WHY?

Understanding retail spending patterns in a community is essential to a city’s economic development. While a retail trade area analysis is not a roadmap for retail attraction and development, it is an initial snapshot that provides a fundamental baseline uncovering a market’s strengths and weakness. This analysis provides the necessary information for city planners, developers, retailers and community development corporations (CDCs) as they develop a plan of action by capturing areas with retail leakage (unmet consumer demand) and highlighting residents’ need for certain goods and services, as well as areas that serve as destination shopping districts or retail destination sites (sales surplus or negative leakage).  THE ANALYSIS The trade area analysis consists of the following: available retail and services, retail and service demand, and retail and services leakage.  1. AVAILABLE RETAIL AND SERVICES: aggregate sales estimated by an analysis of business-level data. North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) codes are used to establish different business categories.  2. RETAIL AND SERVICES DEMAND: an analysis of consumer expenditures for a different number of retail and service categories. Expenditures are converted to average sales per square foot estimates.  3. RETAIL AND SERVICES LEAKAGE: float/leakage is calculated through an analysis of aggregate square footage or aggregate revenue in comparison to residents’ aggregate expenditures.  In addition, we provide leakage maps within a 1/2 mile, one-mile and two-mile ring for each individual blockgroup.

SUGGESTED CATEGORIES

• APPAREL: Retail establishments whose primary business focus is selling clothes, shoes, hats, and other accessories for personal wear.
• FOOD STORES: Retail establishments whose primary business focus is selling food for home preparation and consumption. Subcategories are full-service grocery stores and other grocers.
• HOME IMPROVEMENTS: Retail establishments whose primary business focus is selling home improvement items (i.e. furniture, floor coverings). These businesses are also likely to have a wide selection of electrical and gas appliances.
• RESTAURANTS AND BARS: Establishments whose primary business focus is selling prepared foods and drinks for eating or drinking away from home.
• TOTAL RETAIL: All retail businesses, including those in each of the categories and subcategories listed above.

ADDITIONAL CATEGORIES

• Beauty parlors, salons, spas and personal care establishments
• Bookstores
• Coffee shops
• Dry cleaners and laundromats
• Music and entertainment
• Professional services (i.e. doctors, lawyers, etc.)