Death of the High Street?

[Tracey Suntan-King]

There's a lot of coverage being given to continuing shopping chain closures (Laura Ashley being the latest) and profit warnings for both high street and online retailers (ASOS today, shares down 40%).

High shops are allegedly, under siege because we are not buying enough.

But it's not just physical stores that are experiencing reduced demand, we're buying less from some online retailers too.

What's going on?

Is it financial uncertainty that is leading to people shopping less?
Is it wider environmental concerns meaning people want less manufactured stuff?
Is it boredom?
Or are people more cynical about price-setting meaning that they delay big purchases in the hope there will be a price reduction?
Have we just got too much stuff?
Has price-cutting by retailers back-fired and we feel ripped-off?

I dont shop nearly as much as I used to (I was olympic standard when I was earning) and it's not lack of funds. It's more that when I do go shopping I'm looking at a thing (clothes, cosmetics, gadgets) and thinking that "thing" just been designed to part me from my cash, my life will not be enhanced by buying that "thing", I'm going to buy a nice meal instead.

The amount of tat for sale this Christmas is utterly depressing, i refuse to join in.
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[M.C]

[Riejufixing]

[-]

It’s 114% of income and that includes mortgages, so not as dramatic as being made out.


https://www.moneyexpert.com/debt/uk-personal-debt-levels-continue-rise/
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[Im-a-Ridah]

I think a lot of it comes down to high house prices and tuition fee debt. I've already covered this in a previous thread. Basically that block of millennials should be starting to account for a lot of economic consumption for stuff to put their in their house and for their new baby. As they don't have a whole house they don't need more stuff. They have no house so they don't have a baby so they need even less stuff. And they can live their life with just clothes, a laptop, an iphone and an Oyster card. Laptops and iphones barely move forward too so you could use the same one for years

[Tracey Suntan-King]

[GSTEEL32]

I'd have to say that this is again the news broadcasters making a story where there isn't one.

Laura Ashley, as an example, has been lolloping from disaster to disaster since the early 90's. I remember doing a case study on it in 6th form, back in 1992. Its fortunes have been wavering ever since ....

ASOS is a good example of what happens when tech becomes cheaper. Back in the day, ASOS effectively had a monopoly of brands getting online exposure. As tech and experience has got cheaper, more brands are going direct to their own market, bypassing ASOS completely. ASOS have sat back and watched it happen.

I think the high street could make immediate improvements by barring chuggers and those native Indian fella's with panpipes ...

On the subject of News, has anyone else noticed how much of a "News" program lasting 30 minutes, is approximately 2 minutes of factual news, and 28 minutes of peoples' opinion on the news, without necessarily referring to the facts presented ? They're all at it now .....

[Riejufixing]

[Ed Case]

The Government and councils are refusing to recognise the reality of shopping habits in all but major shopping hubs. The majority of smaller and not so small towns will eventually find their 'High Streets' will become residential. The 'Out of Town' shopping facilities and 'The Net' are either more attractive over parking and with the net it comes straight to your door....and often cheaper.

[M.C]

[Riejufixing]

[M.C]

[Pigeon]

As house price inflation slows, so does peoples desire to spend.
Worry about the economy and if they can't get that £30k from re-mortgaging again...again again because the can't see it coming back via inflation.

We've had a period of inflation (albeit fairly low).

Oil price has fallen a fair bit. Once brexit gets kicked out / kicked further down line. Pound will rise, lowering inflation further.

There is an argument that says low inflation leads to people not buying, because the next step is negative inflation. And why buy something today when you could buy it cheaper in 3 months.

Also, the news cycle has been nothing but negativity for the last 12-24 months. Both politically and economically.

[stinkwheel]

It's people expecting you to pay shop prices for internet service.

I went into town last week to buy a SIM free nokia 3310 handset, a single speed bicycle chain and a folding plastic bicycle mudguard.

I left 2 hours later with none of them having visited 3 bicycle shops and thee phone shops.

They all wanted to order them in for me. I could have done that from the comfort of my own armchair and for less money... which is what I did in the end. COuld have saved myself a tenner of fuel and three hours of my life.

Lest anyone thinks I'm asking for something unreasonable. The phone in question is comon and this years model. All the bicycle shops sell bikes with hub gears which use single speed chains.

I went to a shop because I had a broken bike chain and a broken phone handset and wanted a new one that day. The reason shops get to charge more than online is because they keep physical stock I can go and buy and walk away with in my hand there and then.

This is happening more and more. If a shop is just a glorified ebay storefront with fewer Chinese drop-shippers claiming to have stock in the UK, it ceases to have any point.

From that experience, I have little sympathy and am unlikely to go into town to buy shit any time soon.

Although at least M&S still stock underpants so I was able to do my annual top-up meaning the trip wasn't entirely a bust, although it cost me more in fuel than the postage would have been.
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[GSTEEL32]

[M.C]

[The Shaggy D.A.]

Facebook Marketplace. I’ve just kitted out the new house with good condition fridge/freezer, dishwasher and microwave for £110. Looking at double that just for a dishwasher.
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[Im-a-Ridah]

[hedgehugger]

[Lord Percy]

Problem is surely due to:

1. Internet sales

2. Corporate giants who can handle low prices and absorb the competition.

UK needs better anti-monopoly laws.

Or perhaps proper taxation on those massive corporate entities, the takings of which could be used to help small businesses.

[Ste]

Narp @ financial uncertainty.
Narp @ wider environmental concerns.
Narp @ boredom.

It's not so much delaying purchases in the hope that there will be a price reduction as it is how much time and effort you're willing to put in to find where the item is already at a reduced price.

People have never got enough stuff. The perfect number of bikes to have is n+1 and the same equation can be applied to almost all types of stuff people have.

We've always known we were being ripped off but have had to put up with it if we want to buy stuff. Amazon, eBay and the rest of the internet have given us a viable alternative. Amazon same day delivery will allow us to buy more stuff even faster!!

The high street is killing itself and local councils are tightening the noose.

GSTEEL mentioned chuggers and that's something we need to pay more attention to. As the high street continues to die, chuggers will be looking for new hunting grounds so it's only a matter of time until they find new places to annoy us.

In the news yesterday: Amazon Denies that the online giant is "single-handedly killing the high street"

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/12/17/online-retail-giant-denies-claim-high-street-dying-due-business/

[Polarbear]

[Val]

Hospitality, pubs and High Street retail face the biggest crisis since 2008 breakdown and that has nothing to do with Brexit uncertainty.

https://i.imgur.com/pUqfqsl.png
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[Sister Sledge]

High business rates.
High parking charges.
Costly public transport.
People going to physical shops, trying goods, leaving without a purchase and then buying cheaper online.
Shops not having in what they claim to have - despite me doing online checks before leaving home. Looking at you Toolstation/Screwfix.
Lack of disposable income.
People starting to realise that bling is shit.
People have everything now - it eventually reaches a saturation point.
Even if you have no intention of stopping and parking, cities have become 'anti-vehicle' in so many ways.

Personally I reckon it's sweet FA to do with worry over Brexit. If my freezer breaks I'm not going to wait 2 years for markets to settle before buying one!
(I actually don't own a freezer - never had one for 5 years)

I reckon the city high streets will become more residential. All you Londoners are going to move to and live in Newcastle city center.
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[rpsmith79]