Online shopping, shopping malls etc

I shop almost exclusively on line. All my food, clothing etc.

I recently purchase a rug from a London store on line.

Shopping was never something I enjoyed - so online shopping has been taken up with huge enthusiasm in this household.

I hate it Nana8 the towns used to be bustling little places now it’s dead as a dodo and seems to be so in most towns The small cities don’t seem so bad and the small market towns are ok Any town that had big national shops is dead as they gradually go under, the town becomes a cafe/vaping/nail bar centre.
Very very disappointing

I dont buy that much online.
Especially not clothes or shoes.

I would buy very young childrens clothes online.

I don’t buy much. I prefer to visit the shop if I can.

I dislike online shopping but appreciate its uses, especially groceries for those unable to shop in person.

As someone once commented, “Before, you used to shop and come home for a coffee; now you go out for this coffee and go home to shop!”

I don't enjoy shopping the way I used to, certainly not going at it for a sustained amount of time, a big shopping mall with all that artificial lighting holds no appeal for me. I will browse in my high street for an hour or two maximum. I'm well served for shops in my local town so don't feel the need to go further afield, today being an exception having ordered on line from Monsoon I have to take one item back which can't be delivered to their sister shop Accesorize but Monsoon itself the nearest one 20 or so miles away, a nuisance!. Thinking about it, I do buy a fair amount on line these days.

Pre Covid, when I was working, I loved a Saturday morning shopping in Glasgow, now I shop mainly online.
Many of the well known stores in Glasgow have closed and health and mobility problems mean I am already exhausted by the time I off the train!
I am also an expert at finding discounts, so it is much cheaper to shop online.

I rarely send things back, because I know what brands suit me.

I actually prefer a wander around the shops but this depends on location. The city nearest to us has now become a dismal depressing place and have no interest in shopping there, whereas a local market town has a lovely vibe with many small shops and is a pleasure to walk around.
I love a trip to York for shopping but the big artificial shopping centres are not so appealing.
I find stores can often shoot themselves in the foot by offering discounts online that are not replicated in their high street shops.

Same situation inspired me to write a post about not being able to get clothes in physical shops any more. I went down the online route instead and have three parcels to return today with sizing issues...

I try and avoid my local city centre at all costs. Due to our local council more of it has been pedestrianised which means there is no parking near the shops and the parking that there is is too expensive. There is nothing worth going to town for.
There is a small town nearby however that has a few independent shops and free parking. I will visit there. I visit the supermarket once a week and buy most clothes/furnishings/Electrical/DIY, etc either at out of the town centre shops with free parking, eg Dunelm, B&Q, or online. I actually prefer click and collect. The damage was done here before Covid by greedy councils.

I've shopped online for decades - as I always hated shopping anyway. The only exception is shoes, as I prefer to try them on.

I think the large, out of town shopping centres will be around for quite some time, though, as most people seem to enjoy going out for coffee, lunch, cinema and a browse around the shops. They've killed many small, local, high streets stone dead, though - along with city stores.

City shops have real problems with high expenses for premises and staff, parking shortages and a lack of passing trade (with people working from home). They simply can't compete with online prices - or the large malls.

My latest expedition (I hate them) was an early morning train to a large shopping place - to try on shoes and write down the comfortable ones (make, style, size) - then rush home before the crowds emerge - to order them online.

There are few shops in this town...the ring road killed them off. I shop on line but still love a browse in a large shopping centre especially John Lewis for make up which is really difficult to get right on line.

I do the bulk of my shopping online. I can only think of things like furniture that I want to see before I buy, and obviously that amounts to very occasional purchases.

I enjoyed shopping once, but can barely remember when. I agree that pedestrianisation has killed city centres. I worked in one, and loved the bustle, but last time I was there it was desolate by comparison. It's fine for the young and fit to nip about on e-bikes, or walk from one area to another, but for those of us with breathing problems, or who have mobility issues it's no joke. The buses stop outside the shopping areas and instead of seating areas on the streets there are flower arrangements. It feels as though councils want to deter shoppers.

Good public transport (maybe hop on/off trams going round the centre) is essential to getting people to make the effort to shop. I was a very early adopter of online shopping, and have had groceries delivered since the service became available, but would visit city centres if they were more accessible, and I don't count myself as disabled - more 'challenged'. I do enjoy a 'poosk' about when I'm on holiday though, looking at different shops in new places. I wonder if more 'mainstream' shopping will move online, and leave room for independent shops in town centres, with cities moving over to restaurants and places of entertainment?

I do most of my clothes/footwear/toiletries shopping online, every couple of months I do a store cupboard shop online.

Day to day fresh food is done locally.

(nanna8 I have spent many a happy hour mooching round the shopping malls in Melbourne, my children used to be fascinated by the big clock on the wall near the upmarket department store, I think it was Japanese)

I love browsing around big department stores and buying on impulse.
However, as we have less and less such stores, I find myself buying more and more online, particularly clothes.

grandMattie

As someone once commented, “Before, you used to shop and come home for a coffee; now you go out for this coffee and go home to shop!”

Love it 😂😂

I do practically all my shopping online , Amazon , Ebay , Asda , Tesco , you name it so great to explore online in the comfort of home , rather than to be trudging around the shops . I never liked shopping much anyway .

I’m not a great online shopper, unless it’s a repeat of something I’m sure about and certainly give shopping for shoes online a miss, I hate the palaver of returning things.
My nearest city seems to be faring pretty well, my own town, not so much. I go into the city for galleries and second hand bookshops.
I have noticed on my summer trips, that small market towns often have lots of busy independent shops, full of character and a pleasure to shop in.

Forgive me for being thick Hetty58 but if you’ve found the shoes you want in a shop, why not buy them then and there, especially if you add in the price of your train ticket?

I like a mixture of both really. Shopping online is great and makes life easier. But a trip to the shops now and then cheers me up.

Most of my shopping is online, including shoes and has been for years, I’ve never really enjoyed traipsing round shops.
I do visit the local butcher and farm shop.

I prefer to shop in person, I find it quicker and more efficient. I do not particularly enjoy shopping, so this ensures that i plan in advance, have a list and rarely impulse buy.