Home deliveries - NOT amateur radio

Since the pandemic, many people have turned to home deliveries. We have used these services for many years. You cannot beat looking at goods in shops, but for some things the convenience of home deliveries is great. The downside is shops find it hard to compete and close. It is a very difficult decision. 

Peoples' shopping habits are changing. In my view, the shops that will still be here are those that adjust to this new model, perhaps acting as showcases for goods ordered online. 

Amazon - NOT amateur radio

Amazon is like Marmite in that some are dead against Amazon and some are for the company. 

They should always treat workers well. Yes, they should pay fair taxes. In fact, perhaps all online sales should be taxed so that we are encouraged to use high street shops more?

Personally, I quite like the convenience of Amazon. Things get ordered one day and the goods usually arrive the next day. 

One day my wife went to our local chemists to buy some very ordinary nail scissors. They had none and no plans to stock any. She went on Amazon and they came next day. I cannot remember the price we paid. If you are housebound or unable to carry things a long way, the convenience of online delivery is great.

The demise of retail outlets on the high streets is sad, but our shopping habits have changed.  I just wonder what our high streets will be like in 2030. We cannot be like Canute. Change always happens. Perhaps the nature of high streets will change with more independent shops and bigger retailers offering free home delivery of goods bought in store. Also, I expect there will be more places to meet and more flats.

UPDATE 1513z:  Toilet seat broken. Ordered from Amazon after lunch yesterday. Arrived and fitted just after lunchtime today. Free return not needed.

UPDATE 1515z: Amazon has been used here for years. In all this time, I have never had things delivered to the wrong place. I have had to return things very, very infrequently. Whether from Amazon or other suppliers, my experience of shopping online has been good.

Online orders - NOT amateur radio

Since the Covid-19 pandemic started, a lot of us have turned to orders online. We have ordered stuff from various suppliers and all have done well delivering the correct packages to the door within a few days. No car journeys, no heavy lifting, convenient. 

When things return to more normal, I can see lots of people staying with online orders for speed, choice and convenience. The high street suppliers that will survive have to either offer something unique or change their business model. 

This had already started before the pandemic, but the last 12-15 months have speeded up the change process. I still enjoy browsing and having a coffee whilst my wife spends our money, but things will be different. 

One thing is certain: high streets will be very different. I suspect the changes will take some time. In the end I can see more city centre flats and fewer, different, shops.

The 2 edged sword - NOT amateur radio

Like many, we want to support our local shops. We use our local baker, butcher and co-op shop. However, when our local chemist had no nail scissors and doubted they'd be getting more my wife turned to Amazon and they arrived within a few days.

Yesterday we ordered some new sheets and pillow cases via Amazon. I was able to track the delivery man's van and told my wife he'll soon be here. In just 24 hours they arrived at our doorstep. In the end I am sure high street shops that want to survive will alter their working models. In the next 20 years the high streets will undergo radical change.

Part of me wishes things were as they were, but the Amazon model is surely the way of the future. Like King Canute and the Luddites, one cannot stop the inevitable: we either change or die. In the next 20 years a lot will change. This not just the high street shops. Think of churches and other institutions. As people get older and die so will many institutions. Amateur radio tends to be an old man's hobby in many places. Where will that be in 20 years?

Online shopping - NOT amateur radio

Shopping online is quite common these days. I have successfully bought lots on line. However, it is not always a good story.

Recently I bought a couple of batteries for my watch via Amazon. Usually these last several years but one failed after a month despite it being a branded item. Cost-wise I probably saved several pounds even so. The second battery is still working fine.

I also bought a spare head and cutters for my electric razor. Even after a few months they struggle to cut, whereas the originals lasted years.

All I am saying is caveat emptor. Most things will be inexpensive and work fine, whereas some things may be problematic.

Buying books on the internet - NOT amateur radio

At Christmas, I bought my wife a lovely hardback book filled with colour photos called " English Cathedrals" by Simon Jenkins. I bought it at a Cambridge bookshop where it cost me £30.

The book was a great success so my wife wanted another copy for her brother's birthday. A quick check on Amazon where the very same hardback book was less than £9! It now retails at just over £20 on Amazon. We bought it at less than £9 and it came a few days later.

How can local bookshops survive? We are as guilty as anyone. We see a bargain and grab it.

It is sad as I love browsing bookshops. Maybe the long-term answer is a bit like John Lewis? Browse in stores and buy (increasingly) online? I do not see the future high streets, but the retail trade will change in the future: fewer shops and more cafes? Whoever gets this right will be king. Amazon now, but who will succeed in the years ahead?

See https://www.amazon.co.uk/d/Books/Englands-Cathedrals-Simon-Jenkins/1408706458/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1489312522&sr=8-1&keywords=english+cathedrals+simon+jenkins