All shops going online eventually.

jonbeeza

jonbeeza

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Just saw the news this morning, and more high street shops are struggling, and more have gone out of business. A business analyst was saying, "eventually all shops will be online only, even the supermarket will be online only". I hope not, as I love going and picking my own shopping. I like to see what I am buying, before I buy it.

I have seen threads about online shopping on here, but nothings about all shopping being done online eventually.
 
jonbeeza said:
Just saw the news this morning, and more high street shops are struggling, and more have gone out of business. A business analyst was saying, "eventually all shops will be online only, even the supermarket will be online only". I hope not, as I love going and picking my own shopping. I like to see what I am buying, before I buy it.

I have seen threads about online shopping on here, but nothings about all shopping being done online eventually.
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Cant see it, not in the next 20 years at least for the reasons you say. Shopping is a hobby for many!

Businesses do need to adapt, but Primark has no online presence and doing great!

Its the lockdown that is killing most businesses.
 
I suppose this is all the idea of metropolitan lovies in good health and of course possessing credit cards and internet access? And someone at home to receive the goods too.

Those without credit cards, those without internet and those isolated by age, illness, location or ability will do what?

Another bonkers idea from people who haven't thought it through and have no concept of life outside of their own well paid metropolitan bubble.

Just a thought. Before this is even attempted lets think about the consequences and try to overcome the obstacles large numbers of vulnerable people will face.
 
I used to be in the AA many years ago, that is when they had shops. I used to sign up through one of their shops. I would then not bother to renew, only to sign up if I was passing a shop. I no longer saw an AA shop, so never bothered renewing the service. Probably others failed to renew, so you would see pop up stalls here and there trying to get people to sign up, and it made me sign up again. I no longer see AA shops or pop up street stalls, so never bothered. But when I see an AA ad pop up, I click it off, as it annoys me.
 
woof woof said:
I suppose this is all the idea of metropolitan lovies in good health and of course possessing credit cards and internet access? And someone at home to receive the goods too.

Those without credit cards, those without internet and those isolated by age, illness, location or ability will do what?

Another bonkers idea from people who haven't thought it through and have no concept of life outside of their own well paid metropolitan bubble.

Just a thought. Before this is even attempted lets think about the consequences and try to overcome the obstacles large numbers of vulnerable people will face.
Click to expand...

Just to break it down

What's good health got to do with it? If you're not in good health, online shopping is an advantage I would've thought. It certainly is for me.

Why would you need a credit card?

Internet access? I would imagine 99% of people have this now.

One word that seems to have been missed from the OP's post is 'eventually'. As in the thread about electric cars, people seem to be saying that we can't do something in the future because the infrastructure isn't there now.
 
woof woof said:
Before this is even attempted lets think about the consequences and try to overcome the obstacles large numbers of vulnerable people will face.
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I don't think it's a matter of 'attempted', just that some people think this is inevitably how things are going. If access to the internet and online payment systems becomes a crucial part of life, there are ways that this can be provided for vulnerable people. (I remember one political party proposing public high-speed broadband for all quite recently - people mocked the idea at the time, but I think we're seeing there might have been something in it after all).

However, I don't think that "all shops" will ever be online. It's like the prediction that cinemas were going to be obsolete - it seemed almost inevitable, given all the home entertainment options available, but it turns out people like doing something out of the house sometimes, it's more of an event. Maybe independent shops will have a bit of a revival as some of the big-boxes go online - I hope so. I would like to see something done to make brick-&-mortar shops more financially competitive with online; it seems unfair that they are hit with business rates while online retailers exploit tax loopholes.
 
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Online shopping is totally unreliable IMHO. Faulty goods, online supermarket shops where half the stuff is missing, incorrect replacements, short dated stuff which goes rotten quickly. Shopping is very often spontaneous, you need something, a bottle of milk, eggs etc. How do you get a virtual haircut?
Would you buy a second hand car without driving it? Would you buy clothes without trying them on?
I don't trust anyone to choose a cut of meat for me, I want to see it, the same with fruit and veg.
 
Marc said:
Just to break it down

What's good health got to do with it? If you're not in good health, online shopping is an advantage I would've thought. It certainly is for me.

Why would you need a credit card?

Internet access? I would imagine 99% of people have this now.

One word that seems to have been missed from the OP's post is 'eventually'. As in the thread about electric cars, people seem to be saying that we can't do something in the future because the infrastructure isn't there now.
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Sounds easy doesn't it?

How about mental health? How about health issues that affect your use of technology?

You need a credit card for many on line purchases, either that or a debit card. I'm not going to tell you how much money I have as that would be crass. I've lived off my savings for over 10 years now but if for whatever reason I didn't have my current account I'd struggle to get one as I have no income. I know this as it was a hell of a job to get my wife a current account, she's an immigrant and like me doesn't work and has no income. We managed eventually but many simply wouldn't be able to wade through the process.

Lots of people don't have internet access because they can't afford it or can't use it for whatever reason and of course internet is not necessarily available where you live so that could mean a trip to a location where internet is available and that in itself is a barrier for some.

It's those at the bottom of the economic pile and those with issues and those in locations with poor or even no internet that we should think about before even thinking about removing more amenities from the physical world and locating them on line. IMO.
 
My last big purchase was online, this was my camera that I bought a few weeks back. I bought it from John Lewis who delivered it for free. I hope the Supermarket does not go online only, as I like to see what it is that I am buying.

Debenhams has now gone, the last time I visited the shop, was about five years ago. I did make one purchase, as it was an affordable item. But visiting again, and I could no longer afford their prices, so I never went back. I did see them online, but never visited online shops, as I knew their prices would be too hefty for me.
 
People like being with other people, even if it is just being in a crowd of strangers, people like to see and feel what they are buying, there will always be shops, stalls, traders. The premise that some new technology will completely replace an old way of doing things is as old as the hills and is used by people who have something to gain from the new technology. It is also completely wrong. People still ride horses, play vinyl records and shoot film.

Shops may become niche and different to what we have now just as shops of the 1960s and 70s were different to those of 1900.
 
The thing is when the internet goes down, you cant do your shopping or book any appointments. Imaging having the internet go down for a month. :eek:
 
As before the lockdown, I think the market demands a combination of direct shopping and on-line. I do not need to see a washing machine in advance but do like to see meat and fruit. A while ago I would not have bought camera kit without seeing it but did so recently but buying new kit from a company like Wex is hardly risky. I have found that it is better to buy tennis shoes on-line rather than to go into a sports shop where the staff (if they can be bothered to talk to you know nothing about the products nor do they have a wide range for sale). We still buy stuff from the local farmer's Market when not actually in Lockdown. While some shops may not re-open, there is still a demand for shops and enterprising people will still be prepared to run them.

Dave
 
sirch said:
People like being with other people, even if it is just being in a crowd of strangers, people like to see and feel what they are buying, there will always be shops, stalls, traders. The premise that some new technology will completely replace an old way of doing things is as old as the hills and is used by people who have something to gain from the new technology. It is also completely wrong. People still ride horses, play vinyl records and shoot film.

Shops may become niche and different to what we have now just as shops of the 1960s and 70s were different to those of 1900.
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I must admit, I have met some lovely people while out shopping. I tend to go earlier to avoid the crowds, and it seems older people shop earlier in the morning.
 
woof woof said:
Sounds easy doesn't it?

How about mental health? How about health issues that affect your use of technology?

You need a credit card for many on line purchases, either that or a debit card. I'm not going to tell you how much money I have as that would be crass. I've lived off my savings for over 10 years now but if for whatever reason I didn't have my current account I'd struggle to get one as I have no income. I know this as it was a hell of a job to get my wife a current account, she's an immigrant and like me doesn't work and has no income. We managed eventually but many simply wouldn't be able to wade through the process.

Lots of people don't have internet access because they can't afford it or can't use it for whatever reason and of course internet is not necessarily available where you live so that could mean a trip to a location where internet is available and that in itself is a barrier for some.

It's those at the bottom of the economic pile and those with issues and those in locations with poor or even no internet that we should think about before even thinking about removing more amenities from the physical world and locating them on line. IMO.
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I don't doubt there would be issues if shopping suddenly all went online tomorrow. That was my point regarding the word 'eventually'.

Personally, I don't think it will happen. There will always be a demand for face to face shopping, even if it's just for fresh produce.


I've made many online purchases and have never needed a credit card (I don't have one) btw.
 
Marc said:
I don't doubt there would be issues if shopping suddenly all went online tomorrow. That was my point regarding the word 'eventually'.

Personally, I don't think it will happen. There will always be a demand for face to face shopping, even if it's just for fresh produce.


I've made many online purchases and have never needed a credit card (I don't have one) btw.
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I did try a supermarket shop online once, not sure why I did. But I am sure I had to pay for it first.
Most of the stuff I have bought online needed a credit or debit card, otherwise my transaction would not complete.
 
I think it is more concerning that many essential services are moving online. My 87 year old mother never got on with technology and is now going blind at a time when a lot of services like banking, government, NHS just expect people to be able use web based services, which are often badly designed and fall back on appallingly inadequate contact centres.
 
My local farm shop does click and collect. I order online then go and fetch it. Far better than any supermarket has been as I can actually get my shopping at all and there's rarely anything missing. I've been doing that since April.

Half the time I go into town for something it's not there anyway, so I just don't bother any more. Order off Amazon and it turns up. There's no time limit either.

If you get better service online then that's what people will use. It's a shame for the decent shops but most high streets are just the same generic chains anyway so there's no reason to make the effort to go into one unless you live in it already.

Add in the congestion charging zones, parking charges etc and you can see why cities and town centres are just dying off.
 
jonbeeza said:
I did try a supermarket shop online once, not sure why I did. But I am sure I had to pay for it first.
Most of the stuff I have bought online needed a credit or debit card, otherwise my transaction would not complete.
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Yes, a debit card is needed, I was just questioning whether there were any where you need a credit card.
 
jonbeeza said:
I did try a supermarket shop online once, not sure why I did. But I am sure I had to pay for it first.
Most of the stuff I have bought online needed a credit or debit card, otherwise my transaction would not complete.
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Paypal may be another option, as a lot of places accept it now. I think that can just be linked to your bank account (current account) so you may not need a card. I'm sure an internet search will confirm that. I often pay via Paypal as it gives another layer of protection, which I don't get from a debit card,
 
Mr Badger said:
Paypal may be another option, as a lot of places accept it now. I think that can just be linked to your bank account (current account) so you may not need a card. I'm sure an internet search will confirm that. I often pay via Paypal as it gives another layer of protection, which I don't get from a debit card,
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I did have paypal back in the day, that was when there were horror stories all over the net, and peoples money was being held back. I deleted it and have never used it since.
 
sirch said:
I think it is more concerning that many essential services are moving online. My 87 year old mother never got on with technology and is now going blind at a time when a lot of services like banking, government, NHS just expect people to be able use web based services, which are often badly designed and fall back on appallingly inadequate contact centres.
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I know technology is clever, but it can be scary the way things could go. Only being able to do things on the internet.
 
I have not bought anything in a shop for over a year.
However i would prefer to do food shopping in person.
For many products you have a far wider choice of quality and price on line.
however you need to know what you are looking for, which makes it difficult both for the user and the producer.

sellers are getting much smarter in how they introduce new product to you. but you have to take part in on line media to find out about anything.


I suspect there will always be inperson shopping places, but I doubt that they will look much like present day shops. they my well be more like show places for a series of events throughout the year.. the spaces could be attached to enlarged present day supermarkets that would also provide space for other static shops catering for local daily needs.

"Don't miss the latest Photographic event near you" it will give a hands on experience that moves on to another town the following week. there will always somewhere to go see stuff as the location and timing of all events would be published. All actual sales would be processed online. and delivered next day.
This could be far better than the present situation where many specialist shops only carry a narrow range of old stock. and you often have to go many miles to find a decent stockist.
It would suit me fine as I have no local photographic shops.

It should be cost effective as there would be almost no dead stock in hundreds of local shops.

recycled and second hand goods could be sold much like ebay but with an "on Approval basis" Or " on inspection basis" where they would be sent to a local inspection centre rather than to you. (small fee)

What ever happens to Retail it will evolve and require regulation, rather than be imposed.
Someone will start something that works, and it will be all go.
 
woof woof said:
I suppose this is all the idea of metropolitan lovies in good health and of course possessing credit cards and internet access? And someone at home to receive the goods too.

Those without credit cards, those without internet and those isolated by age, illness, location or ability will do what?

Another bonkers idea from people who haven't thought it through and have no concept of life outside of their own well paid metropolitan bubble.

Just a thought. Before this is even attempted lets think about the consequences and try to overcome the obstacles large numbers of vulnerable people will face.
Click to expand...
Whats a metropolitan bubble, is it related to wokeness ;)
 
woof woof said:
I suppose this is all the idea of metropolitan lovies in good health and of course possessing credit cards and internet access? And someone at home to receive the goods too.

Those without credit cards, those without internet and those isolated by age, illness, location or ability will do what?

Another bonkers idea from people who haven't thought it through and have no concept of life outside of their own well paid metropolitan bubble.

Just a thought. Before this is even attempted lets think about the consequences and try to overcome the obstacles large numbers of vulnerable people will face.
Click to expand...
It is not the idea of anyone, not even those people you do not like. It is a market response to more and more people buying online instead of shops. A year ago, over 20% of shopping in the UK was on line and that percentage was increasing daily.

This process has not been helped by the practice of many to browse in physical shops for expensive items like cameras and then buying online cheaper. That puts most of the sales costs onto the physical shop and all the profit onto the online shop. Using grey importers accelerates the process even more.
 
Terrywoodenpic said:
I have not bought anything in a shop for over a year.
However i would prefer to do food shopping in person.
For many products you have a far wider choice of quality and price on line.
however you need to know what you are looking for, which makes it difficult both for the user and the producer.

sellers are getting much smarter in how they introduce new product to you. but you have to take part in on line media to find out about anything.


I suspect there will always be inperson shopping places, but I doubt that they will look much like present day shops. they my well be more like show places for a series of events throughout the year.. the spaces could be attached to enlarged present day supermarkets that would also provide space for other static shops catering for local daily needs.

"Don't miss the latest Photographic event near you" it will give a hands on experience that moves on to another town the following week. there will always somewhere to go see stuff as the location and timing of all events would be published. All actual sales would be processed online. and delivered next day.
This could be far better than the present situation where many specialist shops only carry a narrow range of old stock. and you often have to go many miles to find a decent stockist.
It would suit me fine as I have no local photographic shops.

It should be cost effective as there would be almost no dead stock in hundreds of local shops.

recycled and second hand goods could be sold much like ebay but with an "on Approval basis" Or " on inspection basis" where they would be sent to a local inspection centre rather than to you. (small fee)

What ever happens to Retail it will evolve and require regulation, rather than be imposed.
Someone will start something that works, and it will be all go.
Click to expand...

Not too sure I would like the new model of shopping of the future, I used to love walking along the streets looking at all the shops. :(
 
I do remember going into a shop a little while ago, as the missus was after a top. They did not have her size in, but assistant told her to order the item through the online shop, and said it would be cheaper that way. Could the sales assistant not see what was happening? The shop closed down, but the online shop is still going.
 
stryvya said:
What`s a physical shop, try living in Cornwall.
No shops to browse in the first place!!!!
But wouldn't want to live anywhere else.
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I did try living in Cornwall for 40-odd years. Redruth to be precise. Ghastly experience!
 
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It isn't the pandemic that's caused massive problems for retail shops, and the move online. All that the virus has done to shops is to greatly accelerate the process that was already underway, just as it has accelerated the move to working from home, which already existed and which was growing.

And it will take a very long time before the computer-illiterate generation has died out and everyone can shop online, ignoring the very real problems that people who don't have and can't get bank accounts face, and the problems of extremely poor internet in many rural areas.
 
Its a vicious circle;

High street shops no longer carry the choice & stock, so people shop online, the consequence of that is the high street shops have reduced revenue, meaning they have to reduce costs, meaning less stock, fewer shops.....

I could see click & collect being a compromise solution between online shopping and physical retail. It solves the home delivery issues of working households while addressing the lack of choice in the high street. It also means retailers can operate with a smaller 'footprint' on the high street, lowering their costs.

We have used C&C for our food shopping since the start of the pandemic, the only shop I have visited has been a florist (twice).
 
Large technological changes have always led to large social changes.

There will always be a transition period and some pain for some.

It's the nature of things.
 
Growing up I do remember the days when there were about three newsagents, about ten sweet shops and array of other such like shops, all in one street. Then you had the days of every other shop was a second hand shop, then there was the time when every other shop seemed like a tanning salon. Then came along the charity shops. The you had a load of pound shops.

But yes, probably retail will eventually all be online. The only physical shops then, will probably be shops offering a service, barbers, nails etc.
 
ihasa said:
I would like to see something done to make brick-&-mortar shops more financially competitive with online; it seems unfair that they are hit with business rates while online retailers exploit tax loopholes.
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Like so many things in real life, the claims about the unfairness of internet sellers are a mixture of truth, misunderstanding and lies. While it's true that the big international online companies seem bear more resemblance to pirates than to honest traders, there are many small online traders who are just like your local shop and indeed, many of them are actual local shops.

We've discovered that we can buy a lot of less common items from such vendors and get the same service and good value as if we were able to visit them ourselves. Clothes, sweets, drinks and hardware are just some of the items we've purchased in the last year and will continue to purchase that way in the future. Does this mean that these traders will abandon their shops? I expect that some will and others will not. The thing about "levelling the playing field" is that one man's "level" is another woman's "tilt".
 
simon ess said:
Large technological changes have always led to large social changes.

There will always be a transition period and some pain for some.

It's the nature of things.
Click to expand...

I agree with this. The world is changing, and we must change with it.
 
Where we live we only have a COOP, we don't any other shops other than a Chippy and a pub. The COOP is a little on the expensive side, as it one of the smaller ones, and they are the only shop around for miles. If all retail did go online, it would be awkward waiting for that bottle of milk for your cuppa, or some bread when you had just run out.
 
There was the Agricultural Revolution, then the Industrial Revolution, the Technological Revolution and I believe we are at the cusp of the Online Revolution (for want of a better name), where the balance is tipped in favour of virtual shopping and entertainment.
I think there will always be physical shops, but they will be a mixture of independent niche small retail, and larger showrooms operating as in Japan where they display many of the items for sale, but to purchase you make an in-store online order for delivery or click and collect.
For online-only to work, it requires conventional advertising media, and for bricks-only to work now, it requires an online presence and ordering capability (unless you have the presence, scale and USP of such as Primark).
There will always be a need for convenience stores (as per Jon above), and there will now always be a need for online, imho, until we get the sort of synthesisers they have on Star Trek.
 
A lot of physical shops seem to be struggling as they can't compete on service or price. One of the girls bought a hairbrush online last night, about 9PM maybe even 10PM. She ordered it while she was in bed. Not only was it cheaper online plus free delivery, it came this morning while she was still in bed. :eek:
 
jonbeeza said:
Just saw the news this morning, and more high street shops are struggling, and more have gone out of business. A business analyst was saying, "eventually all shops will be online only, even the supermarket will be online only". I hope not, as I love going and picking my own shopping. I like to see what I am buying, before I buy it.

I have seen threads about online shopping on here, but nothings about all shopping being done online eventually.
Click to expand...

I totally share your sentiment. At least for non-food this may become a reality sooner rather than later. As a sign of things to come brick and mortar Debenhams is no more, and the only thing left will be the website domain redirecting to some sweatshop enterprise. I am not particularly picky in terms of fashion but I can tell you buying a suit is next to impossible online unless you are just reordering a tested and tried one... Same even goes for shoes... different brands - slightly different sizes and any number of odd issues. So that realistically leaves me with CAT and CAT s10 only as that seems to always work.
Maybe there will be some small specialist retailers left operating from their own premises but high street is likely doomed already; the car access removal / taxing to city centres was already one of the last few coffin nails. I can't wait to see what these greedy developers do with the now useless properties like ex-shops and ex-offices.

Food is likely going that way but it will be much slower or will require some newer and fancier COVID-23 where you are not even allowed to go outside without the permits from the Sanitation department. Who is betting on that becoming a reality?!
You know what, we don't need Tescos in that case. A good delivery network should happily facilitate direct trade between consumers and farmers giving the best deal to both parties.

It is ridiculous to read news like there are rotting fish and lamb stuck at the EU customs. Why the hell can't we buy that fish or meat and instead get fed crap from NZ or China?! It doesn't add up. As much as this Boris' version of brexit is a mess and PITA, domestic trading is just as insane and all of us will be paying for it with our money and health.
 
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