As my mother got old, and less and less able, I saw how hard it was for her to get around, even in supposedly handicap accessible facilities.  For example, a visit to the mall is a ubiquitous American experience.  It's part of a lot of people's social lives. 

But if you're disabled, it's not so easy.  You probably have to navigate a ramp that takes you dozens of yards out of your way, after parking in a spot that's really not very close to the entrance anyway.  The one door that is handicap-accessible might work.  Or it might not.  The others are heavy.

If your walking isn't very stable, the masses of people pushing, running, and just not watching where they are going make it actively dangerous to go there any time but very off hours. 

Clerks are often not very helpful, managers don't see the problem, other patrons are blissfully unaware of their privilege.

I know the profit motive isn't answer to everything, but I keep wondering if there might be some actual profit to be made by dealing with these issues rather than avoiding them.  The people who make the Jitterbug cell phone saw a need and filled it, for example.

Why not have high-accessibility malls?  People take bus trips to malls all the time, so you wouldn't have to have one right in your neighborhood to benefit.  It seems like an obvious solution. 

The people who work there would have to understand that seniors and disabled people aren't inferior, they are in fact the source of their income (yeah, I know, some retail workers feel that customers are insects anyway, but this would be explicit in the training).  I sometimes think that "Speak clearly and make eye contact" and "Listen when someone's talking to you" would solve a lot of problems right off the bat.

Get rid of all the architectural level changing that makes negotiating these spaces so difficult.  Automatic doors everywhere.  Attention to trip-ups like bunched-up rugs, doorjambs, changes in floor texture, slope, ridges, bumps.

Wider aisles in all shops.  Reachable racks.

Encourage stores with stylish clothing for all ages, that fits different shaped bodies.

Food court counters that are low enough for wheelchair users to negotiate effectively.

Plentiful seating everywhere, including anywhere there might be a line.  Many pleasant, convenient places to just sit and rest.

Carts for in-mall use.  Home delivery easily available from every store. 

Or maybe a "forward for pickup" mechanism where you get a ticket when you arrive, have it scanned when you make a purchase so that purchase can be put with your others at that location, and pick them up all together when you leave?  I can see the possibilities for theft here, and confusion, like with your airport luggage, so maybe not...but think of how much personal energy this would save!

Many elevators instead of one, sometimes hard to find elevator.  I regularly visit a store that has a cart escalator — I wonder, could something like that be developed for wheelchairs and small personal vehicles?

Helpful, ubiquitous security.  Concierge service.  Valet parking.  Aware management. 

And of course, there must be hiring and entrepreneurial opportunities for disabled people, because they're not only consumers, they are full participants in the economy.

Now that I think of it, most of this would help not only disabled people, but people with children in strollers or children in arms. 

And now that I think of it, a lot of these techniques are already used...in gambling casinos.