Internet shopping vs "actual" shopping

[lucylou99]

How many sheffielders will be or have been doing their christmas shopping online this year? Or are you the king of person that likes to see before you buy?

I have just opened a small shop in a localish area and internet sales are far surpassing shop sales which got me thinking about the future of local businesses. So if the options were a full day at meadowhell to xmas shop or online and pay postage costs which would you do?????

<REMOVED>

[Jeffrey Shaw]

Twin-sourcing customers/clients is an excellent idea. Well done!

Who nowadays would rely only on passing trade ('footfall') without any online presence?

[milliardo]

Always internet, I can't stand crowds especially meadowhell. I love things like John Lewis where I can pop in, show number and get box, free 'delivery', done in about 15 minutes over the net.

[Jeffrey Shaw]

But one problem is that 'delivery'! See any PO Sorting Office queue as to why.

[max]

A bit of both for me, there's stuff you need to be able to see and touch to check the quality so there's always a need for some shops.

[Manlinose]

a bit of both for me too, but only because i haven't found a "real" shop that sells amazon gift vouchers

 

i'm a bit old fashioned and don't get out enough so i much prefer going into shops and buying things

 

i don't mind paying a bit more for the privilege of knowing that i have contributed in some small way to someone keeping their job for just a bit longer

[Ms Macbeth]

A bit of both for me, there's stuff you need to be able to see and touch to check the quality so there's always a need for some shops.

 

Snap. I'll often check the goods in the shop, then order them online to save being loaded down with parcels.

[L00b]

95%+ of my shopping online this year, as the last 5 years at least, with very little from bricks-and-mortars (which has been mostly to pick up online-ordered and 'internally-delievered' e.g. John Lewis/House of Fraser, to bypass the 'vagaries' of Royal Mail at this time of year).

 

Mostly because -

(i) Generally, local shops (Sheff, R'ham, Chesterfield) don't stock what I want to buy (I'm very picky about presents, which are frequently obscure/specialist or too exclusive);

(ii) those that do are really taking the mick with prices (I can understand a high markup for bricks and mortars with more overheads...but come on!); and

(ii) Sheffield costs me too much time for access/parking.

[becm]

'multi channel retailing' if you want get technical, I tend to look online and then buy it locally if I can find someone, so both website and shop is ideal.

 

I shop online alot but getting fed-up with ordering the wrong size/out of stock/mis-delivery/cost of delivery/not like the picture/ oops left it to late... problems so going back to real shops this year.

[francypants]

A bit of both, as others have said there are always some things that you want to actually see before you buy. I started my Christmas shopping in May !

Any shops nowadays that are not on the net want their heads testing.