Independent high street retailers are in good health - Yorkshire Post Letters

The article regarding the ‘Fall of Retail Sale’ (Business Post, November 18) relates only to the demise of that part of the Retail Sector which over the last decades has caused the decline of the High Street.

The Office of National Statistics collects its data from the Retail Consortium, "macroeconomics" and representatives of the Multi Nationals, Department stores and Supermarkets whose growth impacted on the viability of small independents and sole traders, who still make up the majority of retail trading, who by their size are excluded from any profit forecast or statistic.

Thankfully, one of the benefits after lockdown was that customers discovered that their local shops provided most of their needs and the attraction of the large cities with their bland shop fronts no longer appeals, which if anyone had cared to ask, has resulted in increased sales within the high streets of small market towns.

The problem is that those who purport to represent the small businesses spend most of the time promoting everything but increasing footfall using digital trading as a panacea for all, whereas except in clothing and food it probably takes up more time than its worth.

As Booths have now discovered, talking face to face and being treated like a valued customer is more important than just receiving the goods the next day and returning goods due to the descriptions and orders being wrong.

Visit your local independent shop, touch, feel, even smell the product, chat to the assistant, it's part of the enjoyment of shopping.