Change and decay is all around • • •

Changes in the retail environment over the last ten years or so have been dramatic. Principally they include increased concentration in the major retail companies, new outlets and new formats, and a whole range of changing market conditions which include changes in population, in age structure, in households, and of course in the consumer. All these are well described in a new publication coming from the Oxford Institute of Retail Management, Change In the Retail Environment, by Elizabeth Howard and Ross Davies. The report is not about the wider aspects of social and economic change, except in so far as these relate to changing consumer demands and levels of spending. Essentially the report brings together aspects of work on industrial strategy, population change, consumer behaviour and urban development with research on the nature of shopping centres and store development.