Are hardware stores facing a fight for survival?

If you need a specific screw, a shovel, an extension lead, a power tool, or maybe just a simple lightbulb, your local independent hardware store probably has it in stock.

But is the demand for their services and products starting to wane?

Coopers shut all of its hardware stores across Suffolk last year, and Elmers Hardware, in Kesgrave, near Ipswich, is set to follow suit after 67 years.

So, what is contributing to the demise of hardware stores and should other shop owners be worried?

Bruce Salter, of The Handyman, in Eye, which sells "a little bit of everything", said hardware stores in the county did "seem to be closing down quite a lot".

"That seems to be the trend at the minute, but I don't know what's going wrong," he says.

"I'm guessing that Amazon, B&Q and Homebase have a big effect, but the reason we're thriving at the minute is we're 20 miles away from any of those big places.

"We're very lucky in our little town because we have lots of loyal customers who come in every day. It's a struggle, but we, personally, are doing alright."

James Newton, of Henry Abbotts Hardware, in Debenham, said he was "surprised" to hear of the closure of Elmers because of how successful they had been for so long.

But, like Salter, he suggested that the location of the store, as well as Coopers' former shops, could be the reason behind their closures, as could the products on offer.

"We are so far away from everywhere else so I think we do quite well because we don't have any sort of competition on our doorstep," he says.

"We've also diversified a little bit - we've got a cross between nuts and bolts and hinges and paint, right down to teapots, so we've got a really good selection in here."

While Newton said his shop was currently doing very well, he did accept that there could be trouble if online orders of the products he sells are ever able to be delivered the same day.

"That could become a problem, but at the moment we've got that one trump card that if we're stocking it, the customer can get it immediately," he added.

"So, if someone has a leak under the sink and they need a compression fitting now, an Amazon buy isn't going do it, because it's going to come tomorrow."

The convenience of being able to order an item at the click of the button, however, is already shaping the landscape.

Paul Elmer, owner of the family-run Elmers Hardware, said it played a part in his decision to call-time on his company, which he tried to sell but to no avail.

"We've always been very competitive [on pricing], and we still are very competitive with the internet," he says.

"But people these days just look at their phone and just order off of Amazon, even if we are cheaper."

But that was not the only reason Elmer, who works six days a week, decided he would shut the shop in August, which will result in about 13 job losses.

He cited rising costs and increasing rates, but also personal reasons.

"The original thought [of stopping came] when my brother died, and I'm approaching 69 and I don't feel I can go on any longer," he added.

"Economic reasons have a place in it, but it's really for personal reasons that I'm closing the business down.

"There used to be hardware stores on every street, but now we are virtually the last man standing, they've all gone.

"It is very sad and quite upsetting and emotional really [to be closing], but it's been coming for a while and been a very tough decision to make."

It is equally as upsetting for the shop's loyal customers.

Take 91-year-old Robert Ramsey, for example, who has been shopping at Elmers for 50 years.

"They're very helpful here and it makes a lot of difference," he said.

"If you go in a big shop or a big garden centre, you are just a number and you have to find everything yourself.

"And I don't like that at my age."

Do you have a story suggestion for Suffolk? Contact us below.

Follow Suffolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.