Further Carnage On The High Street

[youngmafbog]

Seven thousand more jobs going at M&S. This comes on top of job losses at Boots, John Lewis [JLPLC.UL], Dixons Carphone and WH Smith. And of course Debenhams are about to crash out in one way or another.

Not long now until the High Street is finished.

https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-m-s-redundancies/ms-to-shed-7000-jobs-in-latest-blow-to-retail-sector-idUKKCN25E0NH

[fiction-factory]

Yes, the writing has been on the wall for a few years now.

[lady-janine]

Have to agree but I still prefer looking at the things I am going to buy and not just doing it via a screen. Makes me old-fashioned I guess.

[ToraToraTora]

Well even before the virus shenanigans the high st was on the way out. Not surprisingly, it's now been accelerated.

[youngmafbog]

I guess we can all look forward to large Council tax rises when the rates money and rip off car park fees kick in.

[derek-33]

and the massive increase in online shopping means thousands of more delivery vans in the road causing pollution and havoc,
also according to statistics 20 to 40% of items bought online are returned

[Canary42]

/// thousands of more delivery vans in the road ///

Each van replacing a hundred or more shopper's cars, so that must be good for the environment.

[cashier]

I'm with Lady J, I prefer looking at things before I buy and would rather spend in a shop than on line.

[derek-33]

canary
true to a point but shoppers usual drive to the shops and back as for delivering vans are on the road 8 to 10 hours a day

[woofgang]

derek in that time the do the journeys of hundreds if not thousands of shoppers.

[rockyracoon]

Shops only have themselves to blame. Practically every time I went out shopping pre Covid, I left empty handed as there was never any stock of the items I wanted. When I asked shop assistants they just said ‘you can get it online’.

I’d much rather try clothes on there and then than have to have stuff delivered then go to the post office or Collect Plus shop to send it back when it inevitably doesn’t fit.

[237SJ]

I`d much rather try clothes on there and then as well but the shops are quite happy for you to buy and take home to try or buy online and try. It's a nice free loan for them to invest for a week or so.

[mushroom25]

at a work seminar last year, I heard a talk delivered by TfL’s transport planner. he said that the biggest contributor to congestion in London was delivery vehicles - whether delivering goods to metro stores or coffee houses (whose store rooms ARE the delivery vehicles) as well as online shopped goods. an increase of 13% over the pandemic can only have made that worse.

[237SJ]

^ not to mention all the pollution from all of the vehicles doing individual journeys with all of that packaging. Funny how the whole global warming ethos has gone out of the window due to Covid.

[tomus42]

The so called high street had already been dying a slow and painful death for many years. If this helps to put it out of its misery that might actually not be such a bad thing.

[tomus42]

//Shops only have themselves to blame. //

No they don't. They also have extortionate business rates, rent, greedy /desperate councils charging stupid parking fees that put people off going into town, and sundry local taxes to blame.

[tamborine]

Weve only got charity shops, poundland, dentists & hairdressers open in our high street. To add insult to injury the side streets are blocked off to cars, with planters to protect new cycle lanes. Some offices cant use their car parks due to planters restricting access.