My very livelihood derives from the profit made at airport shops, our regulator prevents us from making any significant profit from landing & parking fees. I shouldn't really knock the concept of the airport as shopping mall.
However, I can see a future where people's purchasing habits have changed to the extent that traditional style shops will reduce in importance to the extent that they won't sustain the costs of running an airport. We would then have to seek alernative, cost-effective solutions. Already I buy all my music on-line, whether in hardware or downloads. I buy all my books on-line, too so that's 2 shops that have no pull for me. Frankly, there's nothing in our shops that interests me, except perhaps for a bottle of water ( that's all I bought before my last 2 flights).
Already, some of the LoCos would be happier if we just made a hole in the perimeter fence for their pax to walk through. If you do away with baggage handling, what's the building actually FOR?
Cheers,
TheOddOne