Opinion : Shop locally this Christmas to support the shopkeepers of Wycombe

It was certainly busier than usual in Wycombe town centre this lunchtime.

The Christmas shoppers were out in force hurriedly buying presents and food ready for the annual Christmas feast.

I could not help but notice an article published on a national news site entitled ‘One in three items of clothing, furniture and household appliances bought in Britain are now purchased online‘.

Just think how much busier our town would be if only the internet had not come along. Once again modern technology has ruined society and proved detrimental to society.

Let me assure you that my good self has no intention of succumbing to buying any Christmas related items through the internet indeed this year yours truly intends to support the local shop keepers of Wycombe.

No doubt there will be many who prefer to sit alone at home and order items using a website or ‘app’, all they need to do is click checkout and pay then the postman will deliver their order the next day. Where’s the fun in that?

In my experience buying on the internet is not quicker than in a real shop. Nine times out of ten I’m not in when the postman delivers so an awful lot of time is spent visiting the Royal Mail delivery office in Queen Victoria Road to collect the items.

Personally one would rather queue in a real shop and get the purchase over and done with than waste time traipsing down to collect a parcel that was delivered to my front door but then whisked away because my good self was not in.

Surely Christmas shopping is about visiting real shops and seeing real items then purchasing them and wrapping them up?

By supporting our local shopkeepers we are putting something back into the town.

Do we want even more empty retail units blighting our town centre? Of course not, there are enough of them in the High Street and older part of town already.

When I give a gift to a friend this year my good self will proudly tell the recipient that it was purchased in Wycombe and not through the awful internet.

If only more people would follow my lead and source their presents locally then our town would be great one again.

What do you think?

*My next blog will be published on Friday evening around 8pm here on the WycombeToday.com website.