Nobody likes to feel old. But when you’re a mum of teens, it’s hard not to feel ancient at times: try mentioning to your child that you existed before the internet and it’s as if you’re telling them you lived in a cave.
What I didn’t expect, however, was to be reminded of the yawning generational gap between myself and my daughter when I mentioned that I used to enjoy shopping.
Last week, having left it a bit late to do an online order, I took my 15-year-old to our local H&M in Kings Lynn to pick up a couple of hoodies.
And, while browsing the rails, I happened to remark that, at her age, I’d used to go shopping for fun.
Her face said it all.
She gave me a look of both horror and disgust, as if to say: Why would someone actually do that?
As a Gen Xer of a certain age, the idea of having either spare time or spare cash to wander aimlessly, browse and find something fun to wear or own is a distant dream.
But it’s always been the norm that, when women like me step away from the high street frontline, a new generation of up and coming consumers would step into the breach.
Only, quite simply, they are not and the reality is that 67% of Gen Z prefer to shop online than in person.
While I see the appeal – online shopping certainly feels easier – I can’t help but feel that those who shun the real-life shopping trip are missing out.
In person, shopping for one thing can mean browsing shelves and seeing things you wouldn’t have known to search for. It can also mean trying things on and being inspired. How could someone not love shopping for these things alone?
This generational gap certainly isn’t down to a lack of consumerism on the part of younger people.
Yes, perhaps some youngsters are more aware of the origin of their trainers or are at pains to invest in ethical brands, but just as many are simply taking their business online. They still love fast fashion, they just shop at Shein and ASOS instead.
It’s more likely that this tendency to stay away from stores IRL is more a symptom of Gen Z’s preference to experience life through a screen. And we’re all the poorer for it.
In recent years, many of us have watched aghast as some of the staple stores of our high streets have closed their doors: BHS in 2016, Debenhams in 2020. Even Wilko – a great budget store for our times – virtually disappeared from sight in 2023.
And now, WHSmith – a high street staple – has been sold, it’s set to reduce or rebrand its presence.
My concern is that in-person shopping will die out completely.
And if our high streets, and the traditions of meeting pals in town to wander aimlessly, die out completely, then what is left for them?
In some ways, our kids have never been more connected – they can travel through space, make friends and play games with people across the globe, or chat with their school chums all at the flick of a finger.
But in others, the world our kids live in is vanishingly small, often leaving them confined to the four walls of their bedroom.
It’s not surprising, therefore, that experts fear British teenagers are losing the skill of chatting to someone in-person.
Even though my kids still take part in clubs and sports, get their share of fresh air, and hang out with friends in real life, I think most of us can agree phones are taking up too much space in our children’s worlds. Shopping is just another victim of this change in lifestyle.
For me, my weekly Saturday shopping sessions were a chance to try out different versions of myself.
Yet, these days, instead of trying on hats in Dorothy Perkins, Gen Zs have turned to influencers for style tips with 60% having made a purchase on the back of an influencer recommendation.
It’s not just sad, but disheartening. Surely it’s healthier to go shopping with a friend?
I accept that society has changed, in fact most of us, and I include myself in this, can’t imagine how we managed before online retail giants came along.
But while these youngsters may not see the issue with a depleting high street right now, the complete death of real life retail will hit them harder than they realise in years to come.
Without physical stores, what will happen to the frontline Saturday jobs which offer our kids skills and extra cash they find invaluable? What will happen to those miniscule interactions with people that only come with getting out and about?
Lockdowns already deprived them of so much, it could get worse.
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There’s not much that can be done, so the only cure I can think of is to make my own sacrifice…
I’m going to have to go shopping again, if only to keep the high street going until my kids are ready to appreciate it.
If that means raiding the savings pot and ditching the family for my bestie on a Saturday, I suppose I’ll just have to shoulder the burden.
And when I’m browsing through my favourite stores, I’ll remind myself of one simple thing: that I’m doing it for the kids.
Do you have a story you’d like to share? Get in touch by emailing jess.austin@metro.co.uk.
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