Service in shops has improved post-lockdown
Perhaps one of the reasons why people are buying fewer things online is because high-street shops are fighting harder for their custom (‘Question of the Fortnight’, Issue 631, pictured). I was a heavy online shopper even before the lockdowns were imposed. Online discounts appealed to me, but I was also put off by what I saw as a decline in customer service in shops. You don’t have to put up with surly assistants online.
But I’ve noticed a change in mood since the lockdowns lifted. Shops seem to be offering more inventive deals, and have improved how they treat customers. Lockdown was obviously tough on them, but has it forced them to change their old ways and become more appealing to the public? The other theory is that customers missed the high street so much that they’re now overcompensating by spending more. Leslie Bonham
Without doubt the economic downturn has an influence on the fall in online shopping, but might I suggest a less obvious reason. Recently, companies have increasingly been insisting on a mobile-phone number to verify an account. It seems it cannot be just any mobile phone, but a smartphone, which neither I nor my wife have.
As a couple of 81 and 77 with health difficulties, personal shopping is not really an option as we live in the country and our nearest shopping centre is 30 miles away. While I drive a Motability car, parking is very difficult in such places. Public transport is non-existent. All this means that online shopping is necessary.
We insured our bungalow with Sainsbury’s, and suddenly they demanded a mobile-phone number for secondary verification. Despite me trying to explain we didn’t have one, they just dug their heels in. I owed them around £20 and when I suggested sending a cheque, they said they don’t accept them. And, remarkably, they confirmed all this by email.
Ebay wanted a mobile number. To be fair, they did try to offer an alternative, but it failed in the end. So our days with ebay are at an end. The last time I used Amazon they did send a code via email, but when I had a query I was asked for a password. My wife has an Alcatel 2051 mobile phone for emergencies when we’re out in the car, but this doesn’t meet the criteria that companies demand. Edmund Hobby