Entertainment is a form of activity that holds the attention and interest of an audience, or gives pleasure and delight. It can be an idea or a task, but is more to be one of the activities or events that have developed over thousands of years for the purpose of keeping an audience's attention. Although people's attention is held by different things, because individuals have different preferences in entertainment, most forms are recognisable and familiar. Storytelling, drama and different kinds of performance exist in all cultures, were supported in royal courts, developed into sophisticated forms and over time became available to all citizens; the process has been accelerated in modern times by an entertainment industry that records and sells entertainment products. Entertainment evolves and can be adapted to suit any scale, ranging from an individual who chooses a private entertainment from a now enormous array of pre-recorded products; the experience of being entertained has come to be associated with amusement, so that one common understanding of the idea is fun and laughter, although many entertainments have a serious purpose.
This may be the case in the various forms of ceremony, religious festival, or satire for example. Hence, there is the possibility that what appears as entertainment may be a means of achieving insight or intellectual growth. An important aspect of entertainment is the audience, which turns a private recreation or leisure activity into entertainment; the audience may have a passive role, as in the case of persons watching a play, television show, or film. Entertainment can be public or private, involving formal, scripted performance, as in the case of theatre or concerts. Most forms of entertainment have persisted over many centuries, evolving due to changes in culture and fashion for example with stage magic. Films and video games, for example, although they use newer media, continue to tell stories, present drama, play music. Festivals devoted to music, film, or dance allow audiences to be entertained over a number of consecutive days; some activities that were once considered entertaining public punishments, have been removed from the public arena.
Others, such as fencing or archery, once necessary skills for some, have become serious sports and professions for the participants, at the same time developing into entertainment with wider appeal for bigger audiences. In the same way, other necessary skills, such as cooking, have developed into performances among professionals, staged as global competitions and broadcast for entertainment. What is entertainment for one group or individual may be regarded as work by another; the familiar forms of entertainment have the capacity to cross over different media and have demonstrated a unlimited potential for creative remix. This has ensured the continuity and longevity of many themes and structures. Entertainment can be distinguished from other activities such as education and marketing though they have learned how to use the appeal of entertainment to achieve their different goals. Sometimes entertainment can be a mixture for both; the importance and impact of entertainment is recognised by scholars and its increasing sophistication has influenced practices in other fields such as museology.
Psychologists say the function of media entertainment is "the attainment of gratification". No other results or measurable benefit are expected from it; this is in contrast to marketing. However, the distinctions become blurred when education seeks to be more "entertaining" and entertainment or marketing seek to be more "educational"; such mixtures are known by the neologisms "edutainment" or "infotainment". The psychology of entertainment as well as of learning has been applied to all these fields; some education-entertainment is a serious attempt to combine the best features of the two. Some people are entertained by the idea of their unhappiness. An entertainment might produce some insight in its audience. Entertainment may skillfully consider universal philosophical questions such as: "What is the meaning of life?". Questions such as these drive many narratives and dramas, whether they are presented in the form of a story, play, book, comic, or game. Dramatic examples include Shakespeare's influential play Hamlet, whose hero articulates these concerns in poetry.
Novels give great scope for investigating these themes. An example of a creative work that considers philosophical questions so entertainingly that it has been presented in a wide range of forms is The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. A radio comedy, this story became so popular that it has appeared as a novel, television series, stage show, audiobook, LP record, adventure game and online game, its ideas became popular references and has been tran
E-commerce is the activity of buying or selling of products on online services or over the Internet. Electronic commerce draws on technologies such as mobile commerce, electronic funds transfer, supply chain management, Internet marketing, online transaction processing, electronic data interchange, inventory management systems, automated data collection systems. Modern electronic commerce uses the World Wide Web for at least one part of the transaction's life cycle although it may use other technologies such as e-mail. Typical e-commerce transactions include the purchase of online books and music purchases, to a less extent, customized/personalized online liquor store inventory services. There are three areas of e-commerce: online retailing, electric markets, online auctions. E-commerce is supported by electronic business. E-commerce businesses may employ some or all of the followings: Online shopping for retail sales direct to consumers via Web sites and mobile apps, conversational commerce via live chat and voice assistants Providing or participating in online marketplaces, which process third-party business-to-consumer or consumer-to-consumer sales Business-to-business buying and selling.
A timeline for the development of e-commerce: 1971 or 1972: The ARPANET is used to arrange a cannabis sale between students at the Stanford Artificial Intelligence Laboratory and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology described as "the seminal act of e-commerce" in John Markoff's book What the Dormouse Said. 1979: Michael Aldrich demonstrates the first online shopping system. 1981: Thomson Holidays UK is the first business-to-business online shopping system to be installed. 1982: Minitel was introduced nationwide in France by France Télécom and used for online ordering. 1983: California State Assembly holds first hearing on "electronic commerce" in Volcano, California. Testifying are CPUC, MCI Mail, CompuServe, Volcano Telephone, Pacific Telesis. 1984: Gateshead SIS/Tesco is first B2C online shopping system and Mrs Snowball, 72, is the first online home shopper 1984: In April 1984, CompuServe launches the Electronic Mall in the USA and Canada. It is the first comprehensive electronic commerce service.
1989: In May 1989, Sequoia Data Corp. Introduced Compumarket, the first internet based system for e-commerce. Sellers and buyers could post items for sale and buyers could search the database and make purchases with a credit card. 1990: Tim Berners-Lee writes the first web browser, WorldWideWeb, using a NeXT computer. 1992: Book Stacks Unlimited in Cleveland opens a commercial sales website selling books online with credit card processing. 1993: Paget Press releases edition No. 3 of the first app store, The Electronic AppWrapper 1994: Netscape releases the Navigator browser in October under the code name Mozilla. Netscape 1.0 is introduced in late 1994 with SSL encryption. 1994: Ipswitch IMail Server becomes the first software available online for sale and immediate download via a partnership between Ipswitch, Inc. and OpenMarket. 1994: "Ten Summoner's Tales" by Sting becomes the first secure online purchase through NetMarket. 1995: The US National Science Foundation lifts its former strict prohibition of commercial enterprise on the Internet.
1995: Thursday 27 April 1995, the purchase of a book by Paul Stanfield, Product Manager for CompuServe UK, from W H Smith's shop within CompuServe's UK Shopping Centre is the UK's first national online shopping service secure transaction. The shopping service at launch featured W H Smith, Virgin Megastores/Our Price, Great Universal Stores, Dixons Retail, Past Times, PC World and Innovations. 1995: Jeff Bezos launches Amazon.com and the first commercial-free 24-hour, internet-only radio stations, Radio HK and NetRadio start broadcasting. EBay is founded by computer programmer Pierre Omidyar as AuctionWeb. 1996: The use of Excalibur BBS with replicated "Storefronts" was an early implementation of electronic commerce started by a group of SysOps in Australia and replicated to global partner sites. 1998: Electronic postal stamps can be purchased and downloaded for printing from the Web. 1999: Alibaba Group is established in China. Business.com sold for US $7.5 million to eCompanies, purchased in 1997 for US $149,000.
The peer-to-peer filesharing software Napster launches. ATG Stores launches to sell decorative items for the home online. 1999: Global e-commerce reaches $150 billion 2000: The dot-com bust. 2001: Alibaba.com achieved profitability in December 2001. 2002: eBay acquires PayPal for $1.5 billion. Niche retail companies Wayfair and NetShops are founded with the concept of selling products through several targeted domains, rather than a central portal. 2003: Amazon.com posts first yearly profit. 2004: DHgate.com, China's first online b2b transaction platform, is established, forcing other b2b sites to move away from the "yellow pages" model. 2007: Business.com acquired by R. H. Donnelley for $345 million. 2014: US e-commerce and Online Retail sales projected to reach $294 billion, an increase of 12 percent over 2013 and 9% of all retail sales. Alibaba Group has the largest Initial public offering worth $25 billion. 2015: Amazon.com accounts for more than half of all e-commerce
K-Pop World Festival
The K-POP World Festival is an annual event organized by South Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs with the support of numerous government agencies. After going through a few preliminary rounds, fans of K-pop are invited by the South Korean government to take part in the final round of the competition held every year in Changwon, South Korea; the event is organized by South Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs with the support from various state agencies including: The Ministry of Culture and Tourism The Korean Broadcasting System Overseas diplomatic missions and embassies of South KoreaAccording to the organizers, the purpose of the event is to bring Hallyu fans from all over the world to South Korea, thereby fusing the culture of Korea with the cultures of various countries from all over the world. In an effort to make the event one where Korean culture comes together with cultures of participants, those who reinterpret or rearrange K-Pop by fusing it with their traditional music or instrument sounds, will be given extra points.
The preliminary competition was hosted in 16 countries with more than 30,000 applicants and over 10,000 fans attending the December 7 finals in Changwon. Boy group JAM from Kazakhstan who performed Shinee's Ring Ding Dong won the performance grand prize while solo performer Karla Carreon from Philippine who performed Yumi's Star won the vocals grand prize. Guest performers included T-ara, Sistar, K. Will, Boyfriend, MBLAQ, Infinite and CNBLUE; the competition was hosted in 33 countries before finals on October 28. Girl group O. M. G. from who performed. According to the Embassy of Czech Republic in Seoul, the Ambassador, Jaroslav Olša, jr. congratulated them on winning the contest. The group received a CD containing a South Korean adaptation of a famous Czech musical. Duo from Indonesia and Marwah who performed Sistar 19's Ma Boy won the vocals grand prize. Guest performers included TVXQ, Secret, MBLAQ, FT ISLAND, B. A. P and Apink; the competition was hosted in 58 cities from 43 nations, with more than 60,000 applicants, over 25,000 fans attending the October 20 finals in Changwon.
Performance grand prizes were awarded to girl group Alladin from Uzbekistan who performed Miss A's Bad Girl Good Girl and vocals grand prize were awarded to solo performer Arnelle Nonon from the U. S. who performed Lee Hi's "1,2,3,4". Guest performers included Miss A, EXO, Infinite and B. A. P; the preliminary competition was hosted in 70 countries before the finals on October 19 in Changwon. Overall grand prize were awarded to girl group GGC Crew from Ireland who performed Girls' Generation's I Got A Boy; the performance grand prize were awarded to a group from Finland High Definition who performed BTS's Boy In Luv while a team from Japan, Flashy who performed Ailee's I Will Show You won the vocals grand prize. Guest performers included EXO-K, B. A. P, Block B, IU, Sistar and Apink. Award These contestants didn't win an award, but they did perform and represent their country: Awards The Pacific Starz of Nigeria won the overall Grand Prize of 12 Million South Korean Won; the group led by Praise Nelson and made up of 5 members, performed the BTS song Danger.
These contestants didn't win an award, but they did perform and represent their country: These contestants didn't win an award, but they did perform and represent their country: Guest Performances was done by BTS, MONSTA X, TWICE, Ailee, NCT 127, J Black, ASTRO Award Other Contestant These contestants didn't win an award, but they did perform and represent their country: Due to the Kong-Rey Typhoon this is the first time the performance was without an audience and with a special guest performer. This is the first time for the competition with a new concept of the "Bracket System" From 6 different category. In addition 2 Special Prizes, "Grand Award" & "People`s Choice Award". List of music festivals in South Korea List of K-pop festivals Official website K-Pop World Festival 2013 Audition clips – https://www.youtube.com/user/kbskpopworld K-Pop streaming service – http://www.genie.co.kr/en/
Korea is a region in East Asia. Since 1948, it has been divided between two distinct sovereign states: South Korea. Korea consists of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, several minor islands near the peninsula. Korea is bordered by China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, neighbours Japan to the east by the Korea Strait and the Sea of Japan. During the first half of the 1st millennium, Korea was divided between the three competing states of Baekje and Silla, together known as the "Three Kingdoms of Korea". In the second half of the 1st millennium and Goguryeo were conquered by Silla, leading to the "Unified Silla" period. Meanwhile, Balhae formed in the north following the collapse of Goguryeo. Unified Silla collapsed into three separate states due to civil war, ushering in the Later Three Kingdoms. Toward the end of the 1st millennium Goryeo, a revival of Goguryeo, defeated the two other states and unified the Korean Peninsula as one single state. Around the same time, Balhae collapsed and its last crown prince fled south to Goryeo.
Goryeo, whose name developed into the modern exonym "Korea", was a cultured state that created the world's first metal movable type in 1234. However, multiple invasions by the Mongol Empire during the 13th century weakened the nation, which agreed to become a vassal state after decades of fighting. Following military resistance under King Gongmin which ended Mongol political influence in Goryeo, severe political strife followed, Goryeo fell to a coup led by General Yi Seong-gye, who established Joseon in 1392; the first 200 years of Joseon were marked by relative peace. During this period, the Korean alphabet was created by Sejong the Great in the 15th century and there was increasing influence of Confucianism. During the part of the dynasty, Korea's isolationist policy earned it the Western nickname of the "Hermit Kingdom". By the late 19th century, the country became the object of imperial design by the Empire of Japan. After the First Sino-Japanese War, despite the Korean Empire's effort to modernize, it was annexed by Japan in 1910 and ruled by Imperial Japan until the end of World War II in August 1945.
In 1945, the Soviet Union and the United States agreed on the surrender of Japanese forces in Korea in the aftermath of World War II, leaving Korea partitioned along the 38th parallel. The North was under Soviet occupation and the South under U. S. occupation. These circumstances soon became the basis for the division of Korea by the two superpowers, exacerbated by their inability to agree on the terms of Korean independence; the Communist-inspired government in the North received backing from the Soviet Union in opposition to the pro-Western government in the South, leading to Korea's division into two political entities: North Korea, South Korea. Tensions between the two resulted in the outbreak of the Korean War in 1950. With involvement by foreign troops, the war ended in a stalemate in 1953, but without a formalized peace treaty; this status contributes to the high tensions. Both governments of the two Koreas claim to be the sole legitimate government of the region. "Korea" is the modern spelling of "Corea", a name attested in English as early as 1614.
Korea was transliterated as Cauli in The Travels of Marco Polo, of the Chinese 高麗. This was the Hanja for the Korean kingdom of Goryeo, which ruled most of the Korean peninsula during Marco Polo's time. Korea's introduction to the West resulted from trade and contact with merchants from Arabic lands, with some records dating back as far as the 9th century. Goryeo's name was a continuation of Goguryeo the northernmost of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, known as Goryeo beginning in the 5th century; the original name was a combination of the adjective go with the name of a local Yemaek tribe, whose original name is thought to have been either *Guru or *Gauri. With expanding British and American trade following the opening of Korea in the late 19th century, the spelling "Korea" appeared and grew in popularity; the name Korea is now used in English contexts by both North and South Korea. In South Korea, Korea as a whole is referred to as Hanguk; the name references Samhan, referring to the Three Kingdoms of Korea, not the ancient confederacies in the southern Korean Peninsula.
Although written in Hanja as 韓, 幹, or 刊, this Han has no relation to the Chinese place names or peoples who used those characters but was a phonetic transcription of a native Korean word that seems to have had the meaning "big" or "great" in reference to leaders. It has been tentatively linked with the title khan used by the nomads of Central Asia. In North Korea, China and Japan, Korea as a whole is referred to as. "Great Joseon" was the name of the kingdom ruled by the Joseon dynasty from 1393 until their declaration of the short-lived Great Korean Empire in 1897. King Taejo had named them for the earlier Kojoseon, who ruled northern Korea from its legendary prehistory until their conquest in 108 BC by China's Han Empire; this go is the Hanja 古 and
Alipay is a third-party mobile and online payment platform, established in Hangzhou, China in February 2004 by Alibaba Group and its founder Jack Ma. In 2015, Alipay moved its headquarters to Pudong, although its parent company Ant Financial remains Hangzhou-based. Alipay overtook PayPal as the world's largest mobile payment platform in 2013; as of March 31, 2018, the number of Alipay users reached 870 million. It is the world's number one mobile payment service organization and the second largest mobile payment service organization in the world. According to the statistics of the fourth quarter of 2017, Alipay has a 54.26% share of the third-party payment market in mainland China, it continues to grow. In 2003, Taobao launched the first Alipay service; the PBOC, China's central bank, issued licensing regulations in June 2010 for third-party payment providers. It issued separate guidelines for foreign-funded payment institutions; because of this, which accounts for half of China's non-bank online payment market, was restructured as a domestic company controlled by Alibaba CEO Jack Ma in order to facilitate the regulatory approval for the license.
The 2010 transfer of Alipay's ownership was controversial, with media reports in 2011 that Yahoo! and Softbank were not informed of the sale for nominal value. Chinese business publications Century Weekly criticised Ma, who stated that Alibaba Group's board of directors was aware of the transaction; the incident was criticised in foreign and Chinese media as harming foreign trust in making Chinese investments. The ownership dispute was resolved by Alibaba Group, Yahoo!, Softbank in July 2011. In 2013 Alipay launched; as of June 2013 the company still had what it called "a minor paperwork problem" with the China Securities Regulatory Commission, but the company said that they planned to expand the product while these are sorted out. In 2015, Alipay's parent company was re-branded as Ant Financial Services Group. In 2017, Alipay unveiled their facial recognition payment service. Alipay claims it operates with more than 65 financial institutions including Visa and MasterCard to provide payment services for Taobao and Tmall as well as more than 460,000 online and local Chinese businesses.
Alipay is used in smartphones with their Alipay Wallet app. QR code payment codes are used for local in-store payments; the Alipay app provides features such as credit card bills payment, bank account managements, P2P transfer, prepay mobile phone top-up, bus and train ticket purchase, food order, ride hailing, insurance selection, digital identification document storage. Alipay allows online check-out on most Chinese-based websites such as Taobao and Tmall; the Alipay app allows users to add their own services provided from different companies to create a more personalised experience. Since late-2008, Alipay has promoted public service payment services and has covered more than 300 cities nationwide, supporting more than 1,200 partner organizations. In addition to utility bills such as water and electricity, Alipay extends their services to areas such as paying transportation fines, property fees, cable television fees. Common online payment services include hydropower coal payment, tuition payment and traffic fine.
On 15 January 2009, Alipay launched a credit card repayment service, supporting 39 domestic bank-issued credit cards. It is the most popular third-party repayment platform; the main advantages are free credit card bills checking, repayments with no administrative fee, as well as automatic repayment, repayment reminders and other value-added services. In the first quarter of 2014, 76% of credit cards were paid by Alipay Wallet. From December 2013, several chain convenience store companies, including Meiyijia, Hongqi Chain, Qishiduo C-STORE and 7-Eleven, have successively supported Alipay payment. Subsequently, Wanda Cinema, Joy City and other large-scale retail companies as well as movie theaters, KTV, catering companies have access to Alipay. Internationally, more than 300 worldwide merchants use Alipay to sell directly to consumers in China, it supports transactions in 18 major foreign currencies. Since the launch of Alipay in the Mainland China, Ant Financial introduced a series of expansion of the services to other countries.
In 2017, Ant Financial introduced their expansion of service to Hong Kong. They launched Alipay Payment Services Ltd. and the "AlipayHK" brand as a joint venture with CK Hutchison. They launched a standalone app providing features such as mobile P2P transfer. All transactions are paid with Hong Kong dollar instead of Renminbi; the service is now available in major chain stores such as McDonald's, 7-Eleven and Circle K. Wet markets and other merchants are further supported. In 2017, Ant Financial partnered with a start-up company in Singapore. Alipay plans to expand its 20,000 acceptance points in Singapore, open up their platform to Singapore banking users. Alipay entered Japan in 2015, with network up to 38,000. Ant Financial hopes that their network in Japan could help Chinese tourists that are heading to Japan. In 2018, Alipay bought 20% shares in Bangladeshi of the mobile financial service provider bKash Limited. In February 2019, Alipay and Tourism Australia announced a new service to promote Australian destinations to Chinese tourists using the city of Sydney as a 12-month pilot project.
The new Sydney City Card will introduce an interactive city map in the Alipay app to alert tourists to participating locations and retailers where Alipay payments are welcomed. A similar initiative will be trialed
Seoul Broadcasting System
Seoul Broadcasting System is a national South Korean television and radio network company. In March 2000, the company became known as SBS, changing its corporate name from Seoul Broadcasting System, it has provided terrestrial digital TV service in the ATSC format since 2001, T-DMB service since 2005. Its flagship terrestrial television station is Channel 6 for Cable. After the 1987 South Korean democratic reform, the government had decided to create a new commercial broadcaster in South Korea. MBC was a mouthpiece of KBS to broadcast sporting events like the 1986 FIFA World Cup, however, the purpose for South Korea's new commercial broadcaster has to become an alternative channel to the audience that it was before 1990 mastered by MBC. During the separation of MBC from KBS, the government had luckily succeeded it, by that, it introduced a new South Korean commercial broadcaster called SBS. According to the National Pension Service, SBS is South Korea's second commercial broadcaster after MBC, it were founded on 14 November 1990, when the government allowed the creation of a second commercial station in Seoul.
At the same time, during its establishment, SBS were first marking its start by beginning its experimental demo emissions, later, it were therefore commencing its test transmissions for its TV and radio channels on 1 December 1990, that same year. On 20 March 1991, SBS started its regular broadcasts by launching SBS Radio's first regular broadcasts on AM 792kHz. 9 months on 1 December 1991, that same year, when MBC celebrated its 30th anniversary, SBS commenced its official broadcasts with the introduction of SBS TV at 10:00am in Seoul, it was designated as "The Day of Birth of SBS", but SBS were only broadcasting terrestrially in Seoul and its surrounding areas. On 9 October 1992, the government began accepting applications for private broadcasting stations in other regions of the country. SBS had planned for a television and radio broadcast affiliate network that aims to air SBS' programs in other new regional channels before its 5th anniversary. In 1994, the private channels KNN in Busan, TJB in Daejeon, TBC in Daegu, kbc in Gwangju were created after government approval.
On 14 May 1995, SBS launched its national television network with its new local affiliates, KNN, TJB, TBC, kbc. SBS had managed a network that airs SBS programs in other regional channels while local stations created local programming to suit the local residents needs. In 1996, plans for a FM radio station to complement the existing AM station became realized. On 14 November 1996, SBS Power FM began broadcasting on 107.7 MHz as a music-centric station. On 4 January 1999, the original SBS Radio on AM 792 kHz began broadcasting on FM as well; the station rebranded as SBS Love FM on 103.5 MHz airing on both AM and FM frequencies. High-definition digital television was introduced in 2001. Digital Multimedia Broadcasting was introduced in 2005. SBS introduced its current logo on 14 November 2000, after its 10th anniversary celebrations to ensure the overall coherence of the current identity. SBS' logo has three embryos placed in a circle of the model where three colors are used to represent the symbol of human-centered and creative, future-oriented management philosophy, showing that the'life' and'the seeds of civilization' has centered on the theme of SBS.
SBS' branding is used in all sectors such as vehicle, envelopes, business cards, helicopter, ganpanryu, uniforms, program title, etc. SBS had used the slogan "Humanism thru Digital" until January 2010 where a new slogan is used. Gomi is the mascot of SBS-oriented as the new face of'Humanism thru Digital' through the harmony of nature and human life where green environment is important. On 29 October 2012, SBS TV became South Korea's second channel to go 24/7; the network's current advertising slogan is Together, we make delight, as used in a new station identification video with apl.de.ap's "We Can Be Anything" as background music. 1 terrestrial TV 2 radio stations7 cable TV channels SBS dramas have been part of the "Korean Wave", exported to many countries across the world. Sandglass has one of the highest viewership ratings in South Korea, is considered the breakout drama for the network. Other dramas that have enjoyed high viewership include Lovers in Paris, Trap of Youth, Brilliant Legacy, Rustic Period, Temptation of Wife, The Heirs, My Love from the Star.
SBS airs a variety of entertainment programs ranging from informational, music, talk shows, auditions. Many programs are popular throughout Asia, including X-Man, Family Outing, Running Man, The Music Trend, many more. SBS documentaries encompass a wide range of issues, from foreign affairs to the environment; the Its Know premiered in 1992, has since earned notoriety for its investigations from a journalistic standpoint. SBS broke tradition by creating its flagship newscast SBS Eight O'Clock News, airing at 20:00 instead of 21:00, giving itself the slogan "News an hour earlier", it produces news-analysis programs such as Morning Wide, Nightline, SBS Current Affairs Debate, Curious Stories Y, In Depth 21 covering the political, economic and cultural issues of the days. SBS Eight O'Clock News, the network's flagship newscast, reported “Actress Jang Ja-yeon had ‘entertained’ 31 guests for a total of 100 times.” The newscast showed a 230-page document directly written by Jang which however was not her writing.
The newscast said “A 50-container/230-page document directly wr
A shopping mall is a modern, chiefly North American, term for a form of shopping precinct or shopping center, in which one or more buildings form a complex of shops representing merchandisers with interconnecting walkways that enable customers to walk from unit to unit. A shopping arcade is a specific type of shopping precinct, distinguished in English for mall shopping by the fact that connecting walkways are not owned by a single proprietor and are in open air. Shopping malls in 2017 accounted for 8% of retailing space in the United States. Many early shopping arcades such as the Burlington Arcade in London, the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II in Milan, numerous arcades in Paris are famous and still trading. However, many smaller arcades have been demolished, replaced with large centers or "malls" accessible by vehicle. Technical innovations such as electric lighting and escalators were introduced from the late 19th century. From the late 20th century, entertainment venues such as movie theaters and restaurants began to be added.
As a single built structure, early shopping centers were architecturally significant constructions, enabling wealthier patrons to buy goods in spaces protected from the weather. In places around the world, the term shopping centre is used in Europe and South America. Mall is a term used predominantly in North America. Outside of North America, "shopping precinct" and "shopping arcade" are used. In North America, Persian Gulf countries, India, the term shopping mall is applied to enclosed retail structures, while shopping centre refers to open-air retail complexes. In the United Kingdom and Ireland, "malls" are referred to as shopping centres. Mall refers to either a shopping mall – a place where a collection of shops all adjoin a pedestrian area – or an pedestrianized street that allows shoppers to walk without interference from vehicle traffic. In North America, mall is used to refer to a large shopping area composed of a single building which contains multiple shops "anchored" by one or more department stores surrounded by a parking lot, while the term "arcade" is more used in the United Kingdom, to refer to a narrow pedestrian-only street covered or between spaced buildings.
The majority of British shopping centres are located in city centres found in old and historic shopping districts and surrounded by subsidiary open air shopping streets. Large examples include West Quay in Southampton. In addition to the inner city shopping centres, large UK conurbations will have large out-of-town "regional malls" such as the Metrocentre in Gateshead; these centres were built in the 1980s and 1990s, but planning regulations prohibit the construction of any more. Out-of-town shopping developments in the UK are now focused on retail parks, which consist of groups of warehouse style shops with individual entrances from outdoors. Planning policy prioritizes the development of existing town centres. Westfield Stratford City, in Stratford, is the largest shopping centre in Europe with over 330 shops, 50 restaurants and an 11 screen cinema and Westfield London is the largest inner-city shopping center in Europe. Bullring, Birmingham is the busiest shopping centre in the UK welcoming over 36.5 million shoppers in its opening year.
There are a reported 222 malls in Europe. In 2014, these malls had combined sales of $12.47 billion. This represented a 10% bump in revenues from the prior year. One of the earliest examples of public shopping areas comes from ancient Rome, in forums where shopping markets were located. One of the earliest public shopping centers is Trajan's Market in Rome located in Trajan's Forum. Trajan's Market was built around 100-110 CE by Apollodorus of Damascus, it is thought to be the world's oldest shopping center – a forerunner of today's shopping mall; the Grand Bazaar of Istanbul was built in the 15th century and is still one of the largest covered shopping centers in the world, with more than 58 streets and 4,000 shops. Numerous other covered shopping arcades, such as the 19th-century Al-Hamidiyah Souq in Damascus, might be considered as precursors to the present-day shopping mall. Isfahan's Grand Bazaar, covered, dates from the 10th century; the 10-kilometer-long, covered Tehran's Grand Bazaar has a lengthy history.
The oldest continuously occupied shopping mall in the world is to be the Chester Rows. Dating back at least to the 13th century, these covered walkways housed shops, with storage and accommodation for traders on various levels. Different rows specialized in different goods, such as'Bakers Row' or'Fleshmongers Row'. Gostiny Dvor in St. Petersburg, which opened in 1785, may be regarded as one of the first purposely-built mall-type shopping complexes, as it consisted of more than 100 shops covering an area of over 53,000 m2; the Marché des Enfants Rouges in Paris still runs today. The Oxford Covered Market in Oxford, England still runs today; the Passage du Caire was opened in Paris in 1798. The Burlington Arcade in London was opened in 1819; the Arcade