Stop buying from Amazon and help your local shops instead – Hayley Matthews

I was on the hunt for a rain-jacket during the week for Mr Hayley.

Online retail giant Amazon poses a real problem for local shops (Picture: John MacDougall/AFP via Getty Images)

He does have a few jackets but never seems to find a waterproof one – fashion and style always prevail over practicality in his wardrobe department.

I'm not complaining. The amount of times, however, he's gone out on the razz and I've begged him to button up his shirt and take a jacket… there have been many. Short of not wanting to mother him, I've left him to his own fashion decisions with the odd nudge on the waterproof situation.

With the weather turning to tropical storms, I headed to Ocean Terminal on my search for a waterproof. There are so many empty shops after some jumped ship and sailed off to pastures new, it's left quite an eerie feeling amongst the levels.

I chatted to a couple of shop assistants who told me the drop in footfall has been huge. With renovations underway, post-Covid shopping and the ghost of Debenhams, it's no wonder it's all gone quiet. The assistant commented on how Edinburgh will be lovely when it's finished and we joked about the trams.

But one of them said something that stuck with me: how he always shops local. He told me he's on Leith Walk and does all his shopping in Leith, rarely heading into town. We discussed the damage of shopping on Amazon and how local is so very important for the survival of suburban areas.

I left with a glow of hope for the future. The young ones are smart and know the score. Keep it local, love Leith and stop bloody shopping on Amazon!

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