Stas Sushkov

Shopping Mall Trade Area Analysis (Applying East Massachusetts Geodemographic Classification)

Objectives Analyse and compare trade area of the

shopping malls located in East Massachusetts applying clusters of geodemographic classification

Evaluate trade areas using three types of area selection (definition) approaches

Analyzing Mall Trade Area Using East Massachusetts Geodemographic Classification

Geodemographic classification covers East Massachusetts area (9 counties) with 5.1 million population and consists of 5 clusters. Map can be easily accessed there.

Mall Trade Area Analysis

3 ways to defineA. Circular buffer – trade area is defined by the

geographic distance from the store

B. Driving time zone – trade area is defined by travel time by car to the store

C. Proximity zones – catchment profile gives importance to zones nearest to the store

Source: adapted from Harris et al. 2005

Trade area - geographic region from which one can expect the primary demand for a specific product or service provided at a fixed location (answers.com)

3 Types of Trade AreaDefinition

Of Meadow Glen Mall, Medford, MA

A) 5 mile radius buffer from the mall

B

C

A

B) 20 min driving time zone to the mall at peak hours

C) Catchment area consists of 3 zones of proximity to the store: 1.5, 3 and 5 mile zones. Zones are given

different weights relative to the distance from the store

Trade area characteristics

5 mile radiusMeadow Glen Mall Trade Area Profile by Type of

Neighbourhood (%) 5 Mile Radius Analysis

32.5

15.912.7

34.9

3.8Common City Dwellers

City Strugglers

Wealthy Suburbs

Downtown Res. andUniversity Students

Suburban Middle Class

Meadow Glen Mall5 mile radius

East Massachusetts Index

Common City Dwellers 32.5 24.4 133

City Strugglers 15.9 14.3 111Wealthy Suburbs 12.7 24.0 53Downtown Res. and University Students 34.9 7.3 480Suburban Middle Class 3.8 29.9 13

Index = 100 corresponds to the East Massachusetts mean. Index value from 0 to 99 is below average while index value greater than 100 is above average.

Trade area characteristics

20 min driving time zoneMeadow Glen Mall Peak Time Trade Area (20 min

Driving Time) Profile by Type of Neighbourhood (%)

34.4

19.37.4

35.3

3.4Common City Dw ellers

City Strugglers

Wealthy Suburbs

Dow ntow n Res. andUniversity Students

Suburban Middle Class

Meadow Glen Mall 20 min peak driv. time zone

East Massachusetts Index

Common City Dwellers 34.4 24.4 141City Strugglers 19.3 14.3 135Wealthy Suburbs 7.4 24.0 31Downtown Res. and University Students 35.3 7.3 485Suburban Middle Class 3.4 29.9 11

Trade area characteristics

Meadow Glen Mall 3zones of proximity

East Massachusetts Index

Common City Dwellers 49.6 24.4 203

City Strugglers 12.2 14.3 85

Wealthy Suburbs 5.8 24.0 24Downtown Res. and University Students 30.0 7.3 413Suburban Middle Class 2.2 29.9 7

Zones of proximityMeadow Glen Mall Trade Area Profile by Type of

Neighbourhood (%) Proximity Zones Analysis

49.6

12.25.8

30.0

2.2Common City Dwellers

City Strugglers

Wealthy Suburbs

Downtown Res. andUniversity Students

Suburban Middle Class

3 Types of Trade AreaDefinition Results Comparison

5 mile radius Index

20 min peak driv. time

zone Index

3 zones of proximity

Index

Common City Dwellers 133 141 203

City Strugglers 111 135 85

Wealthy Suburbs 53 31 24Downtown Res. and University Students 480 485 413

Suburban Middle Class 13 11 7

Results comparison of different types of trade area definition

The table shows that in our case all three approaches of trade area definition give almost similar results. Driving time method shows the closest to the average from all three approaches. This approach can be considered more balanced than others.

2 Malls Trade Areas Comparison

Geodemographic classification allows to compare trade areas of two or more malls and shopping centers.

Both malls are located in Greater Boston area and have pretty similar square footage (around 300,000 sq ft).

The Meadow Glen Mall trade area compared to the Watertown Mall trade area

Meadow Glen Mall

Watertown Mall

2 Malls Trade Areas Comparison

Trade areas are measured as 20 minutes driving time at peak

hours.

Meadow Glen Mall has the greater trade area because of its closer location to highways and arterial roads.

Perhaps application of two other trade area evaluation methods would not show the difference in sizes of these malls trade areas.

Meadow Glen Mall

Watertown Mall

Driving time method is the most suitable one for the comparison of retailers’ trade areas!

2 Malls Trade Areas Comparison

Neigbourhood profile of population within 20 min of Meadow Glen Mall and Watertown Mall, Massachusetts

at weekday peak travel time

0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900

Common City Dwellers

City Strugglers

Wealthy Suburbs

Downtown Res. and UniversityStudents

Suburban Middle Class

Index values

Meadow GlenMallWatertownMall

Meadow Glen Mall 20 min peak driv. time zoneindex

Watertown Mall 20 min peak driv. time zoneindex

Common City Dwellers 141 88City Strugglers 135 43Wealthy Suburbs 31 48Downtown Res. and University Students 485 815Suburban Middle Class 11 3Tot. Population 355,443 641,934Medium household income ($) 55,772 46,749

Driving Time at Peak Time or Off Peak

Dedham Mall 20 mindriving time area at peak time

Dedham Mall 20 mindriving time area at weekend, off peak time

20 min driving time zone calculated for weekends covers much greater area than 20 min driving zone calculated for peak hours.

Thus, profiles of these two areas for

the same mall significantly differ!

But trade areas defined by the driving time approach differ depending on time of the day and week.

Driving Time at Peak Time or Off Peak

Neigbourhood profile of population within 20 min of Dedham Mall, Massachusetts at weekday peak travel time and weekend

off-peak time

0 100 200 300

Common City Dwellers

City Strugglers

Wealthy Suburbs

Downtown Res. andUniversity Students

Suburban Middle Class

Index values

Peak time

Weekend

Dedham Mall 20 min peak driv. time zoneindex

Dedham 20 min driv. time weekend zone index

Common City Dwellers 130 161City Strugglers 150 94Wealthy Suburbs 89 147Downtown Res. and University Students 253 32Suburban Middle Class 24 32Tot. Population 1,853,474 144,912Medium household income ($) 54,896 61,824