I was trying to think of something I’ve bought in a real shop this year that wasn’t food, and I struggled. I did buy a pair of tights while out and about as I was cold. That might be it for myself.

Also maybe a couple of dog toys.

And then I wonder why my local high street is now 90% food businesses!

22 comments

  1. Clothes I still mostly buy in person. I also buy hand soap from a shop near me, as it’s pretty much the same price as online. I think also a new Switch game and controller as Smyths was competitively priced.

  4. Shoes for our kid, some trousers for the Mrs. That’s probably about it which is kinda scary!

  6. Lots of stuff. Compost, seeds, dog\cat treats,toys and food, plants, screws, lots of other DIY stuff, chicken feed, bags of pelleted chicken poo, water container for the chickens, lots of household stuff like floor wash/fairy, conditioner etc, a mop, a squidgy for wiping down the shower, phone case, paint…..

  7. Bought lots of DIY stuff from Homebase/B&Q/Wickes. As lots of the stuff is bulky or cheap (like screws and plumbing bits) it is usually cheaper and easier to get in person than online.

  8. I seem to live in one of the only places in the UK where the local high streets and independent shops seem to be thriving. I also work in the city centre so tend to do most of my shopping during my lunch break. I tend not to order much stuff online.

    This year I’ve bought clothes, shoes, flowers, a vase, some nice glassware, I went to about 4 or 5 different book shops yesterday, clothes for the kids, bed sheets, birthday cards, wrapping paper

  9. I get larger items like bags of compost / top soil / pebbles from my local garden centres. Discovered a local hydroponics shop that was selling clay pebbles for waaaay cheaper than online (like half the price) so got a big bag from them recently for an aquaponics experiment I’m doing.

    DIY stuff I’ll usually pop into one of the DIY stores to get what I need immediately as I’m usually trying to complete that project on the same day.

    Bought a bunch of aquarium plants and fish for my aquarium early this year. Surprisingly things like snails and shrimp travel fairly well in post, but I didn’t really trust having fish through the post.

    My wife pops into some of our local charity shops about once or twice a month to see if there are any bargain items like clothes and books for the kids.

    I’d usually buy my own clothes and shoes in a physical shop but I don’t get new clothes very often.

  10. Spent an ungodly amount in Warhammer/Games Workshop.

    You don’t quite get the same authentic B.O experience online.

  11. Clothes, I buy a mix of online and in store. Books I tend to buy in store. Presents I like to buy in stores, easier to get inspired when I’m browsing in person.

  12. What an interesting question! Well…I bought some printer paper one time back in March. Paid cash for it too, which was an experience. Oh wait…I bought a keyring from the poundshop when the strap off my bag broke and I needed a quick fix. Other than that, I am quite shocked I can’t think of any other examples and its the middle of April. Sad times 🙁

  14. I havent brought anything from a shop in approx 4-5 years. Even our food shop we get delivered

    The only exception is emergency milk etc from the local co-op

  15. I mainly buy clothes in person – I’d rather try things on there and then, than send them back.

    I prefer to buy most of my craft stuff from shops, unless I want something very specific I can’t find in person first.

  17. Mrs tmstms buys clothes in person- she likes to try them on or at least hold them up against herself in the mirror. She also buys cosmetics and that sort of thing in person.

    We buy a lot of household consumables in person (toilet paper, cleaning stuff, stuff to wash clothes with, that kind of thing)

    I buy tech from CeX.

    We buy gift stuff, ornaments, that kind of thing, mainly in person.

  19. Two bottles of perfume (smells don’t really work well on the internet), a few books, some clothing/shoes, some bits and bobs of musical equipment, a pair of headphones, a pair of sunglasses, dunno, a bunch of other stuff I’ve forgotten, probably. Think there was a trip to Ikea at some point. And some garden centre stuff.

    I buy some clothing on line (mostly Uniqlo, for basics) but for other stuff I want to browse in person. For a lot of stuff I’m either too disorganised to do online things in time (for stuff like birthday presents) and I live in a moderate sized city with quite a lot of retail, much of which is pretty competitive with online sources anyway.

  20. * Clothes
    * Art supplies
    * Garden stuff and plants
    * Picture framing
    * A few DIY things that I needed immediately
    * Kitchen stuff (chopping board, frying pan)
    * Christmas gifts (some candles and other bits)
    * I always go into antique shops and poke around, but haven’t bought anything this year.

  21. Excluding builders merchants and Screwfix I bought a second had book in Hay-on-wye fro my wife when visited in March. TBH I don’t think I have bought anything much on line either.

  22. My local M&Co shut down recently, so I got a ton of stuff there for my mum’s Christmas and Mother’s Day presents alongside some clothes for me.

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