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High street retailers have been suffering from the lack of shoppers visiting their stores this Christmas. The current economic climate has been a major factor for this, but more recently the weather has had a dramatic impact on the number of people venturing out of their homes to buy their Christmas presents. Not only have the high street stores suffered but so too have online retailers. Due to the weather they are warning that many gifts ordered online may not arrive in time for Christmas. Even with the introduction of Sunday deliveries many online stores are still behind schedule.

There is one retailer however which has broke the trend and this is John Lewis who have reported a leap in profits. They have attributed this to the introduction of cheaper product ranges. This gives hope to retailers than with the right business plan, they too can turn things around in the New Year.

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According to new research from the Art Technology Group (ATG), consumers living in Europe are more frustrated by online shopping this year than they were in 2009.

The survey revealed that:

• 35 per cent of consumers wouldn’t say that their experience of online shopping was anything better than satisfactory
• 43 per cent think online customer service is less than, or just about, satisfactory
• 31 per cent are frustrated with login details and passwords when shopping online
• 51 per cent are annoyed at not being able to contact retailers with questions/complaints/issues
• 45 per cent wouldn’t spend more than £50 shopping online

This is what the survey results showed, but what is your experience of online shopping? Please feel free to leave your thoughts.

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Newcastle City Council is reportedly planning to extend shop opening hours in the city, as part of exciting plans to “bring the city alive after five” and attract more visitors to Newcastle in time for the Christmas rush.

Starting from the end of this month (October), some shops will be open until 8pm on weekdays and 7pm on Saturdays. There is also rumoured to be free parking available at a number of multi-storey car parks in the city centre.

The council hopes that as well as being excellent news for shopping fans native to Newcastle, these measures will attract over six million visitors and bring in an extra £246 million a year.

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A new shopping centre has been opened in Bury, Manchester and it is said to be nearly as good as The Trafford Centre with lots of clothes shops (including Primark) open, places to eat, A cinema and bowling alleys.

The only downside is that you have to pay for parking, Tarifs are as follows:

0-1 hours £1.20
1-2 hours £1.70
2-3 hours £2.10
3-4 hours £2.50
4-5 hours £3.50
5-6 hours £5.00

I must say though the prices are not as bad as the price we pay to shop in Manchester town centre.

The shops include:

• Primark
• Bank
• Burton
• Cult
• H&M
• Debenhams
• JD
• Oasis
• Next
• Peacocks
• M&S
• River Island
• Topshop

and many more.

visit www.therockbury.com for more information

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My best friend is due her first baby (and the first baby of the group) and i have decided to do her a baby bag instead of buying her outfits as i dont know the sex of the baby so it is not that easy to get a unisex outfit and they are not a cute as the boy/girl outfits…

To do this i am buying the simple bits (socks, booties, feeding towel, fold away changing mat) but i am also buying the stuff that will be used all the time (talc, baby wipes, nappies, nappy sacks) and putting them all in a bag so she has a bit of everything for when the new arrival comes..

And to make it more affordable i am buying a few bits each month to spread the cost over the next 4 months.

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I cant believe how much stuff you can buy online now, these days you don’t even need to leave your house if you don’t want to as you can buy food, electronics, clothes and much much more.

Amazon is the latest site to sell food online and as well as that you can buy pretty much everything else on there as well.

Tesco is another site that you can purchase a lot of stuff from, they now sell Groceries, Banking, Electrical items, car insurance, Glasses, Diet club, baby and toddler club.

there will be a time when people will actually stay in as they don’t need to go out.

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My best friend has just bought a Alexander McQueen hand bag which cost her around £1,000 and i have been looking at Dorothy Perkins and there is one very similar online but obviously not as good quality leather but for £35 i don’t think it is bad.

If you look in magazines they show what the celebs are wearing and than a cheap alternative… Don’t always go for what they say because sometimes they are so off the mark it is ridiculous.

Let me know if you have seen any good high street versions to the designer styles and where you have found them.

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I have signed up to some websites which email me voucher codes through for discounts when either shopping online or in your local shop.

The different vouchers you can get are:

Clothes Shops
Airport car Parking
Restaurants
Hotels
Holidays
Cinema
Gyms
Diet Clubs
Motoring Recovery

There are a few different sites that do this but i have found the best to be www.vouchercodes.co.uk as there are lots of printable ones for use in restaurants like La Tasca, Gourmet Burger Kitchen, Strad and lots more.

to have a look at what discounts you can get log on to the site and sign up for their news letters and let me know what you think.

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How about this then – shopping that doesn’t cost you a penny!

Just been talking to a friend and tonight she’s going to a clothes swap party.  Bascially you pick 5 items of clothing that you no longer require from your own wardrobe, take them along, put them on display and then chose 5 items from the selection available from what other people have taken.

Actually you do have to spend something – £10 which goes to charity but you can get a whole new outfit for that – how fab.

Great if you know that everyone else normally shops at designer stores, disaster if it’s going to be old tat. But the way forward if you can’y afford a proper shop on the high street.

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When you’ve been friends with someone for a longtime it gets increasingly difficult to think of a present that you haven’t already bought or of something that’s a little bit different.

It’s my best mates birthday this month she’s just having her garden revamped by having a new patio and a bit of landscaping done.  So although I don’t normally like buying housey things as there not personal,  I have found a hanging Friendship ball which is made from 20% recycled glass. This will hang in her garden and catch the light as the sun shines on it which will make a bit of a sparkle and lighten up the garden!

It’s a bargain price too at under £10 – lets hope she likes it?!

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