Is retail compatibility a natural phenomenon?: a comparison of store compatibility in planned and unplanned retail centres

The emergence of the internet and a more discerning consumer has created the need for traditional retail centres to provide a more convenient shopping environment. A retail centre offers convenience when it minimises the spatial, temporal and effort costs of shopping. A key means of providing spatial convenience is through store compatibility. Creating clusters of stores that share customers, also reduces shopping's temporal and effort costs. This study provides statistical insight into the degree of compatibility offered by a sample of 6 planned centres and 6 unplanned centres. Across all four tests, the planned centre was found to hold a significant competitive advantage. The findings add 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.