The Retail Environment

Despite its great size and importance within the economy, the retail sector is controlled by a relatively small number of retail chains, shopping centre developers and government agencies. At the same time retail activities and commercial services are a significant and visible part of our social system - they both reflect and shape our preferences, lifestyle and more. We are what we consume, and our comsumption priorities describe our society; but these preferences are mediated through the actions of such institutions and organizations as the chains, shopping plazas and urban planners, acting either jointly or in competition. This book describes and explains retailing with a particular emphasis on the problem of store location and on the spatial supply side. The text is divided into four parts and in part one the student is introduced to the basic principles and components of the retail system. The spatial pattern of demand is emphasized, but income and demographics are discussed as well. The chapter on the supply side looks at the corporate composition of retailing in some detail, stressing the degree of concentration in the industry. A final chapter introduces the study of consumer behaviour. Part 2 describes the spatial structure of retail activity, at both the settlement and intra-urban scale, but always with an eye on the location decisions of retail chains and developers. The complementary chapters on the directions and processes of change in retail structure introduce new topics and themes and lay the framework for later applied studies. In part 3, retail structure is examined from the viewpoint of business, introducing many of the most widely used procedures in store location studies. Students are urged to evaluate these techniques in terms of the retail chain's strategies and requirements. How much information and model building is appropriate for a new chain that is moving into a rapidly growing market? Finally, part 4 takes a brief look at the policy implications of retail activities and the possible direction for change in the retail system of tomorrow.