Shopping as Entertainment

When the Bluewater shopping center in Kent advertises itself as 'the most innovative and exciting shopping and leisure destination in Europe today' (Bluewater website) it is reflecting a widespread and highly significant trend. For many contemporary large-scale shopping centers, leisure and entertainment are as important as, and are thoroughly integrated with, their retail activities. The combining of shopping with entertainment has been recognized in the cumbersome term 'shoppertainment' (Lamancusa). Thus the MetroCentre in Gateshead invites its visitors to 'Uncover the world of shoppertainment at the Centre' (MetroCentre website); Sawgrass Mills Mall at Fort Lauderdale, Florida, boasts that it 'features almost 2 miles of "Shoppertainment" (SawgrassMills web site); the Madrid Xanadu center is promoted by its U.S. owners with the slogan 'Shoppertainment heads to Europe' (Madrid Xanadu web site). Indeed, the Mills Corporation, the American developer behind Sawgrass Mills, Madrid Xanadu and many other such enterprises, registered the...
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