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Death of the high street.

Death of the high street.

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Just wondering if there are many Amazon fans here? Must admit I have I have used them a lot in the past as my student son set up Amazon Prime TV for us, which also provides free deliveries on many purchases.

[Traditional shops may be in free fall, but since the start of 2020 the worth of the Amazon empire is reckoned to have increased by more than half, to an astonishing $1.49 trillion (£1.1tn). Last Thursday, it announced quarterly sales that were up 40% on the same period last year - The Guardian]


@drewnogal said
Just wondering if there are many Amazon fans here? Must admit I have I have used them a lot in the past as my student son set up Amazon Prime TV for us, which also provides free deliveries on many purchases.

[Traditional shops may be in free fall, but since the start of 2020 the worth of the Amazon empire is reckoned to have increased by more than half, to an astonishi ...[text shortened]... Thursday, it announced quarterly sales that were up 40% on the same period last year - The Guardian]
In the U.S. it's called Main Street. Sad to say, more vacant shops.


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-Removed-
There certainly will be a transformation of the city centers, and it is moving fast.

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Well those Shops which offer Things one wants to feel and touch before purchasing will stay as will Services which can't be made online (hair dressers, massages, cosmetics,...) other than that Society is going to hange as it did since the Advent of Society. We have lost a lot of artisans and small Shops to the Supermarket chains and now we will lose some of those.

In my opinion the Problem is that Transport is dirt cheap (Energy Prices still very low, wages for delivery personal really unbelievable low,...)

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@ponderable said
Well those Shops which offer Things one wants to feel and touch before purchasing will stay as will Services which can't be made online (hair dressers, massages, cosmetics,...) other than that Society is going to hange as it did since the Advent of Society. We have lost a lot of artisans and small Shops to the Supermarket chains and now we will lose some of those.

In my ...[text shortened]... s dirt cheap (Energy Prices still very low, wages for delivery personal really unbelievable low,...)
I still buy books in our local bookstores, which is more expensive of course, to help keeping them here. It's a joy just being there.

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@torunn said
I still buy books in our local bookstores, which is more expensive of course, to help keeping them here. It's a joy just being there.
That’s the crux of the matter torunn the high street has been dying since the big supermarkets moved out of the town centres leaving only specialist retailers and internet shopping has largely displaced that market niche.
If high streets are to survive they will need to offer added value in terms of experience over and above a simple transactional model.

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@kevcvs57 said
That’s the crux of the matter torunn the high street has been dying since the big supermarkets moved out of the town centres leaving only specialist retailers and internet shopping has largely displaced that market niche.
If high streets are to survive they will need to offer added value in terms of experience over and above a simple transactional model.
I agree. How will internet shopping survive in the long run - selling at low prices offering open purchases, no transport costs to or from? How will they stay competible? And where is the pleasure?

I buy books in Swedish, but if I should want literature in English I suppose I would try Amazon.


@torunn said
I agree. How will internet shopping survive in the long run - selling at low prices offering open purchases, no transport costs to or from? How will they stay competible? And where is the pleasure?

I buy books in Swedish, but if I should want literature in English I suppose I would try Amazon.
It looks like the tech giants have their sights set on the big supermarket chains next with warehouse to door delivery, Amazon is the front runner and their forging ahead with drone deliveries.
I predict the high street will survive in some format and that it’s the big out of town malls that will disappear, I also predict nobody will mourn their passing.

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@kevcvs57 said
It looks like the tech giants have their sights set on the big supermarket chains next with warehouse to door delivery, Amazon is the front runner and their forging ahead with drone deliveries.
I predict the high street will survive in some format and that it’s the big out of town malls that will disappear, I also predict nobody will mourn their passing.
My cousin who runs a business with rehabilitation equipment, and retail sale of medical and orthopaedic goods had to close down his shop in the city centre a few months ago because of high rent and reduced sales. He now opens a smaller shop a bit outside the absolute centre, renting it at 1/10 of the previous cost. He also uses the internet to reach clients unable to travel.

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@drewnogal said
Just wondering if there are many Amazon fans here? Must admit I have I have used them a lot in the past as my student son set up Amazon Prime TV for us, which also provides free deliveries on many purchases.

[Traditional shops may be in free fall, but since the start of 2020 the worth of the Amazon empire is reckoned to have increased by more than half, to an astonishi ...[text shortened]... Thursday, it announced quarterly sales that were up 40% on the same period last year - The Guardian]
Amazon fan +tesco+morissons/as a carer for the boss(wife) who is shielding I online shop everything, not been in a shop for months, i am getting 6 months to the gallon out of my car.

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@torunn said
My cousin who runs a business with rehabilitation equipment, and retail sale of medical and orthopaedic goods had to close down his shop in the city centre a few months ago because of high rent and reduced sales. He now opens a smaller shop a bit outside the absolute centre, renting it at 1/10 of the previous cost. He also uses the internet to reach clients unable to travel.
Well I think it was dive that pointed out how local authorities have been milking high st retailers dry for years when they should be loading the tax burden onto the big superstore chains and giving the small retailer a break. A well stocked and sustainable high st should be viewed in the same way as public parks, cycle tracks and libraries are seen as local amenities not cash cows.

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For what it's worth, my two penneth - Technology, Business rates, Social demographic. Now 2 tablespoons of Greed, stir..... The writing is on the wall.

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@badradger said
Amazon fan +tesco+morissons/as a carer for the boss(wife) who is shielding I online shop everything, not been in a shop for months, i am getting 6 months to the gallon out of my car.
Me too, I general grocery shop at Tesco’s or Asda but most everything else is from Amazon. You can’t really argue with free next day delivery on most things including all those specialist recipe ingredients that you’d have to travel to the nearest city for otherwise.
But we’re not helping the high st are we, I think most people like the idea of a high st but don’t actively support them.
As I said earlier I think they need to transition into an experience based hub rather than a purely transactional one.

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