A 40 mile round trip to visit Maplin store. Go on line to check if the bits you want are in stock. Drive to said shop, traffic jams, time, put up with not very informative staff.
Or click on internet, visit the on line shop you want, click 'buy now'.......postie drops it off in a day or 2.......most of the time a lot, lot cheaper than the likes of Maplin.
Harsh, sad, reality, but shops cannot compete with the rise of internet shopping.
Until, local councils lower business rates, parking charges etc etc and landlords lower their rents........all down to money and how much people can make out of the paying public, or how much the paying public are willing to spend of their hard earned.