This Is How Amazon Killed Your Town.
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 15 พ.ค. 2024
- / wanderingturnip
www.buymeacoffee.com/wanderin...
The Fifth Episode of the Death of the High Street - ONLINE SHOPPING
This video is a bit different today as I am not looking at a boarded up town centre, but the biggest cause of that problem...which we al know is online shopping.
I went to check out one of the huge Amazon fulfilment warehouses, an absolute beast of a building. They do walking tours which was super interesting, I was unable to film inside but I recommend going and having a look and seeing what the high street is up against.
I look into the history of online shopping and have a wander around a massive business park to see the scale of these operations.
I had to make something about online shopping during this series, and to be honest I was gutted I couldn't film inside the warehouse but I feel I still get to touch upon some interesting points in this video.
#abandoned #empty #derelict #town #explore #england #beach #property #buildings #invest #levellingup #towns #money #history #online #shopping #order #prime #amazon
Amazon (and other online businesses) is one of the causes of the decline of our high streets but not the entire story. In the 1980s, the advent of out of town shopping and retail parks with convenient and free parking started the rot. A combination of high business rates/rents, traffic restrictions, parking charges and generally bad local authority policies have only contributed to the problem ever since.
Well Said !!!
there is nowhere to park on the average high street or it's £4 for 30 mins, what can you do in 30 mins..Councils are partly to blame as well for making high streets no go areas if you want flexibility and convenience.
not just the highstreet but all businesses , Amazons systems Claim credit for the sales (even though amazons whole Business base is ran by small businesses User profiles) amazons business practices go Much much deeper than just the Decline of the highstreet.
I wouldn't buy anything via amazon even if its sold by a business thats not amazon , the business still pays amazon for its warehouse Fees etc FBA etc by Using amazon itself , is funding it.
Buy direct always.
Indeed the start off it was the shopping parks , copying the USA model .
Absolutely, was going to mention but you got there.😊
It's the fact that Amazon don't have to pay business rates, and register their sales through Dublin or Luxembourg while the physical shops have to pay business rates and pay tax in the UK. The rumoured online sales tax to be imposed on Amazon was dropped when America started crying at the UK about it. France ignored American demands and imposed an online sales tax on Amazon. The high street just want a level playing field.
hear, hear 👏👍
There was a documentary a few years ago, BBC?? They got a group of independent businesses together in a small town (Shepton Mallet perhaps 🤔) and they went about setting up an offshore tax scheme just like the big name tax avoiders. The businesses agreed not to actually use it in the end as they wanted to be the good guys.
it should be cheaper to go out and buy something than it being delivered to you
Surely they pay business rates on their warehouses. If you know for a fact they don't could you point me towards a reference about that as I am really interested in learning more.
Tax evaders Amazon boycott the Wef corporation
There's something very dystopian about the giant warehouses and automated workforce and just watching you walk around the different areas is like sensory deprivation.
Don't overlook those PROUD to say that they work for amazon...They weren't tricked into employment, they chose too
They are the modern day equivalent of the dark satanic mills, boring regimented meaningless work a substitute for hard dangerous graft. At least most of the mills were generally centrally located , next to shops and pubs and where people lived. The employers on these new industrial estates don't even provide a canteen, just vending machines and break out areas. truly awful. I hope I never am that desperate where I have to work in one. The High Street was in decline long before the arrival of Amazon though, though Amazon and technology ( without which Amazon wouldn't be the force for bad that it is) has made things ten times worse. I think the car had a greater impact. Even today, retail parks and industrial estates are built on arterial roads for the benefit of cars not people. The first massive retail parks in the 1980s like the Metro Centre, killed the High Street, soon followed by lots of smaller versions dotted around every town, all with supermarkets that sold not just food, but everything the independent shops sold. If cars then retail parks killed the High Street, will the likes of Amazon eventually see off the retail parks?, we will see. Strange then that some of these independent shops use Amazon, at the same time as blaming them for killing them off, but these are strange times we're living in, maybe using Amazon is cheaper for them and helps keep the independent businesses that are left, alive. Its the same with us , we bemoan the loss of independent shops but use Amazon ourselves, because it is easy, cheap and convenient, but like most modern things, anti social.
@cdodds8198 many are low skilled workers and what on earth do you expect? Its work and they need work. The problem of course is amazon exploit those workers with low pay (the hours are long and the culture is very 'cold') and are notorious for hiring workers as temps amd firing many, many once not needed - mostly in January after the Christmas period (Sept-Dec) and other (smaller) peaks in March/April and Jun/July.
A great many (non skilled at least) workers are not speaking English as a first language either. Its crazy how few English first language speaking people seemed to be there. I worked on and off there as a picker and a packer too in the Rugeley warehouse in 2019, 2021-22.
@@matthewburns7989 @matthewburns7989 What I expect mate, is for grown people to say no when they're being treated like sht. I worked for a Chinese company in London for a few years, a family member came in as racist as fck, firing everyone who wasn't Chinese... Now that said company every year we got two months pay on top of monthly pay... That's why we all hung around, but when big boy Allen came along full of hate for all forms of human life and given charge of the warehouse... One by one we left (me with a few choice words for the cnt), like sure we need to work but fck this...a bit of integrity.
I've worked on rubbish picking lines at recycling centre to house removals to a labouring job which when I forgot my boots I was ordered to jump in a skip full to the brim with Cardonald and glass in only my trainers and separate the cardboard from the glass which obviously was jutting out everywhere... Even renovated a whole house on my jack Jones, purchased all the equipment for it but half way through when I got wind that I wouldn't be reimbursed for all I purchased to make the Italians late mums house look like a jewel... You think I hung around?
You also fail to realise the amount of theft that goes on in amazon warehouses and that's why a lot of them are there... I know plenty of lads bragging about what they can get out of an amazon warehouse with security involved... I've worked many different warehouses since 17...yes, dosent matter about your security people will get sht out... Done all sorts mate, night cleaning, deep cleaning, floor laying, even worked in a t-shirt printing place in South London run by an Asian guy who'd lock me in a room with harsh chemicals, no window and a two bit mask in order to clean the screens... Money or not I won't hang around if treated like a cnt, even given it to a millionaire employer on the way out telling him I don't give an f how much money you have mate...
On top of that, gone for a warehouse job recently as house removals is getting to my back, walk into a huge warehouse selling European standard coop type food and get interviewed by a Hungarian who could barely speak English and who turned up 40 minutes late to interview me with no apology... On my way out through the warehouse I had a glance from the top of the stairs... Not a pale face to be seen... Not even a black bloke, and there's always a black bloke in a warehouse at least... This was everyone from Pakistani to Romanian... I know cause I was told to wait in the staff canteen
The English are at it too... Went for an interview in North London... Dude pulls me aside and says "hope its not a problem we like you but most of the staff here have no papers" all of the office mind you were English.... Take me back to a simpler time, please!!! That's never gonna happen.. Do like a family member did and ship out to the sticks... London for one is finished
Only going to get 100000x worse new world order globohomo agenda A.I you was warned over and over what yhey have planned clown world
The Internet has ruined alot of things
One friend of mine before Christmas needed some extra cash so he went to work for amazon for couple of weeks!
He worked as a picker and described his experience of working there as degrading and basically modern slavery! He couldn't stand still longer than 30 sec because sensors would pick it up and start sounding some sort of alarm!
Madness!
I'm disabled and can't walk now after working there at the one visited for 6 months, Walking 30+ miles a day 4 days a week, it is slavery, and the back stabbing that goes on is insane. You are told off if walk past someone and even say hi, not allowed to talk... Human Robots!!
I avoid Amazon when I can
@@sim6699Boycott them
Most slaves were not treated as badly as that.
You ever watched South Park? Great parody of Bezos and fulfillment centers.
It's a myth that Amazon is always cheaper.
When I was a lad in the 1980's, you had to allow 28 days for delivery.
It's really quite sad because all these transactions are ultimately funneling money to a very select few, already rich people. Those same people who are avoiding taxes that normal businesses are crippled by. You don't have to be an economist to realize this is a very unsustainable practice.
The supermarket was the first nail in the coffin. Once bakeries, fishmongers and butchers were incorporated, the days of the family butcher, grocer, greengrocer, etc., we're numbered. Amazon is simply a progression. The trinket of convenience has seduced us all and led to the demise of of our high streets and much more.
Do you think thats the way forward, freedom of movement is being restricted to force people to buy online,absolute capitalism rears its ugly head.
Why do people have nothing better to do with their time than go shopping? Get a life, online is better!
I'm at work when bakeries, fishmongers, butchers etc. are open! Supermarkets're the only real option.
And of course, concentrates wealth in even fewer hands.
@@adamazingballs What life? Life is work, no one has time for that crap, we have to work work work because if you don't work you're lazy and sponging on benefits.
In the United States, they got rid of the High Street a long time ago, particularly around the major cities. These were turned into the big shopping mall.
However, particularly in the southern states, which I believe are the better states, they missed that human interaction and that community spirit. So in places is like (Greenville) in South Carolina, they have now rebuilt the High Street with shops there, but also entertainment places, they have made them into beautiful places, so it’s somewhere for the family to go, hang out, buy stuff, and also enjoy themselves in the various different places
Iv seen old malls being converted into lower level shopping entertainment and upper levels are homes
Alas, we can't afford to do that in the UK. It's still a tug of war between towns & outside retail parks.
You mean Main Streets.
@@Lee_303 Let foreign investors with the vision and money come in and do it for you. These would be mainly African, Arab and Asian investors.
So interesting you mention Greenville. As a Brit who is considering moving to the States, I concluded that Greenville, SC, would be the place to go to. Beautiful surrounding countryside and I'm glad to hear that the centre is still vibrant.
I also agree with you that in the UK, we need to convert our town centres rather than bow to large retailers. We could have more cafes, theatres, entertainment centres for kids, sports centres. At least that would be a start.
Over-zealous traffic wardens have killed many a town centre.
I agree. Parking prices don't help either. I took my son to a nearby town for an eye test and to get new glasses about a month ago and said to him we could have a wander in the town afterwards. I didn't know how long we were going to be in the opticians so I thought I'd pay for 3 - 4 hours. Went to the machine (which was card only 😡 ) and found out that just for 2 hours was £5. I reluctantly paid this and because choosing his glasses took so long we didn't have time to explore and buy things. Had it been cheaper, we would have stayed longer and spent more money on local shops 🤷
'Killed' implies this being the biggest factor and i respectfully disagree as there are so many other factors that are likely to have been more impactful
@PotatoPirate123 Thank you for respectfully disagreeing. It's pleasant to meet a civilised person here in the TH-cam comment section - it's a pretty rare event.
@@merasmussen82 I think the problem sometimes is that it's hard to separate personal grievances and issues from the root cause of issues. This is why people often blame, for example, specific elements of the benefits system rather than more deep-rooted causative problems.
I believe that by far the main reason high street shops struggle is that people simply don't feel like they *need* to go to those high street stores anymore. You get less rights for refunds and returns as a high street buyer, you could show up and the item isn't in stock (and waste a journey), you can find better prices online without getting off your backside, it's less stressful as you can do it in the comfort of your own home or on a lunch break....
But I think the absolute biggest reason online stores are killing off the high street is that they simply can't compete with laziness. A lot of people don't even *care* if something costs more money; they like being able to see their item on a map, they like to get things through the letterbox and feel like it's Christmas, they like the complete lack of physical effort. If ever there was a prime example of this, it's Uber Eats - their prices are absurd - far more than actually visiting the takeaway or shop itself, but that doesn't matter - people just want to click a button and get what they want. The cost of living crisis apparently doesn't affect a lot of people at all, and high street stores simply don't stand a chance of competing against that.
@@vinnyvtec8722 So that few quid parking saved you from spending even more money on stuff you didn't need because if you needed it, you would've stayed.
It's funny that you quite rightly point out that we don't want to wait for something to arrive. The in-store experience is such that we have the item IN OUR HANDS instantly, even BEFORE we've paid for it. But such is the laziness of life now, we don't want to move past our own front door.
What when it's costs 12.50 ulez, 20 fuel and 10 to park before you even reach the shop
And the store is unlikely to have what you want in addition. I very much prefer to get goods in person since I don't have to wait or rely on delivery companies, but there's just such little choice in physical stores now that I'm forced to buy online.
You're right that choice is definitely an issue when trying to buy things in person @@deanolium
Nah it’s not even laziness. No high street shop is going to be able to complete with the prices of websites like Shein. Shein and temu are even cheaper then b&m. I mean you can’t get everything off those sites but you can an awful lot.
It's not laziness. I live in mid-Wales and the nearest shopping centre is in England (Hereford), 40 miles away.@@ZeldasMask
High streets can survive. They just need to change. Either be small shops doing niche stuff or provide services. Or they could become destinations in their own right and be touristy and made pedestrian areas. It just requires some imagination. Not something that you'll find in councils or government. They just need to stand back, provide carrots in the form of no business rates and other benefits and wait for businesses to take advantage of the opportunities.
Agreed.
I'm not mourning the loss of the endless chain stores, selling imported goods made for the lowest price and staffed by people on minimum wage on zero-hours contracts.
I'm actually quite happy with amazon and their ilk clearing them out to create some space - if we can get back some of the original independent shops back that the chains priced off the high st.
Hopefully landlords are starting to realize that they're never going to get the rents they used to - and as you say, need to sort out business rates (or level the playing field with online in some way).
Commodity goods can efficiently be delivered by amazon and shops can return to being places I can browse and ask for advice in.
Energy prices are way too high.
Well it's starting to happen in places... The former Debenhams is earmarked for go karting apparently in Colchester.
Pedestrianisation killed town centres.
@@misscoutts6193 Stats I've seen are the opposite. Pedestrianised areas are a lot more popular. Have you got any sources for this?
I am disabled and can't drive have and no car, and my partner is the same. We can get lifts but not often. The local shop is what my Mum used to call a "robber shop", breathtakingly expensive and quite limited in stock. Amazon has been a godsend, frankly.
In the 60s and 70s, there were shops at the end of many streets. At the end of ours was a greengrocer, hairdresser, cake shop, butchers, chip shop, newsagents even a place to buy shoes and clothes. All that has gone now. Just convenience shops and bookies.
So for disabled people who can't drive the options are very limited.
Interestingly I grew up in Liverpool and what I notice is the convenience stores there now have everything behind the counter due to theft - just like before supermarkets started.
Respect to you, and I totally understand… 👍👍👍
I too , am disabled. And I, too, agree with you.
agreeable but in this modern age , you've got DPD etc all businesses small or large use the same delivery networks. its just simply easier for older Generations to go to amazon becausew they don't know how to navigate the internet or use search engines / know where to look on websites like amazon who HIDE small business information so they can't buy direct , as he said its the Click method , less clicks to buy the better , it doesn't give you time to think or search , if your brains on auto Pilot , your not going to search for the small businesses website and buy direct , when the whole process is reduced to a single click.
@@Marco___Polo exactly… and most of the time you just jet served from some “jumped up, snotty nose cow”, that looks down at you and wants to make small talk about your business. The way I see it, online shopping allows me to shop when I’m naked in bed, without the need to start a car, get mugged etc etc for me… it’s online shopping all the way 👍👍👍
mine is a one-stop it is very expensive i can't get no buses which makes it worse to go anywhere when you have a disability just waiting for an hour for a bus to much my grandparents owned a greengrocer and they knew everybody come in the shop when i was younger
The Amazon Basics range you mention at the end is the most insidious of their practices for me. They rip off existing products and designs and undercut the original. They have done it to big companies like Logitech and they’ve done it with very small businesses like one I know. Amazon’s problem is they seem to want all the money, they don’t want to leave some for anyone else.
Boycott Amazon
Im using Logitech Bluetooth keyboards & Logitech Wired Moose & Lenovo Mini Wired moose. Cant remember last time I bought an Amazon Basics product.
There are certain TH-camrs - and they are a minority - whose sheer enthusiasm, wonder, knowledge and/or curiosity - just sweep you along. Simon Roper is one. Bald and Bankrupt as well.
Wandering Turnip, you are definitively another of these rare breeds. Dry stone walls, mill chimneys, faceless warehouses on industrial estates: this uncanny ability to make the mundane absolutely fascinating is a gift, my man. Thanks!
I'd do a bit more research into B&B if I were you...
Thank you so much mate!
I never thought people would enjoy me looking at dry stone walls and chimneys as much as they do 😂 but I’m buzzing people are still watching
I really appreciate this nice comment 👍👍👍
@@mikehocksbig Ah, do tell?
@@chrisgreenhough2792 th-cam.com/play/PLyJUHVr70PW7HoyBhreu7h7Jw5Lh2u5Qt.html
If you are "swept up" with male Westerners looking for a cheap and easy lay with the local natives or providing phony travel vlogs, then Bald and Bankrupt is your man.
What a marvelous reporter... concise and analytical... very helpful...he makes us understand how and why trade changed so much along the years. It is a great piece of work. I bought once trhu pizza hut delivery service back in 1994 when I lived in London... in the US pizza delivery right to your house was not uncommon in previous years. Business is too concentrated and mechanized today... but many do miss small shops and traditional shopping.
Wonderful advice, your content is amazing
I tell a lot of people retail is dying very quickly but people seem to look at me very confused. The amount of shops that have closed is insane especially this year, we've had wilkinsons close and we've had multiple iceland stores the list goes on. This is a great look into the bigger companies and how they operate on such a massive scale.
I certainly know , i;ve been online since day one and still Struggle because amazons got such a grip on the advertising space too. people don't even notice they are bombarded with amazon ads everyday and amazon claiming credit for a product sold and listed by its Small business Sellers " calling everything listed " a amazon product even when its not.
its conditioning people to think of only amazon. its why amazon hides 99% of a buisinesses information they don't want you buying direct from the small busniess but via their warehouse to get warehouse income from fees etc.
I find it coincidental that wilkinsons has closed when it has.
Amazon has made an impact on towns ...but as I have stated previously that is not the main reason the high street is in decline ...it's a combination of high business rates high parking charges and many stores have moved out of town ...where I live there is 4 big out of town sites ..towns and cities just need to adapt ..
I’m in the same school of thought.
Yes e commerce has played a huge part. But I put most of the blame of the decline with local councils.
The experience for both consumers and businesses owners is not a pleasant one and the internet gives a great alternative.
Nah, it's Amazon.
I agree, in my town the main buildings on the high street are owned by large companies as hedge funds. Premium rent and premium rates rather than Amazon.
The business rate is a killer
There you go! Blame the victims, like a boss.
Cities and towns "adapting" would actually entail kicking out these businesses and stop sequestering the wealth out of the country with tax cuts. Things need to be paid for. And if a business cant survive and adapt then it deserves to die. Your story is actually completely inversed.
You can either subsidize a foreign oligarch, which effectively makes it a state enterprise but worse becasue it's subtracting value from the economy while adding it to foreign economies; or you can subsidize small businesses and society and actually improve things into positive growth; or once again, bankrupt the population and the state. Maybe it's too late to fix that though. Everyone in UK will be living in the decrepit streets within walking distance from an Amazon fulfillment center, and the mayor of Broketon can supervise the robots.
Cheers.
Not only that, but council need to subsidise starting a high street business. Everything is too expensive, planning permission etc
The councils played a considerable part in the demise of town centres by pedestrianising the areas on the edge of the towns where many independent shops were, stopping you from parking outside and making a quick purchase. Also, charging for car parking and having to mess around with apps or entering registration numbers drove many to out of town retail parks. And finally, as you pointed out, poor stock availability in many shops prevents a purchase without a repeat visit making it easier to order online.
Just to prove the point, I work in a large village and we have about 12 shops including a Co op, a Tesco express, a butchers, bakery, pie shop, fish & chip shop, takeaway,hair dressers, barbers, newsagent, estate agent, chemist and doctors. No vacant units and free off-road parking along the shops and more nearby. The local town is about 3 miles away and it’s on its knees.
Indeed, councils regard parking fees as a cash cow ... to the detriment of the high street.
Most of the car parks I see in large towns and cities are operated by private parking companies nowadays. I'd guess a lot of "car parking" land has been bought when councils chose to sell off capital assets to try and offset the effects of year-on-year reduction in their funding from central government. Conservative "small state" ideology; public services starved to the point of decimation and private companies profiteering instead - to the detriment of local residents.
I really want a William Morris print kettle.
I'm from South Africa, but lived in the UK back in 2004-2005. The shops that I miss the most are of course the HMV, Virgin Megastore and Tower Records, not only in London and the UK, but in France and farther afield too. (The same thing happened here with our large music retailers - they all shut down, with the last ones closing permanently in 2021.) It was a gradual decline, which then became an accelerated collapse. I remember visiting Ireland in 2005 and thinking that all the high streets looked the same, and looked like any high street in the UK - it was all the same shops, UK-based brands that were all over Ireland too. So even then, the old independent local shops had already been replaced by big corporate retailers, large chains. And then when those retailers could no longer compete with e-commerce, they had no choice but to shut down, leaving just empty, boarded-up spaces behind. It tells us something about the human condition: we've lost the ability to go about our business communally. We have chosen comfort and convenience over community. That's the truly sad part for me.
Probably because no one can afford or wants to pay £40 for a new LP.
I'm betting it's the RENT, not "anti-community" that is kiling these stores.
Those stores gotta pay ridiculous rent, which gets passed down to the customer and nowadays folks have even less purchasing power than before.
I use Amazon, it is very convenient, but I am increasingly aware the impact of this monster killing the high street. This is changing my online shopping habits to do my bit. This is something that should be encouraged.
As much as I like shopping on line I realise that it has killed the high street. The jobs created are thankless and do little for face to face communication. As people say we are all trying to feed off of the same carcass and there is not a lot of meat on the bone. Good techy guys and girls must be in demand but it would not surprise me if a lot of this work is outsourced to places overseas. Great video, very down to earth and informative.
I think Grimsby would be a very good town to visit. The fish industry capital, once long a go. Lots of old building around the dock still standing, and lots crumbling. Sad to see.
Your videos are truly spectacular. This is an important topic that not enough people think about or even realize is happening. The US is addicted to Amazon and online shopping and it's causing the rise of "dark stores". Essentially supermarkets and online shopping platforms rent shuttered retail spaces and convert them into mini-fulfillment centers. Named "dark stores" because they often don't have any signage and aren't open to regular customers. Similarly, there are also "ghost kitchens" where the food you order from Uber Eats or other food delivery services are shipped from. Some ghost kitchens fulfill orders from a dozen plus restaurants from the same kitchen space which raises a lot of concerns over hygiene, allergens, and cross-contamination. People buy stuff and don't know where it comes from or who is actually profiting from it. It's truly dystopian.
There's something very dystopian about the giant warehouses
Take your latest booster or you can't buy.
industrial sprawl and these big ugly sheet metal blocks infact are objectively bad urban planning wise, enviroment wise, architectural preservation wise, and health wise.
I hate amazon, something about it irritates me, I'm an ebay guy. Gov is killing high street as well with parking charges, congestion charges, ulez charges etc people just don't wanna go. Also consumers are lazy, no one will do what u did, find the actual company and buy directly, too lazy for that. They can't waste their valuable time on searching, they have tiktok to watch 😅
Fantastic boycott Amazon a Wef corporation
Amazon has built huge Amazon warehouses in Connecticut USA,beautiful farm fields gone.Sleazy outfit to work for.
Boycott Amazon a Wef corporation
Do amazon build these large warehouses on former mall sites in the US?
You mention lockdown...My poster business went from £100 a week orders to £10k a month. Truly the best 18 months of my life. For every lockdown loser, a winner was on the other side of it.
Image: how is it now 2023??
@@joline2730 Had a bad 18 months but it's on the rise again & i rebuilt an old business when things slowed down.
Boycott Amazon
Even working shopfloor at ASDA was hell. Can’t imagine any personal benefits of working at Amazon.
Worked at sainsburys for 3 years. The return to work interviews after taking a sick day were particularly dehumanizing
you're limiting your thoughts about who works for amazon. people making $300k a year writing code for them are enjoying their jobs very much, it's the people making $30k in the warehouses who aren't.
@@perfectallycromulent Yes my comment was in relation to the content of this video.
Another terrific video mate. You're definitely correct that we need to reimagine what the high street is. There are old things that will continue to prosper like haircuts but the shopping genie is not going back in the bottle is it.
The thing nobody talks about is the role and power of distribution networks. The larger the distribution network the greater access to cheap, raw materials.
It's so sad and true everywhere. We have the same thing in the states. I'm from Rochester New York, and our downtown used to be like NYC, tho we were just a mid-sized city. Three huge department stores, many many restaurants and many retail places, most of them mom and pop. I worked at many of the restaurants and supper clubs in the 1970s and 1980s. Downtown Rochester is a ghost town now of beautiful old buildings that are mostly empty or used as offices. At the risk of sounding like an old fart, I mostly hate cell phones and the internet. They have destroyed our main streets. Going downtown used to be a fabulous all day experience. I wish cell phones and social media and online shopping were never invented. Of course I'm online and on a cell phone right now LOL. But we would never miss what we never had, and because of social media cell phones etc, human interaction has changed drastically and not for the better. Now get off of my lawn! LOL.
You can no longer nip to the bakery, newsagents. Without getting a parking ticket. Aggresive parking enforcement is the killer, High street banks close for the same reason. Councils have blindly killed the High street
Thanks old pal...keep up the good work! I never use Amazon ..for many of the reasons that you mentioned in the vid. The worst of it is that my mother in law does.....and she lives downstairs & many times i have to accept delivery ~ sometimes at 9.30pm..purely because someone has pressed the trigger that is inherent in humans from childhood on = I WANT IT NOW!
Mr. Turnip, my hats off to you! Excellent instruction on how to rely less on Amazon! Keep up the great content!
As an aside, it would be an interesting comedy to adjust your video, with another version, whereby, there are scenes from secret UFO disassembly areas, and that the surface warehouse is just the tip of the iceberg. The complex actually extends two miles underground, and scenes from Forbidden Planet (Krell reactors) can be inserted :)
Boycott Amazon a Wef corporation
Guy is getting rich with people watching the downfall of the country. Genuinely respect him. He's found a positive in a negative. Great video. All the best.
Thanks David Turnip! You really ought to approach television networks or production companies with a showreel and an introduction. 😀👍
Trouble is David speaks sense and the truth. The MSM don't like that and they would try to mould him to their shape!
Your videos are fookin amazing man!
I subscribed less than a month ago & I'm hooked!
I've binge watched you for nearly a month & your videos just get better & better!
I hope you have enough dough now to buy your own house. Settle down with your mrs & keep going with these videos man!
You are an essential part of humanity.
Love you man :)
I work in an Amazon fulfillment centre but I don't particularly use them as a retailer as I find them expensive
Boycott
High business rates, poor/expensive parking, uncovered and dirty walk ways killed the high street, with Amazon putting in the final knife
I used to use Amazon a lot. Because they had a German division as well, it was easy to buy German CDs and DVDs I'd have struggled to get over here. But then Amazon had to get me to validate my account by clicking on a link sent to a smartphone. And I'd got rid of my smartphone, so it was bye bye Amazon. I don't miss it, it's horrible. Come to think of it, 'The Fulfilment Centre' sounds like a building we might find after a UFO invasion.
Doesn’t help that business rates are crazy high in every town in the country
I try to avoid Amazon for books now. Whether I get the book from Amazon or Waterstones, Waterstones is perhaps one or two pounds more expensive but I can earn stamps to get 10, 20 or more pounds off a book at the end of the year.
This was, as always, very interesting. Online shopping got its advantages, but it is truly sad that the local shops are getting more and more down.
Amazon has some advantages ,like for instance I have bought specialist power tools and discovered items I never knew existed. But I feel sorry for the young people. During my youth my friends and I would jump on a train and spend most of Saturday mornings visiting record shops ( vinyl of course) bump into friends and meet new friends , have a laugh with the staff in shops. But now it's sit indoors on your own buying downloads and shopping on line. Modern youth has lost everything and they do not even realise it.
@@garypautard1069 I think so, too. It was a whole different way of life back then. I enjoyed that time also. Going to the store and loking for new games and stuff. I loved it.
Mike Ashley’s response to mp enquiries is extremely interesting and explains the death of the high street perfectly
The smoking area is always where the truth lies. Great observation.
You should come to Milton Keynes where the start of the move away from the high street began (a whole town now a city) imagined without a traditional high street just a covered shopping centre and now that is struggling against the competition from the likes of Amazon and the other online fulfilment centres dotted around its outskirts... You can also see the traditional town's high streets of Bletchley, Newport Pagnell, Wolverton and Stony Stratford that Milton Keynes was built around.
A city destined to be bigger in population than Cardiff by 2050 one of the most productive places in the UK and yet missing a high street just plagued by retail parks... Perhaps a vision of the post-high street future for everywhere.
Vanguard & Blackrock have huge shares in Amazon, (absolutely stunned)🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄
Boycott
Quite ironic but the Kingsway hotel was a Samuel Smith pub, closed down due to lack of customers and the hard fast rules of no phones etc.
That "C" thing Really has finished off so many businesses as well as ways of life, also SO Many people have easily slotted into this new way of living cash free. I recall saying a few years ago "The well off will be getting richer while the Poor will get poorer"!
Cool video cheers!
I never shop Amozon. If a product is doing well they start selling it themselves. They don't treat their staff well.
So this is progress. We started with market stalls, progessed to physical shops that created what we now call 'the high street'. Then the supermarkets set up out of town and along with that, the councils charged for parking to reduce the traffic congestion in town. Takings went down in the high street shops as people favoured the convenience of out of town stores. Now we have on line shopping, and probably like those of years gone by who worried about the market stall owners, we now concern ourselves with the high street. It's progress. You can't stop it so have to adapt.
As for Amazon and the like. Those poor workers won't be there for much longer as AI takes over. So the next worry is where will their next job be?
It's an ever changing world we're living in and we have to learn to adapt, that is the way of life, and progress.
Progress 🤣🤪😂 yer havin a laugh. We’re devolving at an alarming rate each and every day ,month, year.
Less progress more laziness and corporate greed.
Do realise that there hasn’t been a cure for any illness in over 50 + years. Yep that’s real progress for ya.
another amazing video keep up the good work..also Bridgend: A fifth of shops in the town centre are now empty
Yup it's either coffee shops, charity shops, second hand or empty in bridgend - doesn't help with the pines 5 minutes up the road
Online shopping is like some types of insurance is a necessary evil. Especially if there's a specific sizes of clothing that aren't normally stocked in shops.
Yay! Mr Turnip's back.. really looking forward to this.. 👍
A lot of people in the comments saying how Amazon is great if you live in the middle of nowhere. I live in a very isolated village in the UK and for many years didn't drive, so I get it. But we can easily boycott Amazon by buying direct from these suppliers and cutting Amazon out. Only takes a few seconds to do this.
We? Who’s we? You and who?
@@BG-wm2tw We is me and anyone who wants to boycott Amazon, wasn't it obvious what I meant? What an odd question.
@@helin779 people love online shopping for its convey and choice. Especially younger people. No one wants to spend time and effort wandering around in shops anymore. Internet has changed shopping forever.
I know, when I said go straight to suppliers I meant go to them online, which was what was suggested in the video as well :)@@BG-wm2tw
I worked for the Amazon in Dunfermline in Scotland. The security is for the staff because the turnover is so high Amazon practically employ anyone meaning that they need. So they have massive security for people stealing iPhones and even then the electronics like iPhones are kept in a separate section for more trustworthy experienced employees.
For anyone concerned about the state of their local high street, out of town retail parks and online shopping - Amazon in particular - these videos are a must watch. Well done Wandering Turnip. A better balance has somehow to be found in order for high streets to survive.
@ alyswilliams, the high street is over, technological progress they call it. The WEF and globalist puppets want you to shut up, own nothing and be happy. Convid bought the agenda much closer to fulfilment, jobs, small businesses, manufacturing, etc, all destroyed by the Anti British communist Government. Thank God his plans are far far greater for those that believe his promises and trust in his only begotten Son, Jesus and who paid for every man’s sins in full on the cross, died, was buried and rose again the third day, simply believing Christ alone for your Salvation means you are promised to be saved for all eternity
Hey All, just incase you guys were wondering about "THG" (it's a really boring company, no idea how it's still in business)
THG plc, formerly The Hut Group, is a British e-commerce retail company headquartered at Manchester Airport, England. It sells own-brand and third-party cosmetics, dietary supplements and luxury goods online
Thanks for your knowledge
Always interesting history of England
Love your videos
Love how you respect people.....
Being from north Newcastle
We understand our situation and values
Changing very quickly
Being from 1950/60
, we had everything
Golden years
Happiness
Great people
But we didn't have nothing
Keep up your great work
Always ❤
Well documented, WT! We have one of these huge, dystopian-looking business parks with a massive Amazon distribution centre, here in the south. I use Amazon less and less these days, I find, and when I do I always use the Market Place Sellers. I try to use the high street shops as often as I can, and buy with cash, the use of which has been increasing recently!
Excellent video! Third party sellers "fulfilled" by Amazon are paying 30-40% commission to Amazon. Apart from Amazon's admittedly amazing efficiency one reason high streets in the UK are dead is because town centres ceased being social hubs years ago. If you go to any mediterranean town or city you'll see huge numbers of people meeting friends and family in cafes, bars and pleasant town squares and centres, which the UK now lacks as they are replaced by ghastly malls and offices, and high rates and rents have forced out modest bespoke businesses that would have lent character to any town. Most UK centres are ghost towns by 5pm and many are dangerous. Compare that with the average Spanish or Italian town. Chalk and cheese.
if you think britans bad, dont look at american downtowns, dallas feels like a ghost town
I think we need to refocus and repackage shopping on the high street and make it an experience much more that we do. It can be very relaxing to shop.
Wow! Your videos never disappoint! Absolutely brilliant, yet again. 😊
Thank you so much 😀
Excellent reporting! Thank you.
Personally I'm trying to avoid Amazon now, but it's quite tricky some of the books I've bought recently were only on amazon. All other things, I don't need and I'm more than happy to actually go to a shop to find it. This comfortable armchair life we have been lulled into thanks to the pandemic has to end, but it's only going to end if people choose to once again go outside and become active again away from pelletons and screens. Great video as usual :)
Great way of putting it ‘comfortable armchair life’ that’s spot on 👏👏
Simply boycott them
Another reason for the decline in our high streets is the motorist is no longer welcomed in city centres there’s no parking spaces and too many bicycle lanes too many bus lanes with cameras it’s just not worth going into the city centre to shop
😂😂😂 20 min to go for a piss 😂😂😂 nice one dave.
The death of the high street was mainly caused by councils not making cars welcome in towns.
I agree, small towns that still have successful and busy high streets are not pedestrian
And crazy high rents and rates despite lower footfall then previously
I walk everywhere, cycle and use public transport (despite owning a car) so I am not typical in this country. Cars can offer many people a sense of freedom that's true, but in equal measure they cause dependency. I walk into my local town centre but all my neighbours drive there or go to the retail park - I have actually never seen some of my neighbours walk past their cars and walk on the pavement outside their house!! Normal to them, unbelievable to me. In that sense you have a good point - people would all love to be able to drive in the town centre (it is pedestrianised) but go to the retail park instead, further encouraged by some of the shops have moved their from the town centre. Still, as some of the most prosperous towns and cities in Europe and further afield have shown, it is not a plan for the future.
Towns could perfectly build carparks outside towns that are 10-15mins walk away. Parking in towns is disgusting.
I was in Cambridge yesterday. Perhaps because it's a wealthy city, it does feel very much alive. There's some less appealing stores, like the American Candy store, but overall it is the opposite to much of the rest of the country. It could be a good case study for you if you are ever nearby.
Went for a walk up the canal last week from Mills Hill to Rochdale that pubs been shut for well over 12 months, was looking at trying to get in but it is shut up tight! Further down you have tin town. House made of tin they are bloody awful!
I really like your videos, "The Burnip" ! Seeing all of these warehouses is very interesting, as well as your serie about the death of the high street.
Great content, informative and really well presented . We desperately need these reality checks in these times.
i really like your bit about supporting local shops... I'm going to do that in future... 👍
It's also business rates that are killing the high street...
Your videos are so interesting, I feel you are doing a brilliant job in raising awareness of the decline of our once great country. I also found the one in Stoke interesting as I am currently living next door in Newcastle under Lyme. Keep going mate I love your videos
I laughed so much by your quote"I'm not sure if robots are classified as workers". Never change - you are a natural at bringing smiles to people faces. Keep it up - I always look forward to your videos, because I know you'll brighten-up my day. Thank you.
Unique channel! Never a dull moment. So diverse and interesting. Thank you so much 🙏
For what it's worth, I think there's still a future for high street shops. As you've already hinted, they will need to adapt, though, probably by integrating online elements to enhance the overall shopping experience. It won't be easy, but balancing traditional strengths with modern conveniences may just help in their survival. By the way, another great video.
Really there is not, the costs are too high. been there, seen that.
Absolutely top notch continuation of the conversation. Well done on braving the halls of Amazon, who knew you could tour such a place? Do they charge for the tour?
It's worth pointing out that for many items on Amazon there are buying options. Often there are smaller sellers selling the same item for pretty much the same price as those sold and fulfilled by Amazon.
Watching this I am glad i was teenager in the 70's, great shopping towns,great local shops and produce and great family owned businesses. Our town had one coffee shop ,no fast food for my girls thank god, they 42 and 38 now, a cake was a treat in town and that was it ! Sad tomorrows children will not experience it. This was like watching a sci-fi movie inside Amazon 👽 ty for sharing, great vlog🎉
I worked as labourer on the construction team in an Amazon warehouse.
We were testing the lines capacity for moving the boxes around the warehouse.
They only cared about efficiency.
On our last day we saw the new Amazon starters smiles on their faces. But I know the warehouse has a high turnaround of staff.
Also due to the size of the warehouse you do 20,000 steps a day.
Can’t imagine trying to fit your break in when the cafe is the other side of the warehouse.
One issue in favour of Amazon relates to returns. Here in the States, items shipped by Amazon may be returned FREE OF CHARGE to any of Amazon's agents ... that's several grocery stores and any UPS location. You don't even have to re-box the item in its shipping box. Some of these small Amazon vendors make returns inconvenient/a hassle and ... YOU pay for shipping. With branded goods where you know what you are buying, returns are not an issue, unless it breaks. However, custom goods (that you may not have actually seen in a store or elsewhere, you are taking a chance on quality, sizing, etc.
Yes Amazon has played a part in the way we shop but that's not the whole story. I live in a former industrial town when the factories closed nothing has replaced them. People do not earn high wages so spending power is low simply not enough money to keep shops and pubs profitable hence dead High Streets.
Councils with high rent and rates disincentivised many businesses instead of being pragmatic over the long term.
Hi mate would be great to see you do a walk down in Watford, its high street has completely transformed over the last 20 years
Very interesting. Well-informed and knowledgeable, insightful, thoughtful and a very "watchable" presentation style.
I endured six weeks at that Amazon slave labour camp and then one day just walked away. Best thing i ever did.
Back to benefits?
Nope, I had another job within a week. @@BG-wm2tw
we cannot stop the development of online commerce. It's just that the government needs to decide how to develop the downtown buildings. For me, one of the options is to turn the downtown buildings into apartment buildings.
I don’t use Amazon but I do use eBay. I try and use my local shops when I can. I try not to buy stuff from China too for many reasons.
great comment. i am with you
I look at Facebook Marketplace and buy from other people who don't need their stuff anymore and I have sold a fair bit on there also.
Amazon and other online retailers haven't helped town centres, but the death of the high street shop started long before the advent of internet shopping. The rise of US-style shopping malls was what started the rot. I'm old enough to remember the warnings from local retail associations about them and then watched the decline of the high street as their warnings came true. Central government and local authorities did little or nothing to help. It's easy to blame the likes of Amazon, but the truth is that the high street shop was already on its last legs when Amazon and others became a thing.
This is true, however sadly nowadays, even when you trail round the shops we have left, you still can't find what you want. Or you have to compromise. In a world that promises choices, you actually have very few.
The THG Studios is something that refers to its self as a Internet marketing service, Probably makes videos for companies that sell exclusively on line, Considering the Amazon warehouse is less than a mile from Manchester Airport they seem to fly a lot of cargo into East Midlands Airport Then by road, Not at all good for the environment.
Dunstable has a whole industrial estate devoted to Amazon (former Bedford trucks). If the rent in the high streets we're cheaper, local businesses could still survive.