Chapter 26 What Is Place?
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Retail Site Selection
The site of a retail store is key to
attracting enough customers to make a
good profit. Retail stores must be near
their target market customers. Shoppers
must walk through their doors to buy their
goods. Aspects of retail site selection include
location, market coverage, and hours.
Location
Marketing research is done to determine
where the largest numbers of potential
customers are located. Marketers often look
back at the data they collected when they
were segmenting the market. They look for
geographic areas that are growing. In other
words, more people and more money should
be coming into the area. Marketers also look
at the competition. If the store will be selling
shoes, are there already too many shoe stores
in the area? If the answer is yes, the marketer
may look for another site.
Some stores are large enough, have
advertised enough, and are well known
enough to draw customers on their own.
Walmart stores are often at a site by
themselves. Other stores do better grouped
together in a mall. Malls benefit both retailers
and customers. Shopping malls attract a
large number of customers. The benefit of a
mall is one-stop shopping for customers. The
customers go to one location and can shop at
several different types of stores, 26-4.
26-4
Malls benefit both retailers and customers. Shopping malls attract a large number of customers.
Customers benefit by the variety of stores available.
Photo courtesy of The Mills Corp.