NATIONAL TREND TOWARDS ONLINE SHOPPING BUT THERE WILL ALWAYS BE A PLACE FOR BRIGG SPECIALITY BUSINESSES

One of the main attractions of Brigg is its wide range of speciality shops.
You can visit a traditional sweet shop and call at premises selling a wide range of food, clothes, gifts and items of great variety.
However, nationally there's a major change in shopping habits underway.
We are talking about online shopping, where customers order and pay from their mobile phones, tablets and home computers without ever visiting retail premises.
The Office for National Statistics has kindly sent us the latest figures.
They show that during 2008 just 5p of every £1 spent in UK shops was done online.
By 2015 this had risen to 13p, says the ONS.
"Looking at physical shops that also have an online presence, only 4p of every pound spent in shops mainly selling food was spent online, whereas 12p of every pound spent in clothing stores was spent online and 11p of every pound spent in department stores," says the report.
View the full story from the ONS here, including "So what does this mean for British shopkeepers"....
Looking at physical shops that also have an online presence, only 4p of every pound spent in shops mainly selling food was spent online, whereas 12p of every pound spent in clothing stores was spent online and 11p of every pound spent in department stores.
A good many Brigg shops promote themselves online, and some do online sales. 
However, for many, many customers it's the enjoyable shopping experience that counts - coming to Brigg, parking for free (at certain times of the week), touring the varied shops and probably stopping midway for a bite to eat or a drink in one of our many outlets.

ABOVE: Natalie Sankey in her traditional sweet shop on Wrawby Street, Brigg. Picture by Ken Harrison.

BELOW: Richard Wallhead inside the family menswear business, on Wrawby Street, Brigg, which was founded in the 1890s.