why are some people shunning Strand Street and moving online?
Reporter Alan Vincent asked shoppers in Douglas how their habits have changed.
Tracey Martin, from Onchan, said: ‘It’s a shame, I’ve got a 17-year-old and 10-year-old twins and they go in there all the time. But you can buy most things a heck of a lot cheaper on Amazon.
‘I saved over £100 at Christmas after comparing online prices to the shops in Douglas. There’s less and less in Strand Street though, they need to lower rents to encourage businesses to come here. It’s wrong to not accept the vouchers, basically we’ve paid cash for no goods. My family is going to lose over £100 in vouchers if we get nothing for them now. I never used Jessops but Strand Street is becoming more and more empty. My kids use iTunes for downloading music so I can see how perhaps stores have been losing money.’
Colin Campbell, 54, from Ballasalla, said: ‘I think it was inevitable. I just go in HMV to look and then buy the items cheaper online. To be honest though CDs take up too much room, I took 200 to the tip the other day. I think they’re becoming a bit of a thing of the past, like 12-inch vinyl, only for the real enthusiasts. If you download music it saves so much space which would be used up by CDs. The news that they’re closing down is sad but a sign of the times. Obviously it’s not really fair if people can’t use their vouchers though.’
Garth Griffiths, 42, from Douglas said: ‘It’s terrible really, but a sign of the times. I mainly buy electrical goods from HMV and I do prefer to go to a shop, you can see exactly what you’re getting then, and try it, rather than ordering online.
‘If you order online sometimes the product you get can be quite different from the way it looked online, and you also have the hassle of returning it if something’s wrong with it. It is devastating that they’re closing down though because it affects everyone, not just the HMV staff. There are more people in the job market as more of these stores close.’
Paige-Emily Flanagan, 20, from Douglas, said: ‘It’s bad because there’s no shops as it is in Douglas, I do use HMV to buy books and DVDs, but all my family have vouchers which we’re now worried about. My brother has been saving up for new speakers using vouchers, now he could have nothing. Another thing is that some of the things we got for Christmas will no longer be under guarantee. I go to Manchester a lot to shop now, but it can be just more convenient to shop online from home.’
Pat Mitchell, 56, from Laxey said: ‘It’s a shame because not everyone likes to shop online and there’s not any other outlet on the island when it comes to CDs. I prefer shopping to buying online, which can be very frustrating. I prefer to be able to look at the CDs and it feels like we’re being forced to buy online more and more.’
