Less mall-minded

Escalators, cars, television, not to mention the internet and now smartphones - are all examples of the technology that has had a decisive impact on the retail sector over the years. Wojciech Piotrowicz of the University of Oxford, who opened this year's meeting of the industry, was in no doubt about this, addressing the more than 120 retail sector representatives gathered in Warsaw on May 15th at the invitation of Eurobuild Conferences. Does banning the use of mobile phones in shopping centres sound like a bad joke or just totally absurd? Perhaps, but it is true that such ideas are already being mooted. The reason? We have begun to treat traditional shops like showrooms where we can view the products before checking their prices in on-line stores; and if the prices in the latter turn out to be cheaper (as is usually the case), then we make the purchase on the web instead. Still, we have not completely given up on visiting shopping centres and high street stores just yet, according to