Online shopping, shopping malls etc

I don't know if anybody else shops for clothes as I do? If I find something I like that fits me (and looks OK!) I often buy several more the same. Searching online sometimes reveals other colours too.
Having found some nice trousers (not too wide, not too narrow, not finishing short of the ankle) in John Lewis I'm now kitted out for a while. And the bonus is that I have found the manufacturer's own site so can check their new styles next season.

I used to enjoy wandering round the City centre, lots of quirky little shops, larger chains too. But the Council has made it a nightmare by shutting off traffic access to the centre on the grounds that it is healthier. This actually means long traffic queues in the surrounding streets, much less healthy for the poor residents, we have no ring road. You can only park in the Council or private car parks, the fees seem to rise monthly and are only on an app, so many older people have given up trying to get in. Council rates have priced many of the smaller shops out of the market.

So the centre is awash with coffee shops, restaurants, charity shops and betting shops. Even our twice weekly market is losing stallholders because of hugely increased rents.

I wouldn't want to bother going to shops on Aberdeen
Marks is useless John Lewis is closed as are any decent shops we had. My wants are few and online is fine for now.

missdeke

I shop mainly online but not through choice. Our local town has virtually no shops except charity shops and nail bars. I want to buy an air fryer but would like to look at them before deciding which one but no doubt it will end up being an online purchase as I have no other way of buying.

There's a fairly recent Which report on air fryers, with full reviews on many. You might be interested to look at this online or in a library?

I buy most things online, though I think I would always go to a shop to look at household goods like furniture, fabrics or flooring.
We have a large shopping mall fairly close to us, there are loads of shops on three floors but apart from John Lewis and a few selling furnishings I wouldn't bother with most of them. You seem to see the same shops in all these places, none of them interesting or independent.

I used to really enjoy a full day shopping in my nearest city but I find 2 or 3 hours is more than enough now, the first thing I tend to do is go and get a decent coffee.
I do enjoy an occasional wander around the shops but do most of my shopping on line. There are benefits of seeing clothes in the flesh though, getting a feel of the fabric etc but it’s so easy to have things delivered and just return if you are not satisfied although returns can sometimes be a bit of a faff.
I do use the local butchers, bakers etc in my local town.

I shop mainly online but not through choice. Our local town has virtually no shops except charity shops and nail bars. I want to buy an air fryer but would like to look at them before deciding which one but no doubt it will end up being an online purchase as I have no other way of buying.

We live in a rural area and don't have a car, so we shop online for large or bulky things, or because doing so is a good deal cheaper than buying things like bike tyres a 14 km bike ride away.

Food shopping is done in the local shops, but things like ink catridges for my printer are far, far cheaper bought online than in the local shop selling office supplies.

I like to do both but most of my shopping is online furniture i like to see in person then go home and order online as it’s sometimes cheaper. Just don’t like doorstep delivery for furniture as soon wont delivery into your home have you tried dragging a wardrobe into your house lol

I like to do both, online and a walk around the shops and charity shops.

Our small Somerset market town is thriving and thankfully - unlike Bruton and Frome - free of celebs, London journalists and discarded politicians.

I like wandering round shopping centres and find it relaxing. When I was working full time I used to wander round the local shops for 20 minutes or so before came I home to all the kids and the cooking, cleaning and peacekeeping! I never told them at the time of course. Just the anonymity of it all appealed.

I dislike shopping. I can't remember the last time I went out to purchase - ordering for delivery is easy and fast, in my opinion.

Online shopping is a huge blessing to me.

I have never liked any sort of shopping and certainly would not go into a town just to look around the shops.

Each to their own but I have never understood those that go window shopping, seems a very odd pastime to me.

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.

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 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.

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’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.

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 .

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 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.

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 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?

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.