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Retailing is almost entirely in private hands. Due to high wages (twice as high as the country average) and the low level of unemployment, the consumer market is particularly important.
The retailers are concentrated in the city centre. Elegant shopping space is often found in new multi - purpose buildings, usually on their lower floors. Well - known shopping precincts are located in the newly restored Chmielna Street, Nowy ¦wiat, Marszałkowska Street, Jerozolimskie Avenue. A recent survey has identified Nowy ¦wiat as the busiest shopping street of Europe and North America.
Numerous open - air stalls scattered throughout Warsaw are a persisting leftover of the dawn of free market. Although their heyday has passed, the stalls at the Dziesięciolecia Sports Stadium, the biggest bazaar in Europe, still have their place.
 Foreign supermarket moguls could not resist the enticing prospect of relatively high incomes and excellent growth prospects. Twenty six supermarkets (with a combined 500,000 sq m) have opened in Warsaw in the last four years. The majority of them belong to foreign investors. Polish retail chains, such as MarcPol and Robert, are hot on the heels of their foreign competitors. In addition, some elegant shopping mails have appeared recently.
The capital boasts the highest number of trade fairs in the country. Best known are publishing, medical, pharmaceutical and computer fairs. Preparations are under way to build an up-to date exihibition centre.
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