The Concept of Mass in Intra-urban Shopping

Abstract

Does a shopping center hold a uniform appeal for the potential customers that surround it or are various market segments attracted in different degrees? Judging from the models employed to predict retail trading areas, one might assume that most marketers believe the former to be true and that attraction to all shoppers is a function of the center's mass. This article employs statistical techniques to test this homogeneity concept of the appeal of mass for various types of intra-urban retail facilities and suggests some social perspectives as to how consumers evaluate these centers.