There are a number of factors that have led to a marked increase in the number of large-scale shopping areas and a subsequent decline in the number of smaller, local shops. Although there are advantages for the consumer, there are also a number of disadvantages, as will now be discussed.
One of the main advantages is related to the amount of stock that larger retail parks can support; smaller shops may stock only one or two brands of a particular item, whereas department stores and the like may have a multitude of option. Pricing is also an issue in which the larger stores tend to have an advantage as they can afford to sell items to consumers at prices the smaller shops cannot match.
However, there are some significant disadvantages to larger shopping areas, the main issue being a loss of the more traditional 'customer oriented' service. Smaller local shops often become part of the community, where the shopkeeper know the customers by name and can build relationships that are absent in the larger, more impersonal stores. Customer satisfaction is arguably far more of a priority in the smaller shops and there is a sense of contributing to the local community.
Another disadvantages that does not directly relate to the customer or the shopkeeper is that the larger retail parks and department stores are rarely close, meaning that people visiting these areas are often required to travel by car, thus contributing to pollution levels.
To sum up, although there are some material advantages to large shopping complexes, these are perhaps outweighed by the social and environmental advantages of patronising smaller, local shops.
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