Types of Store Clusters
Various types of store clusters should be
evaluated as a part of place strategy. Some site
locations are in planned shopping centers and
malls, while others have evolved as unplanned
clusters of stores. In most store clusters,
especially those that were planned and have a
unifi ed appearance and common areas (parking
lot and sidewalks), the stores act together
for promotional purposes. Some centers are
enclosed into protected malls to make shopping
more pleasant for consumers in any type of
weather, 13-21.
There are fi ve types of store clusters. These
include the following:
Central business districts. These areas of
cities or towns, with high concentrations of
stores and offi ces, usually evolved over time
without a plan. The location of individual
stores is often based on what spaces were
available as the area matured. Most central
business districts now have a hard time
competing against newer, planned, suburban
shopping areas. Some urban sections are
plagued with traffi c, parking, and crime
problems. Many communities have been
trying to revive the appearance and safety of
their downtown areas. They have done this
with parking garages, security patrols, and
closing streets to make mall-like settings,
13-22. However, most still mainly serve
consumers who live in the city, downtown
workers for lunchtime shopping, and tourists
or business visitors to the city.
•
Neighborhood shopping centers. These
are small shopping centers with usually
5 to 15 stores. They serve about 7,500 to
40,000 local consumers in surrounding
neighborhoods who can drive to the center
within ten minutes. Older neighborhood
shopping centers generally do not have the
esteem or variety of newer, better planned
shopping centers. As communities have
grown, “shopping strips” have developed
along major roads, usually selling
convenience products. This type of center
might have a supermarket and several
family-owned service stores (dry cleaner,
beauty shop, hardware store, etc.).
Community shopping centers. These
medium-sized centers usually have 15 to
50 stores. They normally contain a primary
store, such as a department store branch, a
supermarket, specialty stores, restaurant(s),
professional offi ces, and a bank. Most selling
is of convenience products to a market of
•
•
13-21 Enclosed shopping malls, such as
this one, are often decorated like outdoor
gardens, but they allow customers to shop
in indoor comfort year-round.
13-22 The downtown area of Denver,
Colorado, has been transformed into a
mall, with only limited public transportation
vehicles running through it.
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