Ipswich was nothing special when it came to shopping - however several independent stores have opened in recent years, Urban Vintage is the best choice for men located on Queen Street, as well as Blacksheep located near the buttermarket, further along on St. Nicholas Street and St. Peters Street there are several choices for women in Aura, Marianna and Caramel. Other independent stores for men include Jonty'sTacket Street and the department store Coes on Norwich Road.
A long pedestrianized street Northgate Street, Tavern Street, Carr Street runs right across the town centre and is lined with big-name stores such as H and M, Gap, Debenhams, Boots, Marks & Spencer etc. A few smaller pedestrian streets house some smaller retailers and is the best place to find small, independant retailers. There are 2 main indoor shopping malls Buttermarket Centre and Tower Ramparts Shopping Centre although neither are anything special, this is where you can find Topshop, Topman, laura Ashley and TK Maxx.
The south-eastern part of Norwich Road is a good place to see Ipswich's vibrant ethnic community and the street is lined with shops and restaurants selling food, snacks and local products from the Middle East, Eastern Europe, India and elsewhere.
Many locals now prefer shopping in out-of-town retail parks and superstores. Copdock Interchange retail park close to the intersection between the A12 and A14 highways in the southwest of Ipswich is one of the largest with a 24-hour Tesco Extra superstore, Toys R Us, PC World, Currys electronics and appliances and several fast-food chains including Burger King, McDonalds and Pizza Hut take Bus 13 from Tower Ramparts and get off at the last stop - by car it's close to the A12/A14 Copdock Interchange and at the end of the A1214 London Road from Ipswich town centre - free parking. Anglia Retail Park in the northwest of Ipswich close to the A14 highway is also popular and has an Asda superstore, B&Q home-improvement and the usual furniture and appliance stores, plus a McDonalds and a KFC Bus 8 from Tower Ramparts - get off at the last stop - by car it's close to the Ipswich/Bury Road exit of the A14, at the top end of Norwich Road from the town centre.
The main supermarket serving the town centre is Sainsbury on Upper Brook Street. There is a larger Sainsbury on Hadleigh Road close to the train station, and there's a small branch of Somerfield on Carr Street in the town centre. Most other supermarkets are located out of town in large retail parks - the two largest are listed above. Convenience stores such as Martins, Co-op, Spar, Tesco Express and Premier can be found everywhere - most are open from 6AM-11PM, although many petrol station convenience stores are 24-hour.
