Singular set of shops, of little consequence (5)
I believe the answer is:
small
'singular set' is the definition.
'small' can be an answer for 'set' (thesaurus). I am not sure about the 'singular' bit.
'shops of little consequence' is the wordplay.
I cannot really see how this works, but
'shops' could be 'mall' and 'mall' is found within the answer.
A single letter 's' remains which might be clued in a way I don't see.
This explanation may well be incorrect...
'of' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for small that I've seen before include "Of no great size" , "Trifle -- half a pint?" , "Social chat" , "Not great (in number)" , "Limited in size or scope" .)