Retailers are banning mobile phones in a crackdown on bad-mannered, loud-talking customers, says the Herald Sun.

Fed up with shoppers carrying on conversations while browsing and buying, some store managers have decided to enforce old-fashioned civilities.

Etiquette experts have praised the move, saying customers who insist on using their phones were not only inconsiderate, but wasting other shoppers' time.

Damien Hinds, who manages Richmond stationery store Paperpoint, has put up three "no mobile phone" signs in the Church St shop. He said he was tired of his staff being treated "like an ATM machine".

"We used to have people pushing the stock and their credit card at us while they kept talking on their phone," he said. "(Staff) are people too, not pieces of machinery. Some people have not picked up on mobile etiquette at all."

Mr Hinds said even people browsing were asked not to use their phones, "unless they need to make a call about something they are in the shop for".

"It's just about respect for other people. We like to create a nice atmosphere for the other customers," he said.

Patsy Rowe, author of The Little Book of Etiquette, said mobile use in shops was an "irritation for everybody".

"It's so disconcerting for the person trying to serve you while you're talking to your girlfriend about where you went last night ... and it makes the whole (transaction) process take longer," she said.

"But the main point is the plain rudeness. It's really quite bad that people are not thinking about how their behaviour affects other people."

Australian Retailers Association executive director Russell Zimmerman said excessive mobile phone use was increasingly frustrating for shopkeepers.

"If it becomes disruptive, the shopkeeper obviously has the right to put signs up or tell people they would prefer mobile phones not to be used on the premises," he said.

However, he cautioned that retailers needed to strike "a very fine balance" with anti-mobile policies: "They've also got to realise that you don't want to offend the customer. If you offend the customer, they'll never come back."

AMTA’s Mind your Mobile Manners tips on etiquette can be viewed here.