The High Street and last days

[SIRandyraven]

I feel it's the beginning of the end for a lot of retailers on the British High Street.
Example today - Went shopping (Would rather have my teeth ground down to be honest).
Went into WH Smith saw an antiques book they wanted £30 - Had ipad with me so used 3G service to check amazon and selling same book for £17.84....Another book Smiths wanted £14 ...Hairy Bikers 12 days of Xmas , amazon have it for £9.50 ...
Went in Watertrstones and same story most books ...went into HMV ..3 out of 5 DVD cheaper on amazon ...but they did have 2 at same price.
Wife wanted some Fuzzy friends slippers ...saw them for £17 ..amazon £11 ...yes they sell slippers ....
Found pub ...had a Diet coke and burger and ordered goods on amazon ....

I think on line will kill the High Street this year ...

[SIRandyraven]

I feel most High Street shops these days are just shop windows for online retailers ....
Feel sad in a way ...buy hey that's life ..things change

[boxtops]

I have to admit to looking on eBay for everything first, before I go and look at the shops. We don't buy much these days but we can often get what we want, new or hardly used, much cheaper on eBay.

[micmak]

Agree Andy. I do most of my shopping online, especially with free delivery from Amazon.

[oranger]

Diet coke and burger, sounds like a bit of a contradiction.

[dotty.]

It's not doing, we finished the week 5% up on last year.

[SIRandyraven]

Guess it depends on what you sell.
what do you sell Dot ?

Have full coke , too sweet ...Diet coke also feels flatter ...
Don't drink alcohol any more ...got bored with it ....so coke or long drinks for me these days ...Root Beer when in the USA

[dotty.]

I sell books in WH Smith andy

[cazzz1975]

I agree andy, I always price check my purchases and most of the time they can be found cheaper online. the high street is very expensive these days.

[jaydah]

I wondered why the books shops were full of customers using phones.

[stokemaveric]

well i went into argos on thursday night it was 7.45pm...late night shopping ...there was me paying for 2 items amd 3 staff behind the counter..and the city centre was pretty empty as well..and this is before the v.a.t increase in the new year..i think we are in for some tough times ahead...

[SIRandyraven]

Smiths had some deals on ...but in general I don't know how you can compete with amazon ?

Bunny Suicides book Smiths wanted £12.99 , amazon was £7.24 ...
Why Can't Elephants Jump Smiths was £7.99 , amazon was £3.99...
Hairy Bikers 12 days Of Christmas Smiths was £14 , amazon was £9.49...

I tend to use e-bay and amazon these days ...
Will Smiths do price matching with Amazon ?

[China Doll]

I pretty much never buy books, dvds or cds in high street shops anymore. I also rarely buy them brand new, I don't mind second hand versions in good nick. I buy a lot of my make up online too, it just makes more sense.

[dotty.]

have you visited the smiths website?

[China Doll]

Today I brought 7 books and a DVD for a grand total of £20. I don't think any high street store or website could match that.

[SIRandyraven]

No .. I did not know Smiths did books on line also ...
I will have a look ...not good start however the web site is hanging at the moment

[society]

To be honest I cannot tell the last time I've visited or shopped in a store, well aside from Costco. If you know exactly what you want online shopping is the way to go.

[SIRandyraven]

Took 60 seconds for the smiths web site to come up ..now trying to do a search for a book ...45 seconds ....
Hairy Bikers 12 days of Xmas £10 on line ...that's £4 cheaper than the stores ...
So even Smiths are going to kill the retail side of things ....

[dotty.]

it's fine here. You can order online and the book(s) are sent to your local/designated store for you to pick up when you're ready, no postage costs and you don;'t need to stay home to take delivery.

[dotty.]

You're determined I'll be unemployed andy!!! lol,

[Bambiagain]

I use Amazon regularly as it's the easiest way for me to buy English language books. But when I visit England I love to visit bookshops and browse, which usually results in my buying something. Amazon is great when you know what you want, but if you're not sure whether you will like the author, then nothing beats mooching around a bookshop. Then again, I have just found out that Amazon sells Marmite. Oh, frabjious day...