Shopping is becoming more and more a social occasion where you meet up with friends and family, browse a bit, drink a Costa coffee and impulse buy a few things.
Why would you go shopping on your own, you can do that on the internet.
Though I have to say buying clothes on line with ASOS which is the current trend would never suite me as I have to try things on first.
Food shopping on line, would never do that either as I generally want to pick my own food and don't want to have to wait around for delivery.
Food shopping on line, would never do that either as I generally want to pick my own food and don't want to have to wait around for delivery.
So maybe clothes shopping and food still done face to face, but not much else for me to be honest.
Visions of a ghostly High Street then with all the units for sale or rent and all the shoppers sitting at home or spending at an out of town dedicated shopping centre.
It is fascinating though to watch the struggles of famous High Street names as they battle the relentless march of internet shopping.
I first became interested in the fate of Dixons when David (number 1 son) studying Accountancy had researched Dixon
So I bought some of their shares in my self invest pension. Having bought at 23p, I just wish I’d waited until they went down to 11p before I’d struck.
Currently at 15p David’s belief in them and my desire not to panic may be rewarded eventually.
Having got interested then in the battle of rescuing Dixons I also had a close look at HMV too. Both companies being heavily tipped as great recovery plays during 2011.
I became even more interested in HMV as a recovery play when their shares crashed to 9p. But even at that price I still did not buy.
HMV are at great risk of being the next Woolworths, a great traditional name famous for once having lots of customers.
People are probably buying more music than ever before but the great overpriced CD rip off is now firmly behind us. Downloaded music for your iplayer in your bedroom is just a million miles from parking up and walking into the local HMV store.
DVD’s too then, hello Amazon, why would you shop anywhere else for a movie, then Amazon can even suggest what other similar films you might enjoy watching and tell you what everyone else is buying. It’s a great on line experience !!
Currently HMV are engaged in a fire sale of assets to pay off some debt. Waterstones just sold closely followed by the Canadian HMV today for £2 million.
Next up for them is a realignment. Selling electronic media in their shops like Ipods and Ipads and branching out into music gigs, festivals, events etc. Hmmmmm
Difficult to know where you would go with HMV shops.
Difficult to know where you would go with HMV shops.
But Dixons though are still sitting in my pension fund.
Well they look to be doing all the right things to me to battle against the recession and the internet.
What I want in PC World is advice when I need it and also to get things fixed. Apparently the most popular home service is installing wall mounted flat screen tv’s.
Their new tech service “Knowhow” will supply exactly this.
So Dixons not dead yet and I may well still go there to buy a washing machine or fridge.
But I did buy my last TV and laptop on line, oh dear ….
The bloody battle raging between the High Street shop and the internet to see which shops can survive and how is a compelling situation.
I was on our local High Street last Sunday and it was quite eerie, hardly any people and lots of boarded up shops. Meanwhile half a mile down the road there was barely a parking space to be had at one of the Worlds most successful shopping outlets, that being Bicester Village outlet store.
Just where will it all end ?
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