Imagine my enthusiasm for this: I needed to head to Monks Cross retail park on the last Saturday before Christmas. It was last minute Christmas shopping time. I expected chaos, but that’s not what I got.
But first, breakfast
Before hitting the shops I needed fuel. Fortunately for me I’d heard the night before (at my works Christmas party) that Pear Tree Farm do a buffet breakfast for £3.99. Even more fortunate is that Pear Tree Farm is at Monks Cross. So, we set about destroying a very full English!
I found a parking space
Before hitting the main area of Monks Cross we went to TK Max first. I had mentally prepared for it. “It” being the African Savanah like hunt for a parking space. I put my Kia Sorento into rally mode and prepared to “drive like I stole it”. It was all unesessary however.
I sailed into a parking space. Was it a fluke?
TK Max wasn’t busy either. In fact, I’d go as far as to say it was very quiet. But was this the calm before the retail storm?
In a word – No
After TK Max it was time to whiz around to Boots and Primark. I, once again, prepared for madness. I needn’t have bothered.
Again, I sailed into a parking space close to the shops. Boots was busy, but there was no queue at the tills. Primark was the same. In fact, out of 99 tills (okay an exageration) only 9 were open!
But why?
Well, surely online shopping is the reason?
We do most of our Christmas shopping online. Convenience is one reason, the fact we live out in the sticks being another. Avoiding the chaos being a primary reason.
But, browsing the items will always be better that looking at a photo on Amazon. Being able to pick it up and look at it closely is so much better than a mouse click.
In a weird way, the fact online shopping is killing the bricks and mortar shops actually makes them more appealing to me.
However…
Online shopping still means I have more time for walking the dogs…
Thanks for reading.
Dave
You know what Mr Pearson, I have noticed the shops this year have been extraordinarily quiet. Online shopping must be part of it, but I just don’t think the money is there to go around any more. That, by the way, is a breakfast!
I never thought about money. Not in a “oh I’ve plenty so not bothered” way though. I’ve always accepted Christmas is an expensive times, especially with 4 children. But you probably right about that, money is in short supply for many.