medieval shopping

A typical medieval store would have looked like this one - the photo was taken in the 14th century. The goods would have been stocked in the recess and the front opened out to a stall for the shopkeeper to sell his / her wares.

The market in a local town is being shut down for lack of trade ever since the construction of a large 'fun' shopping mall with all the brand names represented, Apple Store etc. Then the local mayor says we need to protect small businesses, as if he wasn't involved in the shopping development himself.

I increasingly don't go shopping to the major centres because it's time-wasting and too impersonal. I started boycotting Carrefour after they started sending me the 'cheque' to redeem my loyalty points in a downloadable format. As if I have ink to waste on their marketing.