East End bookshop’s ‘no mobile phones’ policy certainly hasn’t deterred bibliophiles from entering its well-appointed interior.

At a time when most retailers are making stringent efforts to ensure their offers incorporate the latest advances in digital technology, a newly opened bookshop in London’s East End is seeking to put the brakes on mobile devices.

Walk into Libreria on Hanbury Street in Spitalfields and among the many volumes filling the mid-shop tables and the yellow boxes that form the bookcase-like perimeter walls are discreet notices stating: ”No mobile phones please.”

This could be seen as coming from the back-to-basics school of retailing, but the approach seems to be winning as the store has been packed since opening last month.

It helps that this is a fine piece of store design with a floor-to-ceiling mirror at the back that creates the impression of an interior that is very much larger than it is.

Seats and browsing, without the use of a mobile handset, might be one way forward for booksellers.