Retailing should be simple: sell the right products, in the right place, at the right price to the right customer in the right way and success is almost guaranteed. But retailing isn't simple - it's complex, capricious and notoriously difficult to attain success … and that's mostly thanks to one thing: the consumer. How Britain Shops: DIY examines shifts in consumer shopping patterns against a backdrop of a diversifying market, a move towards greater use of online and catalogue operations and a growing threat from general retailers including Wilkinson, Argos and the grocers.