Re: Has internet shopping gone too far?

There is certainly no going back, effortless internet shopping has really come of age with generally great service as well as a huge choice and highly competitive prices. What's not to like?

Re: Has internet shopping gone too far?

Saying it's taking away jobs isn't or shouldn't be right as they employ more people to pick pack and deliver than they employed in shops.

Tbh councils charging for parking, rude shop assistants, shop owners not stocking anything different all made me think on line is better.

Re: Has internet shopping gone too far?

As long as the Internet exists it'll go on, nothing's for ever and whatever comes next will have its advantages and disadvantages too. I think people buy more because of the Net, it's just so easy to click on something, and not have to carry it home. Buying more is good for some and bad for others. Gradually people will adjust to the advantages and disadvantages, and new staff will find it easier to learn new jobs.

Probably more needs to be done to make sure the pickers, packers & drivers are adequately paid and not put under unrealistic time pressures.

Something probably needs to be done about the compulsive "returners" too.

Re: Has internet shopping gone too far?

I rarely buy online, just small things like cosmetics and skin care that's not available locally

Books I love to trawl second hand book shops and charity shops for. Clothes I rarely buy, I hate clothes shopping with a passion so tend to just pick up what I need when I'm supermarket shopping

Food shopping, I buy from shops. I like to see what I'm buying

Big items I buy from local businesses. Whilst there may not be a huge variety of ranges, the personal service is second to none. I've posted before that our electrical shop price matches, usually gives a discount , gives free delivery and the item is delivered on time either on day of purchase or following day.

Our town is changing. Full of charity shops and more hairdresser, beauticians and eating places then anything else. But we still have a post office, a couple of banks, 5 butchers, 2 bakers, a green grocers and a fish stall as well as the small supermarkets and niche boutiques and specialist shops

Re: Has internet shopping gone too far?

We noticed it changing about 11 years ago as i worked for a Mail Order Company that had it's own main frame computer that wasn't linked up to the internet. We lost a lot of custom through this as our customers use to phone orders in or post their orders to us. We all got made redundant in 2008 because of this.... Everything is changing too quickly in today's world!

Re: Has internet shopping gone too far?

I agree they need to pay fairly the pickets packers and drivers, tbh if they charged a bit more for that and I knew it was going to the workers I wouldn't mind. It's the idea they aren't paying them properly makes me want free p&p.

One thing the physical shops did very wrong was make the high streets all the same. A few years ago we realised we were stood in a town in the north east and we couldn't see one shop we didn't have back home in Surrey. The local differences had just disappeared.

On line the odd and unusual is everywhere.

Re: Has internet shopping gone too far?

I am so thankful for my Kindle, it saves having to buy books, I read so quickly I would require a library to store the number of books I read in a year.

Re: Has internet shopping gone too far?

Picked by robots, delivered by drones is on the way .....

I don't now how some people have the gall to order, say, several items in different sizes for self and friends to wear for a weekend and then return, but they do .....

They should be blacklisted .....

Re: Has internet shopping gone too far?

It's a scarey thought about these robots but I believe people will become redundant to robots in the future. It's already happening in my workplace. Part of my job is to key in account numbers and send on via email to the next person/department to delete these accounts and while I thought it a human that would be doing that i.ve recently been informed it is done by robots which takes away jobs . The company I work for are talking of robots doing the work that humans are doing right now in the future and are working on it. So one day I will lose my job due to a robot!! What are people going to do? There are a shortage of jobs already so what about our future. I like technology but it's certainly not always s good thing.

Re: Has internet shopping gone too far?

Ironically it is not the online market places that drive the rise it is the customers.

A couple of for instances.....I used to chase all over town to get replacement vacuum belts or bags, now I visit Ebay and can get them popped through the letter box with ease.

My local B+Q didn't have the right fence spikes the day I visited and nobody knew when they would restock.
A week later I looked on their website and the local store had some......it said.......I went there....and they didn't....staff said they would alter the stock level shown on the website.Nobody knew when they would restock.

I ordered elsewhere online, 2 days later they arrived.