Add in the option of goods being delivered to the meta shop - or maybe one of several meta shop pick-up points in an area. That companies supplying the meta shop would very likely be delivering multiple items, regularly, so reduced costs compared with lots of individual purchasers.
In message , Andrew Gabriel writes
Do they? Many people have different sized feet so that would be very useful to them.
In message , John Rumm writes
Call it SOGRA?
There are several schemes and companies who will oblige.
I was rather taken with this one:
I noted the other day that a local council near to me has reduced Saturday parking charges to 10p. This in an area with the Olympic legacy. Prior to the games all the local shopkeepers thought it was going to be a financial bonanza. In reality the crowds bypassed the shops when visiting the venue a few miles away and locals avoided the area because of the games related no parking restrictions. All the newly installed illuminated information signs reported "long delays" due to the games. The signs had the same message for around 6 weeks, from the pre Olympics practice weekend to the end of the Para games.
I'm finding that some of the cheap drug store type shops are now looking overpriced with items cheaper on the Net (incl postage). My guess is that these type of shops will be the next to go along with some big names such as Boots and WHSmiths who seem to be stuck in the
1960s.
I buy a lot of stuff from Chemist Direct now. Significantly cheaper. And Quidco cashback too!
Bloody 'ell. Council and privately-run carp arks charge £1·10 per hour around here Mon-Sat. A bit cheaper in the evenings (when the shops are shut!).
The council one(s?) is (are?) a bit cheaper, especially long-term, on a Sunday. In fact there's a sort-of-temporary council open-air one which is free on a Sunday (and BHs).
A couple of days ago I commented to a pal of mine that Clark's shoe-shop, although it had a few customers, somehow looked a bit vulnerable. Do people buy proper shoes these days? It woulld seem that there are three sorts of shoes that people buy -
1) - fashion. Probably totally impractical. 2) - trendy "trainer-types" Quite naff, as a rule, and likely useless in snow/ice. 3) - serious walking/trekking/hiking types of things.Boots and WHS nearly always seem reasonably busy (around here anyway). WHS as it exists would be pretty difficult to replace on line because of their short-term stocks such as newspapers and monthly mags.
One casualty locally is Staples, which seems to be selling off its stocks, leaving something like Rymans, who don't hold anywhere like S do.
Call me old fashioned, but I still prefer to see and handle things in a real shop, even though their products may cost a bit more.
Clarks have a slight edge in that they are the place lots of people go for kids shoes, since they take the time to measure carefully, and carry a good range of sizes in multiple width fittings.
WHS are also quite heavily into the wholesale and distribution side as well IIUC.
True. But the newsstand price of magazines is vastly inflated as against a subscription. And there has been quite a lot of subscription-promotion on the internet over several years. I suspect WHS' actual retail sales (whether number of copies or value) are falling - and, unless they process subscriptions as well as wholesale, their bulk handling might be reducing as well.
Remember, you used to see the magazine aisle full of people, and there were big piles of the most recently published titles.
Most womans shoes then, the ones that fill up three wardrobes and never =
get worn.
I read "quite naff" two ways: as in a brand with some "must have" feature, colour scheme or style for which you pay through the nose or cheap and cheerful =A39.99 but only last a couple of months. There are s= ome half decent brands of "trainer" that don't cost all your arms and legs and do last quite well.
4) Wellies.Personally I think you only need five pairs of footwear maximum: posh, everyday, wellies, tough boots and slippers. You may well be able to do =
away with posh, tough boots and slippers depending on your life style.
This is true our kids have always had Clarkes shoes and the store normally has at least one other parent & child in buying shoes. But then= both my sister has, and late mother had, bunions. How many of the Great =
Unwashed realise that the growing foot should not just be shoved into an= y old shoe? You pay quite a premium for Clarkes kids shoes but I think it'= s worth it, you only get one pair of feet and they have to last a lifetime= .
I noticed when travelling round the world when I got to places warm enough for shoes not to be required to keep 'em warm foot shape of those= that had only ever worn flipflops, at the most, was very different to a =
constrained shoe bound foot. Instead of being more or less parallel side= d and the toes right next to each other the foot was triangular and the toes well separated from each other.
I can't understand why they play s**te music. I have often gone into a shop with the intention of buying something only to leave rapidly, empty handed due to the dreadful music.
And I also recall being in a restaurant at lunch time. We were the only people there and I asked them to change the CD they were playing. The manager refused, saying they are not allowed to!
From about £1.40 ph here, 7 days a week, and more expensive in the 'posh' car parks. Some areas charge (full price) until 8pm which is a particular problem in the winter because all the signs and machines are unlit.
Shoe shops are important, IMHO, because you really need to find shoes that fit. I find shoes particularly difficult to find since my feet are not 'standard' (they are quite wide).
+1. And, at a good store, you can still get good service.I am getting very tired of buying cheap online, finding the product faulty, and then the retailer is complelely unable to deal with the problem.
Lifestyles vary! I haven't had slippers for decades, as often as possible I mooch about in 'boatshoes' and have a 15 year old pair of posh shoes on standby.
Actually I have some wellies on standby too now, but haven't had for years.
Relatively slow moving stock compared to a supermarket that gets several= deliveries per day. This how the John Lewis/Waitrose, Tesco Direct etc =
Collect from store system works. The wagons going any way just bung it i= n a cage...
I can't think of an excuse for not having that as an option. Are there any carriers that don't offer "next day"? Always assuming you aren't in =
the "highlands and islands". B-)
And did they arrive?
Well most of it *is* there, what is missing is a "next day" option and all stores collect from store. The next day option may require taking on= a few more pickers and packers to ensure that all orders before x O'Cloc= k make the carrier pickup. An all stores next day collect may well have significant costs.
But don't walk out fo the store with the goods... For some goods that isn't a problem, thinking white goods etc, but for most other stuff not =
having the thing you've just played with in your hands as you leave is not a good "shopping experience" IMHO.
I have unusual feet. Extremely wide and very high instep. I have spent my entire life (at least from age 8) unable to find acceptable shoes in any shoe shop - and have had to put up with poorly fitting shoes. AT times I have been in much discomfort simply because I could not find any that fitted better than the ones I already had. As I have travelled around the country I have tried shops all round Great Britain - very much the independents as the chains never have anything.
Only since the internet have I been able to find shoes that fit acceptably. Yes - on-line. And I even have a choice of black or brown!
Not the world's finest shoes but pretty much decent high street quality and the best fit I have ever found.
Thank you:
They also stock different width fittings for adult shoes, while many stores only have the standard width. To me, that is important as I take a wide (H) shoe.
They also have steadily changed what they sell outside their core of newspapers, periodicals and books over the years, which suggests they keep aware of changing buying habits.
Colin Bignell
In Staples a while ago I queried the chap on the till on how they kept going considering that they were almost always empty. Answer was that they weren't.
Mind you, barring paper, whenever I've gone in there looking for some stationery related item I've come away empty handed. They either don't sell it or it's eye-wateringly expensive.
Scott
Thanks for the link. I might give them a try.
Well I'm getting to the point where I need very furry slippers for when it's very cold as well as just slippers.
What with the music, and nothing I was interested in having a price tag on it, I just thought WTF am I doing here?
And when it forces you to shout at the person you're with......
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