[dog breath]

That is the trouble with offering too many deep discounts, if volume in response does not pick up then you are really in trouble. Why is Britain having these problems, is it the decreasing lack of meaning in Christmas, the EU, the riots, or what?

[B.Lyle]

In Australia retailers are blaming the internet. Customers come in, look at a product and then go home to order it on the internet at cheaper prices, as the internet seller doesn’t have to cover wages, rent etc.

Maybe cities will have space freed up a little, as more stores close and are replaced by chains of internet warehouses with the occasional showroom.

[Vanders9]

There's probably a lot of reasons, but ultimately it comes down to having an economy driven by consumer spending. When people run out of money, the retailers go to the wall, and then they and their staff are ALSO out of money.

Running an economy like that is a bit like fueling your open hearth real fire with wads of paper. It burns very quickly and very brightly, but it soon fades away, because there is no substance to it.