It's so, so rough out there and I'm sorry you're in this situation. It's so easy for me to say, "keep your head up and keeping trying, you'll get there", but I know how frustrating that feels to hear (no matter how well-intentioned it was).

Yeah, the whole "walk into stores" song-and-dance doesn't apply for the overwhelming majority of jobs these days. I've tried it myself, and they simply tell you to apply online.

Interesting you say that you feel you have nothing to show retail recruiters. I figured they'd take on anyone who passed the competency questions online, or whatever. Mind you, I'm probably a bit out of touch as I haven't applied to retail since like 2019 (unless it was through temping).

Wonder if you've used a recruitment agency? The jobs there aren't the best, admittedly, but they can be pretty good in getting some sort of income for you.