Apart from what I've actually needed, I've bought very little this year. Clothes I have, and I don't like shopping anyway but with no foreign holidays, not a lot of going out or socialising, what's to buy?
i have replaced winter coats, jackets, i get mine from Cotton Traders who are excellent, good quality clothing at reasonable prices, not to mention a pretty good and safe returns system
There is a small business half a mile from me, it has been there at least 30 years. His business is booming because of his online sales - he sells home and abroad and most of his goods are large and heavy, can't be slipped in to a jiffy bag and the post box. His online sales outstripped shop sales long before lockdown.
The last bed I bought was online from another small business which I would never have found without the internet. (I already had a bed and wanted another of the same make/model).
Mikey will be spinning in his grave. He hated Amazon with a vengence.
Good luck to them. They always seem to come up with the goods and are efficient. Something lacking in the UK these days imo.
Small Independent businesses can sell on Amazon, just like they do on eBay except obviously there is no bidding. You can still support small businesses by shopping online, in fact online sales have been the only thing keeping many small retail shops afloat since way before Covid.
I use Amazon all year round for everything that’s not food related. I pay £7.99 a month for Amazon Prime which I share with boy #1 (so he gets free deliveries to his uni house) and we can all access Amazon TV, books and music - I can’t fault them.
Yes i am both a big Amazon and Cotton Traders user. Every time I see one of those "support local/small business" comments anywhere I comment that I would encourage EVERY small/local business to establish some kind of online selling presence even if its only as simple as an email account, somewhere to post pictures and a paypal account.