 - our high street is 3 miles away. Many others make the same point that walking six miles to the shops, along busy roads with pollution etc isn't enticing. I can walk to our local shop a mile away but my sister has a blue badge so has to drive any distance.

I think the main thing is free parking.
Our village has lots of unlimited time free parking and the High Street is booming.
We have every type of shop you could imagine and I very rarely need to venture to a bigger town or city to buy something.
People travel to shop in our village from other towns nearby and the main reason they do, is the free parking and super shops and cafes.

I try my best to buy locally, but we are sadly lacking for some types of shops, mostly clothing and shoes. Household furnishings are hit and miss.

Our downtown looks bleak with plenty of empty shops.

I think when you've had a few experiences searching the shops for something specific and are unable to find it you start questioning why you bother when you can get it online so easily. Then you get in the habit because it saves so much time and effort, especially when you get older.