Off Topic Political Debate

We still have many small stores in our High Streets. This is thought to be desirable so tax breaks are given for five year periods. Certainly some of the traders have given up trying to compete with the supermarkets, but there are very few empty shops which aren't taken up quickly. I said after my trip to Banbury earlier this year that the High Street looked awful with empty shops covered with fly posting.

 

Several years ago I took my parents to a large shop where you could buy nothing. It had every mobility and help for the aged. You could try them. Get independent reports written my medical experts. If you wanted something you could see a list of suppliers.

I could imagine a similar formula in the high street, but with the ability to buy online. In some cases the product would get delivered before you got back home.

But whatever I think the authorities need a general plan for the high street experience. And to use their imaginations. It shouldn't be left to big retailers. Just look at Watford. I now hate going to the high street. Ugly, dirty, lack of facilities, ................

 

I'm all for supporting local stores and UK businesses but online shopping is here to stay. There will naturally be less demand for traditional shops, you can then only have so many coffee and charity shops. The large retailers are affected just as much as smaller retailers as witnessed by recent closures. To me change of use to housing solves two problems at a stroke.

 

I agree that internet shopping is here to stay. However - which things do you buy online, and which things would you never buy online ? I can imagine buying tickets for travel, or big events in that way, music, stationary or work supplies, digital media, electronic devices etc. but would never buy groceries in the same way, or clothing, furniture or anything which was needed immediately. Doubtlessly the corner shop has more chance of surviving if it sees its premises as being multi functional. There are other ways of tackling the housing crisis - there are one million empty homes in the UK (300,000 long term), homes sitting empty for no good reason should be taken over and used to house local people. This together with rent controls, and expansion of the public housing sector.

 

The online grocery buying is massive in the UK, as is clothing. Amazon delivery next day on many items. Local shops cannot compete, especially with Amazon not paying a fair amount of tax. Thousands of shops will need to close because they are becoming increasingly unviable.

 

I think you need to find out why there is so much online buying in the UK. Apparently the average revenue per internet user in the UK. is 1,629 pounds per year - which is the 6th highest in the World, and the 3rd highest in Europe. Why is this ? It has nothing to do with the speed of internet connections because the fastest in Europe is in the Netherlands, but they buy much less using this medium. The same applies to Germany and Sweden.

 

I think it's up to shop owners to realize the potential advantages which ''physical'' buying has for the customer - instant gratification, experience of human contact, perhaps the opportunity of combining the experience with something else the customer likes doing. At any rate a shopkeeper needs to use his imagination on this - if he just sells the same old product in the same old grumpy way forever, then he will go under.

 

Why?

 

This 'head in the sand' attitude remains me of my brother-in-law. He became a multi millionaire before he was thirty in the travel business. Unfortunately the low cost airlines arrived and took most of his business. He pumped his own money back into his struggling business for many years without success. He should have cut his losses much earlier and moved on. My wife and I had three shops at one time, they served their purpose at the time but when trading changed two were sold, the last we just closed down.

Much of the UK public, especially youngsters prefer to buy online, this will only increase.

 

Because if you know the whole context of something then you are better able to work on counter measures.

 

There will not be any counter measures for most of these shops.

 

Is this saying residents in the UK buy more, or that UK traders sell more?

Here in Spain the supermarkets are way behind the UK ones, and local markets and smaller shops are great for fresh food. So that, plus booze being cheap, would explain why this 45 million population buy less. In the UK with a smaller family we did a supermarket online once a week, and booze once a month. In Spain we do one supermarket per month and no booze. And my wife buys Clark's shoes, M&S undies, and vaious UK clothes due to the quality.through online and as she pays with her UK card I guess that gets classed as UK online spend ???

 

It's not a 'head in the sand' attitude SH. Internet buying is not going to disappear, but neither is it going to replace all other methods of buying. In order to compete retailers need to look at the possible advantages which hand to hand buying has and, if possible, magnify them.

 

No but there will be counter measures for town centers.

 

I presume the figure to refer to online spending per internet user KC. You've also highlighted another major difference - some countries have different preferred methods of payment. Most Germans don't like using credit cards which, naturally, would put a slight break on online spending. I know that the UK. is different on this - the only reason I have one is to be able to pay things in the UK. like football tickets.

 

Internet buying will not completely replace shops but the percentage will steadily creep up. Unfortunately you are asking traders to work against the trend at their expense. Quite easy to suggest, hard to carry out.

 

I wonder how they calculate that? Must be a statistical guess with potential for enormous error. Here many use their phones as data allowances are high. So presumably each phone is an internet user?

Cologne go away . That is going to bug me now so I'll spend the next couple of hours trying to find out

 

www.entrepreneur.com/article252539
Which Country Spends the Most Online ?

Not sure how the calculation is made. There is no explanation given as to why this should be the case - and all the countries shown had high internet speeds and high levels of consumer spending. The variable appears to be that different countries spend their money in different ways - from all smaller consumer transactions in Germany 82% are paid for in cash and the rest by direct bank transfer. Credit cards are only really used for foreign transactions. Apparently it has been calculated that the German wallet has twice as much ready cash in it as one in the USA or the UK, for this reason. This could explain why we have more street musicians here

 

It seems my daughter has a courier visit almost daily either to drop off clothing or to pick up (wrong colour, size etc.) Most of it is cheap Chinese crap.

 

I hope that link works for you.