Convenience for the car-borne shopper: a comparison of access and parking in planned and unplanned retail centres

Retail centre patronage is influenced by the type of transport used by consumers. With the continued proliferation of the car contributing to the emergence of a far more discerning and mobile shopper, consumers are using convenience to differentiate between planned and unplanned centres. Access and parking are the two attributes of a retail centre that determine the convenience of patronage for the carborne shopper. This study provides statistical insight into the convenience offered by these two attributes across a sample of 38 planned centres and 33 unplanned centres. The findings indicate that the planned centre offers the car-borne shopper a more convenient retail environment. The statistical disparity between the two retail forms also adds support to the notion that the demise of the unplanned centre could be linked to its inability to satisfy the needs of a convenience-oriented society.