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How We Shopped

From the high street to the information superhighway: shopping undergoes a makeover.
The 1980s heralded a sea change in the way we shopped - and what we shopped for. Reflecting the growing impact of new technologies, from the arrival of credit cards to the consumer electronics boom and ultimately the internet shopping age, this collection also journeys through the changing face of our high streets into the 1990s and beyond. This is the era of out-of-town supermarkets and supersized shopping malls muscling in on the traditional town centre trade. Many smaller villages faced the loss of local shops entirely, but they didn't give up without a fight. Alongside these existential threats, local news reports investigate such emerging issues as convenience food labelling, shoplifting and the campaign to 'Buy British' as domestic manufacturing continued its long and painful decline. Glimpses of long-lost chain stores, brands and products that once dominated everyday life across the UK may inspire more than a whiff of nostalgia. Yet this collection also tells a story of continuity: despite the all-powerful internet, we do still seem to want to come together to shop in the 'real world', not least at Christmas, and those seasonal shopping moments are here waiting to be unwrapped

33 videos in this collection

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Shopping

  • Newcastle upon Tyne
  • 1999
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Shoplifting Is On The Increase

  • Chelmsford
  • 1983
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Dog: Dog Days

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Post-Christmas Sales

  • Belfast
  • 1984
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Toy Fair 1980

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Charm School

  • St Austell
  • 1989
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Round Robin: Think British

  • Norwich
  • 1982
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Debden Village Shop Re-opens

  • Debden
  • 1982
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Anderson and McAuley Department Store

  • Belfast
  • 1986
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Credit Card Shopping in Northampton

  • Northampton
  • 1986
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Villagers Open Community Shop

  • Stetchworth
  • 1984
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St George's Market

  • Belfast
  • 1980
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Shopping Centre Santas

  • Belfast
  • 1984
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Yvonne Aston is the New Outsize Model

  • St Ives
  • 1985
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Chinese Supermarket in Nottingham

  • Nottingham
  • 1985
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Big Night Out Shopping

  • Belfast
  • 1985
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E Numbers in Everyday Popular Products

  • Norwich
  • 1985
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Battle Goes On Over Sunday Trading

  • Cambridge
  • 1986
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Counterfeit Goods

  • Hornchurch
  • 1987
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CD Video is the Future

  • Belfast
  • 1988
Safely navigating the new virtual high street.

Shop Safely on the Net: Virtual Mail (BSL / subtitles)

  • 2003
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Foam Furniture

  • Truro
  • 1989
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One Day in the Corn Exchange

  • Manchester
  • 1990
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St Mary Street - 50 Years On

  • 1994
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Manchester A to Z

  • Manchester
  • 2000
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High Streets

  • Gosforth
  • 2000
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Supermarkets and City Living

  • Ancoats
  • 2003
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Oh No... Not Another Manchester A-Z

  • Manchester
  • 2004
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The Fashionistas

  • Newcastle upon Tyne
  • 2004
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Take That Ticket Frenzy

  • Manchester
  • 2005
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The Commercialisation of Easter

  • Manchester
  • 2007
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Easter Day Shopping

  • Manchester
  • 2008
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Three for a Pound

  • Doncaster
  • 2000