Dumfries has gained a reputation for lacking shops, with many empty windows at different times, and at one time many of the shops that did open were at the lower end of the market, such as one-pound and charity shops. This is often attributed to Carlisle, Glasgow, Edinburgh and the Metro Centure providing alternatives for shopping trips, as well as the wider issue of Tesco's prominence. Dumfries was also second to Exeter among those most criticised in a New Economics Foundation report on "clone towns", with the shops that do exist often being the same as everywhere else. However, this picture is not really accurate, with the Loreburne Shopping Centre now having very few empty units and numerous independent shops just off High Street on English Street, Queensbury Street, and to a lesser extent Friar's Vennel, which has some independent and bargain shops, but also some covered with quaint illustrations on boards to avoid seeming derelict. The street was recently resurfaced as a way of combating its dingy reputation. Also notable is Barbour's department store on Buccleuch Street. Electrical and DIY stores have gravitated towards two retail parks, located on the A76, one of which also includes the large Tesco Extra store; there is also a third on the A709 containing cheaper shops such as Matalan, and this is also the site of the third Tesco for the town.
