Bring back the milkround, say Brits

·      Households call for the return of shopping catalogues (21%), record shops (21%) and weekly milk deliveries (19%)

·      4 in 10 miss listening to CDs, cassette tapes and vinyl the most, whereas more than a third wish they could still shop on their local high street (36%)

·      But 3 in 4 admit tech advancements have made things more efficient (75%)

·      Joy, 62, from London shares some of the challenges from back in the day and how tech, like her smart meter, have made life easier

When it comes to things like shopping and admin, 3 in 4 households say that advancements in tech have made tasks better and more efficient (75%). But some services are missed by many, with Brits pining for catalogues (21%), record shops (21%) and doorstep milk deliveries (19%).

Whether it’s older people or Gen-z, everyone has faced a new normal at some point, but despite changing with the times, there are always things people miss.

A survey of 2000 people found that 40 per cent of the country miss listening to CDs, cassette tapes and vinyl the most, while a third (36%) wish they could still do their shopping on a local high street.

Many miss how easy it felt to live in the moment (46%) and enjoy the sentimental small pleasures like receiving handwritten letters (43%).

Over half (53%), opt to write things down with a pen and paper and a quarter (25%) keep up hobbies they started as a child.

However, thanks in large part to new tech progress, many day-to-day tasks have become easier for people today than in the past.

Booking a holiday (42%), paying an energy bill (38%) and comparing prices of service providers (35%) were cited as being much simpler now than in the past, with smoother access to information (49%) and the ability to get tasks done quicker (34%) given as reasons for the improvement.

Joy, 62, from London, has lived through many of these changes and shares some of experiences first-hand:

“I can’t remember what it was like before smartphones or digital maps when I travelled somewhere new. I just had to try and work it out. If I was abroad, I’d carry around a phrase book and sometimes, that was a lifesaver! 

 Even paying an energy bill was much more of a hassle when I first moved out. I used to have to go to a post office or the bank to do it. And if I got the reading wrong, it was a real pain.”

As a third (34%) reveal that technology’s changes to way we do things has made everyday life more convenient, Joy explains how newer household equipment is helping her manage admin, she said:

“Nowadays, new gadgets seem to be geared towards making things more simple, and there’s some things that definitely make my life easier.

 “For instance, my smart meter. I have one at home, which sends my meter readings automatically and ensures my bills are accurate, so I don’t have to think about it.

 “After I got it, I tried using a price comparison website and easily found a tariff that suited me better, but the best bit was how easy it is now to switch energy supplier, if I want to.”

 As life admin gets easier with new technology and services, so does access to better deals and prices – good news for the 3 in 4 (76%) people who say choosing the right energy provider and tariff is important to them.

Households with a smart meter installed can easily access information about the tariff options available to them and easily switch to deals more suited to them.

Though, the research found that some old habits will die hard as more than a quarter of Millennials say they miss making regular visits to the library to borrow books (27%), and the same amount of Gen-Xers would choose to pay with cash (27%).

The growing absence of face-to-face interactions is also missing for over 4 in 10, with over 65s confessing that having a chat with a shop clerk, (27%) paying with cheque at their local bank branch (24%) and renting a VHS or DVD from a shop (21%) were all things they’d be sad to see go.