But where would you have spent your hard-earned money in years gone by? Was it one of these favourites?
We asked our followers on the Sunderland Echo's sister page on Facebook, Wearside Echoes, and this is what they had to say.
Take a look and see if their choices match up to yours.
1. C&A in the 1980s
Sunderland Market Square in 1983 and the signs for C&A are on the wall. It was a shopping favourite for Wearside Echoes followers Dorothy Smith, Isabel Armstrong, Brian Adamson and Tony Poston. But did you like to pay a visit? Photo: Sunderland Echo
2. Strand outfitters
High Street West is in the picture and, on the right, Strand outfitters can be seen. Wearside Echoes follower Phil Byers Moore remembers it. Do you? Photo: Sunderland Echo
3. End of an era
Books Fashions Store faced demolition in 1991 but it was popular in its heyday. Did you love it? Photo: Sunderland Echo
4. Etam was a big hit
Trisha Bernstein and Christine Broad loved Etam and here it is in 1990 when Simon Bates and the Radio 1 Show came to town. Photo: SE