Although many city centres have huge shopping areas, other neighbourhoods have suffered a sharp decline in domestic commercial life. They are less adequately provided for than the average outlying village or suburb. The network of shops and services traditional at such a level has declined abruptly and, as a result, shop owners are hesitant to make further investments to expand the volume of their services. This creates a vicious circle by which people go elsewhere for an ever wider range of items and for lower prices, so that shopowners have to reduce their stock for smaller patronage, thus in turn attracting fewer customers. This process is modified by the 'captive consumer' phenomenon which keeps prices higher than in a more competitive area.