I think (or hope) there will always be a place for specialist...

I think (or hope) there will always be a place for specialist shops especially food - eg butchers, grocers, delis etc especially with the quality of produce in the supermarkets going downhill.

I wouldn't be sad to see mega-retailers like Harvey Norman disappear, they destroyed strip shopping centres and now the internet is hurting them. That's progress.

There is no doubt we get ripped off as consumers in Australia for many many products. Take kitchen and laundry appliances for example (I have been banging on about this in the Lifestyle forum), we pay almost double what is paid in the UK for the same product. Unfortunately so long as consumers put up with it, the status quo will remain.