A C T A U N I V E R S I T A T I S L O D Z I E N S I S FO LIA OECONOM ICA 17, 1982
A. A. R uiten b erg *, A. M. T abak *
CONSUM ER BEHAVIOUR, SH O PS AND CITY C E N T R E S 1
1. INTR OD U CTIO N
A few m onths ago an act of civil disobedience w as com m itted in th e P rin s H e n d rik stra a t a t th e H ague. T he shopkeeper s in th a t s tre e t ac tu a lly dem olished th e cycling ro u te laid o ut w ith subsidy of th e M in istry of T raffic and P u b lic W orks w ith th e re s u lt th a t shoppers arriv in g by car can now e n te r th e P rin s H e n d rik s tra a t u n hindered. T h at this need not be w ith o u t im p o rtan ce fo r th e s tre e t in question m ay ap p e ar from th e fac t th a t in 1976, 78% of th e tu rn o v e r in th e sector of non-essentials w as due to custom ers from outside th e ir tow n q u a rte r (L aan van M eerd erv o o rt and surroundings), n am ely 44% from contiguous tow n q u a rte rs, 24% from o th e r p a rts of The H ague, and 10% from th e re s t of th e stu d y area. In absolute term s, a tu rn o v e r of about 33 m illion g u ilders not orig in atin g from th e sho p k eep ers’ own tow n q u a rte r is a t stak e 2.
The d a ta consulted do not show to w h a t deg ree people come to th e P rin s H e n d rik s tra a t by car, b u t from o th e r N E Iin q u iries th e p ro -po rtio n of c ar ow ners am ong those not com ing from th e tow n q u a rte r itself m ay be expected to be ra th e r high. It is w o rth m en tio n in g th a t so fa r th e act of disobedience has not been c o rrected b y once m ore leading the cycling ro u te th ro u g h th e P rin s H e n d rik stra a t.
The above ev ent has n o t been chosen to co n tem p late th e legal
pro-* D r, T he N eth e rlan d s Econom ic I n s titu te R o tte rd a m (The N etherlans).
1 T his c o n trib u tio n h as been ach iev ed by a te am . T he ta b le s to be m en tio n ed la te r on h av e been r u n by H. S tijn e n ; th e collecting of lite r a tu r e a n d processing of ta b le s h av e been done by W. W illem sen a n d В. M. L an k h e et. T he tra n s la tio n in to E nglish w as done by M rs. A. C. A. E lderson.
2 See: C o n su m en t en d eta ilh a n d in Den Haag en o m geving, deel 5a, H et
fu n c tio n e re n va n de overige w in k e l cen tra in de Haagse stadsieden, E IM -study,
blem of civil disobedience, h o w ever in te restin g , b u t as a p rac tic a l in tro -duction to our subject. F o r w h at indeed, strik es us a t once w h en we le a rn of th is incident? T h a t th e consum er is not m entioned a t all. P u -blic a u th o ritie s and shopkeepers each p u rsu e a policy of th e ir own, conflicting policies in th is concrete case, b u t not a w o rd is spoken about th e consum er, w ho is th e a c tu a l object of th e conflict. T he q u e-stion arises: can a policy be conducted w ith o u t u n d e rsta n d in g of a ctu al consum er behaviour? Or, m ore concrete: can a cycling ro u te be laid out and bu ilt th ro u g h a shopping s tre e t w ith o u t th e effects of th e in te r -v en tio n being know n? A p p aren tly , th e a n sw er is yes. E-ven m ore serious is the absence of a n y a tte m p t to consider th e difference in ex p e n d itu re b etw een cyclist shoppers and car-d riv in g shoppers in th e in v estig a-tion p receding th e co n struca-tion of th e d em o n stratio n cycling ro u te. W hy w as no such a tte m p t m ade? Because, as a spokesm an of th e M inistry of T raffic an d P ublic w orks d eclared on th e radio, th e re le v a n t d a ta a re not av ailable in th e N eth erlan d s. A m ost u n tru e sta te m e n t, as m ay a p p e ar fro m w h a t follows.
in th e past decades, th e consum er h as had r a th e r a raw deal as fa r as th e p lan n in g of new shopping c e n tre s or m ain tain ig of ex istin g p ro -visions is concerned. M rs F ra n se n , p resid e n t of th e C onsum er Associa-tion, fo rm u la ted h e r criticism c le a rly and concisely th u s:
„ In th e p lan n in g of fu tu re shopping provisions th e consum er is h a rd ly considered. T he p lan n in g in q u iries c u rre n tly m ade w h en th e estab lish m e n t or expansion of shopping c e n tres is considered, is too m uch based on a business-econom ic approach, th e in te re s t of th e supply side being object and objective of th e stu d y and th e d em an d side being m ostly considered as given. M oreover, plan n in g has been fa r too rigid in th e p a s t” 3.
The increasing m obility has been u n d erestim ated , and it has not been p o inted out th a t consum ers do not w ish to behave according to a conception th a t p lan n in g e x p e rts have based on sta n d a rd figures. R ecent investigations a t hom e and ab road have show n th a t th e consu-m e r’s b u ying p a tte rn has becoconsu-me consu-m ore varied and dynaconsu-m ic in th e se-venties. H ow ever, th e co n sum er’s dynam ics has h a rd ly play ed a role in th e p lan n in g of new shopping provisions, a t a n y r a te w h en sta n d a rd figures w ere used, for those figures re ly on em pirical figures from th e sixties.
U ntil about h a lfw a y th e sixties th e developm ent of re ta il tra d e con-sisted m ain ly in follow ing th e population. The consum er, still lim ited
8 A. G. F r a n s e n , D istrib u tie ve vo o rzien in g en en k o n su m e n te n b ela n g [In:]
in his m ovem ents, w as m ore or less obliged to shop a t th e n e a re st cor-n e r shop or the shoppicor-ng c e cor-n tre icor-n his owcor-n to w cor-n -q u a rte r. Shops ocor-n th e level of neighbourhood or tow n q u a rte r m et th e w ish of custom ers to do th e ir daily shopping a t a sh o rt distance from hom e, th u s saving tim e. F o r th a t m atte r, essentials like bread, m ilk, and groceries w ere a t th e tim e still larg e ly delivered. F o r the p u rch ase of m ore d u rab le articles consum ers w ere w illing to spend fa r m ore tim e and e ffo rt to go to the n e a re s t to w n c e n tre: accordingly, th e a sso rtm e n t of a rtic le s and q u a
li-ties offered by shops in th e tow n c e n tre w as such as to m eet th e custom e rs ’ w ishes on th a t score. T h a t w as th e s tru c tu re to w hich th e s ta n -d a r-d figures in th e p lan n in g of shopping provisions correspon-de-d. T h a t m eans th a t th e b ehaviour of consum ers of th e sixties w as m ade into th e c rite rio n for th e sev en ties and eighties, an approach th a t could not b u t lead to a fa u lty p lan n in g policy. Indeed, in creased m obility, m an i-fe st from
1) sp atial dispersion of purchases,
2) larg e d ifferences in th e am ounts sp en t on an average in n eig h -bourhood, to w n -q u a rte r, and to w n -ce n tre shops,
3) considerable d ifferences in average e x p e n d itu re by m ode of tr a n sp o rt, coupled w ith changes in beh av io u r due to changes in fam ily com position and age com position of th e population, and th e effects of in -creased p ro sp e rity on th e spending p a tte rn , have not been, and could n o t be, accounted for in th e sta n d a rd figures of consum er beh av io u r o p e ra ted in planning.
Ow ing to changes in th e spending p a tte rn (holidays abroad, car, second house, etc.) consum ers have becom e m ore critical and p ric e m in -ded in th e ir shopping, in p a rtic u la r as fa r as th e so-called convenience goods a re concerned. R etail tra d e has responded by c re a tin g ty pes of shops w h ere a low price level is th e first concern, such as su p e rm a rk e ts, discount shops, consum er m ark e ts, and — sp a rse ly sp re a d across th e N e th e rlan d s — h y p e rm a rk e ts.
In th e secto r of non-essentials, too, th e re have been g re a t changes, as w itness th e developm ent in d o -it-y o u rse lf shops, c e n tre s for fu rn i-tu re and hom e decoration, g a rd e n centres, and shops for leisu re -tim e articles.
It w ill have becom e clear by this tim e w h y th e title of th is con-trib u tio n first m entions consum er behaviour. It com prises m ore, ho-w ever.
The su b u rb an isatio n process th a t in th e last tw o decades has go-vern ed sp atial p lan n in g in th e N eth erlan d s, has le ft its traces. A round th e large cities new, extensive, spacious s e ttle m e n ts have been re a li-sed w hich, com bined into to w n q u a rte rs, call fo r new , con tem p o rary ,
easily accessible local shopping centres. Easy access by car, a single g eneral sto re as a lu re , specialised shops and a few su p e rm a rk e ts on th e c o rn e r sites of th e local c e n tre form a provision th a t not only binds m uch of th e pu rch asin g p ow er in th a t p a rt of th e tow n, b u t also a ttra c ts m an y custom ers from th e region. Such shopping provisions have been show n by rec e n t studies to fu n ctio n as in te rv en in g o p p o rtu n ity : con-sum ers from th e region w ill use th e new local ce n tre for a larg e n u m b er of a rticle s in stead of driv in g on to th e tow n cen tre. In sh ort, new la r -ge-scale shopping provisions on th e o u tsk irts of tow ns affect th e regional o rie n tatio n to a tow n c e n tre negatively.
Tow n c e n tres a re m enaced by o th e r d an g ers as w ell. Indeed, people living in 19th c e n tu ry tow n q u a rte rs are w illing to m ove to th e new , spacious q u a rte rs, b u t th e process re su lts in:
1) loss of population in th e to w n c e n tres and 19th c e n tu ry q u a rte rs , 2) th e com ing into being of a m u lti-ra c ial com m unity, calling for r a th e r d rastic ad ju stm e n ts, also as fa r as th e shops a re concerned.
We cannot go into th e d etails of all th e aspects touched upon w i-th in i-th e ran g e of i-th is article; in i-th e n e x t sections, how ever, a few con-crete exam ples w ill be given and com m ented upon from th e point of view of consum er behaviour, th e lan d -u se of shops, and som e socio- -dem ographic facts. The consequences of th e process of change fo r th e to w n c e n tres in p a rtic u la r w ill be pointed out th ro u g h o u t th e article.
2. CONSUM ER BEH A V IO U R
In th e previous section w e have quoted w ith approval some c riti-cism of th e rigid approach to consum er beh av io u r in shopping inquiries. It is, of course, easier to criticise th a n to find dynam ic solutions. In te -restin g re su lts h ave n ev erth eless been achieved w ith th e shopping-orien- ta tio n m odel re c e n tly developed w ith in th e N e th e rlan d s Econom ic In sti-tu te. In this m odel, th e individual choice of th e consum er is essential. Thus th e q u a n tity to be e x p lain ed is designed as follow s in th e s tu -dies so fa r c arried out: th e chance of an average consum er fro m a cer-tain living zone u m aking his purch ases of a rticle group к by m ode of tra n s p o rt m in shopping c e n tre j 4.
The chance of a co n su m er’s spending m oney in a c e rta in shopping c e n tre is th u s d e term in ed by:
4 In th e shopping su rv e y c a rrie d o u t in th e E a ste rn M ining D istric t th e re w e re d istin g u ish e d 32 liv in g zones i, 23 shopping zones j, th re e m odes of tr a n s -p o rt m (car, -p u b lic tra n s -p o rt, a n d o th e r tra n s-p o rt), a n d fo u r gro u -p s of a rtic le s к (essentials, se m i-d u ra b le goods, ele c tric eq u ip m en t, a n d d u ra b le articles).
1) ch a ra c te ristic s of each individual consum er, such as th e situ a tio n of his residence w ith in a stu d y area, and th e question w h e th e r or not he has a c ar at his disposal for shopping;
2) c h a ra c te ristic s of th e shopping c e n tre in th e area, such as size, asso rtm en t, p a rk in g facilities, presence of g eneral stores and su p e r-m arkets;
3) tra v e l tim e, by m ode of tra n sp o rt, needed b etw e en th e consu-m e r’s hoconsu-m e and th e shopping centre.
The above e n u m e ratio n show s w h a t can now be w o rk ed up in p ra c -tice in th e analysis; th e lim itations of th e approach a re a p p a re n t: am ong th e e lem en ts le ft still out of account a re
1) th e socio-psychological ch a ra c te ristic s of th e consum ers;
2) th e price elem ent as fa r as th e c h a ra c te ristic s of w hole c e n tre s a re concerned 8.
E vidently, th e individual d ata have to be ag g reg ated for th e sake of rep o rtin g , b u t also to be able to m ake a fo recast on th e basis of th e m odel analysis.
As w e have pointed out e ls e w h e re e, a m odel is not a n oracle th a t has th e a n sw er to all policy questions. F orecasts based on m odels are m ore reliab le th a n those m ade on an y o th e r basis (for exam ple, by ex trap o la tio n or th e o p eration of s ta n d a rd figures); still, th e re rem ain u n certain ties. It is n o tab ly u n su re to w h a t e x te n t th e p a ra m e te r v a -lues found to re fle c t consum er beh av io u r a t th is m om ent, m ay be con-sidered co nstant; th e y m ay w ell change in th e long run.
In th e NEI rep o rts published re c e n tly on th e ap plication of th e shopping model, m uch a tte n tio n has been given to its possibilities and lim itations; those in te re ste d a re re fe rre d to those re p o rts 7. In th e p re -sen t a rticle w e w a n t to h ig h lig h t those aspects of consum er b ehaviour th a t m ost m odel-w ise an alyses tak e in th e ir strid e b u t th a t are only glanced over in th e rep o rts; th e y concern, n ev ertheless, c e rtain
asso-s F o r in d iv id u al asso-shopasso-s th e p rice elem e n t can be in tro d u c ed , b u t fo r asso-sh o p p in g ce n tre s as a w hole it is n o t possible to in clu d e th e p rice fa c to r o b je ctiv ely in th e an a ly sis in a co m p arab le w ay.
11 D istrib u tie-p la n o lo g isch O n d erzo ek O o ste lijk M ijngebied; w in k e le n n u en
in de to e ko m st, „NEI R o tte rd a m ” M ay 1979, p. 100.
7 De e ffe c te n va n de M a xis-M u id en ; operationalisering v a n een w in k e lm o d e l, „NEI R o tte rd a m ” M ay 1976, ch. 6. A discussion of th e re se a rc h te c h n ic a l r e su lts fro m th e M axis in v e stig a tio n is in c o rp o rated in th e a rtic le by A. C. P. V e r -s t e r c.-s., E ffe c te n va n de ve-stig in g va n een p erife er gelegen ze lfb e d ie n in g -sw a -
renhuis, in P lanning: m e th o d ie k en toepassing, S ep te m b er 1976, pp. 24 ff.; D istributieplanologisch. O nderzoek O o ste lijk M ijngebied; w in k e le n n u en in de to e -k o m st, „NEI R o tte rd a m ” M ay 1979, ch. 6.
ciations and d a ta w hich to science and policy are re le v a n t in th e ir ow n right.
We will discuss, in succession:
1) th e d istin ctio n b etw een consum ers w ith and w ith o u t a car; 2) the significance of S a tu rd a y s in th e shopping p a tte rn ;
3) th e am ounts sp e n t in shops by car ow ners and n o n -car ow ners; 4) th e ran g e of consum ers w ho visit a to w n c e n tre or local c e n tre; 5) th e d istances to be bridged on foot in tow n c e n tre s a fte r th e c ar h as been parked.
On th e distin ctio n b etw een consum ers w ith and w ith o u t a c ar we can be brief: th e su rv ey s executed for th e E a ste rn M ining D istrict and for the R hine E stu ary both have proved th a t n e a rly tw o th ird s of th e households in terv iew ed have a c ar av ailable for shopping. The n e x t q u estion is, w h e th e r car-ow ning consum ers do indeed use th e ir car; th e an sw er is positive; in p a rtic u la r fo r th e p u rch ase of sem i-d u rab le and d u rab le a rticles th e car is used alm ost w itfiout exception. F o r daily essentials th e p ictu re is less one-sided, u n d e rsta n d ab ly so, fo r house-w ives a re a p t to ru n to th e c o rn e r shop for th e occasional bit of shopping on w eekdays. As a n illu stra tio n w e w ill give th e figures found for essentials is com parison w ith those for sem idurables. Shopping fo r d a ily a rticles is done in 75% on w eekdays and in 25% on S a tu r -days an d d u rin g late-closing h o u rs (the la tte r accounting fo r no m ore th a n 4%). 49% of th e sem id u rab les a re b o ught on S a tu rd a y s and la te - -closing days, 51% on w eekdays. W ith th is group of a rticles, too, th e late-closing hours account for a re la tiv e ly sm all p ro p o rtio n (5%) of th e p urchases; on S a tu rd a y s th e am o u n t of m oney sp e n t exceeds, re la tiv e -ly speaking th a t sp e n t on w eekdays.
W hat can be concluded from th e figures p rese n ted of th e ex p e n d i-tu re by d a y of th e w eek? T h a t in th e sem i-d u rab le sector a n average 44% of th e tu rn o v e r is achieved on S a tu rd a y s; fo r th e R o tterd am shopping c e n tre Z uidplein th e p erc e n ta g e is 49, for th e c e n tre of R o tte r-d am 52. C onsir-dering th a t m obile consum ers use th e ir cars for shopping p urposes no tab ly on S a tu rd a y s, w e m ay conclude th a t shopping ex p ed i-tions by c ar are m ore im p o rta n t fo r to w n and local c e n tre s th a n for o th e r shopping c e n tres 8.
F o r th e n e a r fu tu re no change is to be expected in th e use of cars for shopping purposes; p resu m ab ly th e n u m b er of cars p e r 1,000 in h a -b ita n ts (278 in 1977) w ill still continue to grow in th e N e th e rlan d s to about 315 in 1985. O n th e o th e r hand, th e average size of households
8 A ggregated d a ta fro m th e co n su m er su rv ey co n d u cted in th e sp rin g of 1979 fo r th e R ijn m o n d -S o u th W est in v estig atio n .
w ill decrease co n siderably in th e period 1977— 1885; th e re w ill be m ore households p e r 1,000 in h ab ita n ts, so th a t m ore cars will be d istrib u te d am ong m ore households, th e average n u m b er of cars p er household being slig h tly reduced.
T he above considerations a re valid as long as no d rastic m easures a re tak e n to re s tric t th e use of cars. W ith resp ect to th e com bination of shopping and car d riv in g it should not be overlooked th a t a car is n ot only an easy m eans of tra n s p o rt to bridge th e d istan ce b e tw e en one’s hom e and one’s chosen shopping cen tre, b u t serves also as a fa -m ily pack ani-m al. Now th a t th e u n d e rc a rriag e of a p e ra -m b u la to r 9 is m ore and m ore falling out of use, th e car has becom e m ore im p o rta n t as a m eans of tra n sp o rtin g volum inous and h e a v y articles.
T a b l e l A verage am o u t sp e n t on se m i-d u ra b le article s, in g u ild e rs
(ro u n d ed to w hole guilders)
Means of transport
Frequency Car Public
transport Bike/moped On foot Total Once a week/once or twice
a month 78 66 27 23 48
Once in 3 months 127 106 59 70 103
Once ayear /less 215 176 104 116 171
Total 148 132 65 71 115
F o r th a t m a tte r, it w ould be a m istake to assum e th a t volum inous and h eavy a rticles to be tra n sp o rte d a re found only in th e sector of daily necessities. The sem i-d u rab le sector, too, has its volum inous a n d /o r heavy u n its (ccctum e, overcoat, d o -it-y o u rse lf goods, etc.).
T h a t takes us to th e n e x t aspect to be studied: th e am o u n ts sp en t in shops by custom ers w ho a rriv e by c ar and by cu stom ers w ho a rriv e by o th er m odes of tra n sp o rt. We know from shopping su rv ey s th a t visito rs w ho come by car spend m ore on a av erag e th a n those w ho come otherw ise. F rom a su rv e y in tw o 1 9 th -cen tu ry shopping stre e ts in th e in n er city of D o r d r e c h t10 in can a lre ad y be d eriv ed th a t c ar ow ners spend b etw e en 50 and 100 p e r cen t m ore p e r visit; a t a rec e n t in q u iry am ong passing visitors of th e G ro sm ark t a t A lkm aar, c a r-d
ri-* It should n o t be u n d e re stim a te d how m an y boxes of n ap p ies, d ete rg e n ts, etc. can be c a rrie d d ry on th e u n d e rc a rria g e of a p ram . N eith er a bicycle n o r a c a rrie r bag on w heels can com pete.
ving v isito rs w ere found to spend n e a rly th re e tim es as m uch p e r v isit as o th ers u .
T hese ex am ples show th a t fig u re s of th e d ifference in e x p e n d itu re b e tw e en car-d riv in g and o th er v isitors is available, th ro u g h a d m itte d ly th e fig u res a re specific. It w ould n ot h ave been d iffic u lt to obtain m a -te ria l on cases com parable to th a t of th e P rin s H e n d rik s tra a t in The Hague. It is possible to d erive a tre n d from th e tw o ex am ples quoted above, b u t th e figures have th e d isad v an tag e of being v e ry specific and local. T h a t is w hy w e h ave com bined th e figures av ailable from th e su rv ey s of R ijnm ond N orth E ast and R ijnm ond S outh W est, to fin d out it th e sam e ten d e n c y — w ith o u t re g a rd to th e directio n of th e e x p e n d itu re — could be noticed in a larg e region. T he p ictu re of th e am o u n ts a c tu a lly sp e n t by m eans of tra n sp o rt and fre q u e n c y in th e sem i-d u rab le sector is as follows:
As th e d istan ce from th e c e n tre of R o tterd a m or from th e shopping c e n tre Z u id p lein is larg er, th e am o u n t sp en t becom es hig h er, a pheno-m enon th a t has been observed both in th e E astern M ining D istrict, D o rd rech t, and A lkm aar. A n e x t po in t to notice is th a t th e e x p e n d itu re a t Z uidplein from each shell — w h a te v e r th e d istan ce — is h ig h e r th a n th a t a t all o th e r c e n tres com bined u n d e r „E lsew h ere”, b u t th a t th e am o u n ts sp en t on purch ases in th e c en tre of R o tterd am exceed those sp en t a t th e Z uidplein shopping c e n tre by an average of 18%.
F o r a p ro p e r ap p reciatio n of th e d a ta p rese n ted it m u st be pointed o ut th a t both R o tterd a m C e n tre an d Z uidplein a re situ a te d p e rip h e ra lly to th e re sid e n tial zones involved in th e investigation: th a t im plies th a t th e figures re fle c t la rg e ly th e b e h a v io u r of th e regional consum er in R ijnm ond S outh W est. Now 64% of th e consum ers from R ijnm ond S outh W est tak e th e c ar to go to th e R o tterd a m c e n tre for th e p urchase of sem i-d u rab le goods; in R ijnm ond N o rth E ast th e corresponding p e r-centage is 55. The figures confirm once m ore th a t th e p refe re n c e for th e c ar increases w ith th e distance to be bridged. T he sh are of public tra n s p o rt is ab o u t th e sam e in bo th inquiries, nam ely 36% in R ijnm ond N o rth E ast and 34% in R ijnm ond S outh W est. T he conclusion m u st be th a t to regional consum ers th e car is m ore im p o rta n t th a n public tr a n -sport, and th a t, as fa r as shopping is concerned, it is h a rd ly conceiva-ble th a t cars could be ban n ed fro m th e in n e r cities 12.
To conclude th is section on consum er beh av io u r w e w ill illu m in ate th e aspect of w alking distances. If a c ity c e n tre is to be m ade a ttr a c
ti-11 G ro ssm a rk t-A lk m a a r C e n tru m , „N EI R o tte rd a m ” 1978.
12 C. S. J o n e s , Regional S h o p p in g C entres; th e ir location p la n n in g and design, L ondon 1969; re fe rre d to in Dr. J. B u i t , De p a rk ee rb eh o efte in m o d ern e w in ke lce n tra , L ondon 1972.
ve, th e n accessibility, p a rk in g facilities, an d th e distances th a t m u st be bridged on foot a re w eighty, if not do m in atin g factors. R em ark ab ly enough, in th e p lan n in g of p a rk in g facilities in c ity c e n tres th ese fac -to rs a re heeded fa r -too little . T h a t is th e m ore re g re tta b le as m odern local c en tres in new se ttle m e n ts and larg e shopping c e n tre s in tow n q u a rte rs offer th e ad v an tag e of free, u n lim ited p a rk in g on open spaces a t a distan ce of b etw een 100 and 200 m etres from th e local shops. Such facilities can n o t be visualised a n y m ore for o th e r th a n th e sm allest to w n centres. In th e m odel analysis c a rrie d out by th e NEI, th e shopping p o ten tia ls of each in d ividual shopping c e n tre a re ta k e n in to account, com prising not only th e d riv in g tim es b u t also th e w alk in g tim es b etw een p a rk in g place a n d shops. As to w n c e n tre s a re becom ing less accessible in tw o respects (longer driv in g and seeking, and longer w a l-king), th e ir shopping p o te n tia l becom es low er, a d ev elopm ent th a t has been rein forced of late y ears by
1) g re a te r m obility of th e shoppers,
2) sufficient a lte rn a tiv e s to b a d ly accessible p a rts of th e tow n. In th is connection w e m ay re fe r to an investigation c a rrie d o ut in th re e English tow ns, viz. E d in b u rg h (450,000 in h ab itan ts), N o ttin g h am (295,000 in h ab itan ts), and C ardiff (275,000 in h ab ita n ts); a su rv e y has show n th a t in these tow ns 20, 19, and 17%, resp ectiv ely , of th e c a r- ow ners avoid th e ir to w n c e n tre because of p a rk in g problem s.
To re tu r n to th e w alk in g distances: from a p a rk in g su rv e y in D ord-re c h t it has ap p e aord-re d th a t on S a tu rd a y s th e average w alking distance is ab o u r 300 m e tre s and th e longest distan ce b etw e en 600 an d 700 m tre s ; about 80% of th e p a rk e rs did n o t w alk m ore th a n 400 to 500 m e-tre s 13.
I t is in te re stin g to m en tio n th a t th e NEI has calcu lated on th e basis of an exten siv e lite r a tu r e s tu d y th a t th e average w alking distance for m edium -sized W est E u ropean cities am ounts to b etw e en 280 and 330 m etres. W hat do th ese w alking d istances im p ly fo r p a rk in g in to w n centres? On th e assum ption th a t m unicipal a d m in istra to rs w a n t to e n -larg e th e shopping p o ten tia ls of th e ir in n e r cities or a t a n y r a te sta b ili-se them , th e y w ill have to p u rsu e a specific policy of indoor garages aim ed a t m inim ising th e w alking distance b etw e en garage and shops. A lth o u g h for keeping th e c e n tre s of larg e tow ns th e indoor garage is fu lly accepted, it should not be fo rg o tte n th a t m an y (fem ale) shoppers a rriv in g b y car still a re a v erse to p a rk in g in garages because of th e o fte n badly lit and in co n v en ien tly placed en tran ces, th e a w k w ard tu rn s in th e u p - and dow nw ard slopes, th e som etim es lim ited capacity of p
sen g er lifts a t ru sh hours, and la st not least th e lim ited possibility of g u a ra n tee in g th e personal sa fe ty of parkers. Though tow n v isitors ap p re c ia te th e o u tstan d in g a d v an tag e of having to w a lk only a few m e-tre s to th e ir d estination, th a t a d v an tag e does not e n tire ly and for eve-rybody w eigh up ag ain st th e ir aversion.
W hat kind of shops does a prospective cu stom er find in a city cen-tre ? The n e x t section answ ers th a t question concisely w ith th e help of
concrete d a ta of the th re e large c ity c en tres and th e Z uidplein.
3. SH O PS IN LA RG E CENTRES
So fa r we have considered in some d etail a few aspects of consum er behaviour. H ow ever, consum ers also respond to th e size and com position of shopping c e n tres and to th e changes th ere in . J u s t as an illu s tra -tion w e shall give below some in form a-tion about th e space tak e n up by re ta ile rs in la rg e cen tres, and, for com parison, in th e local c e n tre R otterd am -Z u id p lein .
R O T T E R D A M C E N T R E
In th e c e n tre of R o tterd a m shops tak e up an a rea of 205,200 m 2 (gross floor area), as can be seen from th e annex. S to res and shops in th e categ o ry of sem i-d u rab les account for over 142,000 m 2 of gross floor area, th a t is 69% of th e e n tire shopping area in th e c e n tre of R otterdam . T here a re five g eneral stores in th e cen tre, nam ely: B ijen - korf, V and D, T er M eulen, H em a, and Ju n g e rh a n s, to g e th e r claim ing a gross floor area of 65,100 m 2 w ith in these stores, th e group of sem i- -d u rab les is v e ry im p o rtan t, tak in g up 42,700 m 2 of gross floor area, w hich is m ore th a n 65% of th e to ta l a rea of g e n e ra l stores.
W hat, exactly, should be u n derstood by a g eneral store? P. L. v a n d e r V elden, in his a rticle „A g eneral store, a house of glass” 14 th a t a gen eral sto re is a m odern, indoor m ark e t w ith e v e ry th in g u n d e r one roof, w h ere consum ers are given th e o p p o rtu n ity to o rien t them selves, com pare prices and qualities, and get to know th e new fashion and o th e r novelties.
The a sso rtm e n t is w ide (about 300,000 articles) and u p -to -d a te as reg a rd s fashion and crafts. The em phasis lies — as said above on th e sem i-d u rab le sector. M ost gen eral sto res tak e up a larg e area, and a re tra d itio n a lly located in city centres. G radually, how ever, th ey a re found
14 P. L. v a n d e r V e l d e n , H et w a ren h u is een glazen huis, [in:] D ynam iek
m ore and m ore in regional c e n tres on th e o u tsk irts of larg e tow ns; th a t is especially tru e of th e so-called v a rie ty stores, sm a lle r in size, w ith a h ig h ly selected range, o rie n ted a t th e m ass m a rk e t, and fe a tu rin g low prices; exam ples are th e H em a and V endet stores.
A p a rt from th e five g eneral stores th e re are in th e c e n tre tw o clothing stores w ith a com bined gross floor are a of 15,025 m 2. T he f u r -n itu re b ra-n c h is rep re se -n te d by 23 estab lish m e -n ts w ith a-n are a of 39,400 m 2; seven of th em a re la rg e r th a n 1,000 m 2 of gross floor area.
R O T T E R D A M Z U I D P L E I N
The to ta l gross floor are a of th e Z uidplein shopping c e n tre am ounts to some 41,000 m 2, about 20% of th e a re a in th e c e n tre of R otterdam . T he d istrib u tiv e s tru c tu re is sim ilar to th a t of th e c e n tre of R o tterd am in th a t gen eral stores and sem i-d u rab les tak e up a larg e portion of th e to ta l area, n am ely 36,000 m 2 of gross floor area, th a t is 87% of th e total.
In th e shopping c e n tre Z uidplein th e re are tw o gen eral sto res (V and D a n d Hem a), accounting to g e th e r fo r 15,100 m 2 of gross floor area, ab o u t 37% of th e to tal, and a clothing sto re (C and A).
C lothes account for th e g re a te r p a rt of th e su p p ly of sem i-d u rab les in bo th shopping centres, as th e tab le 2 m ay show.
The sh are of clothing in th e su p p ly of se m i-d u rab le goods is 61% in th e c e n tre of R o tterd a m and 71% in th e Z uidplein Shopping C entre. C om parison w ith d a ta of o th e r tow n c e n tres and local c e n tres in tow n q u a rte rs show s th a t th e b ran c h d istrib u tio n show n in th e above tab le is c h a ra c te ristic for to w n and regional centres.
T a b l e 2 C om position of th e a r t icle g ro u p „ s e m i-d u rab le s” *
Semi-durable articles
Centre of Rotterdam Zuidplein Shopping Centre m 2 of g.f.a. in% of
the total m 2 of g.f.a
in % of the total 1. Clothes 72,600 60.6 22,200 71.1 2. Shoes 11,520 9.6 1,700 5.5 3. Household appliances 10,800 9.0 2,200 7.1 4. Do-it-yourself 2,800 3.2 200 0.6
5. Photo (Opt.) Jewellers 5,600 4.7 1,200 3.8
6. Books/games 10,600 8.9 2,300 7.4
7. Sports 5,900 4.9 1,400 4.5
Total 119,800 100.0 31,200 100.0
• I n c l u d i n g t h e c l o t h i n g s t o r e s a n d s h a r e o f s e m i - d u r a b l e s i n t h e a r e a o f g e n e r a l s to r e s .
A M S T E R D A M C E N T R E
The shops in th e c e n tre of A m sterd am tak e up 302,280 m 2 of gross floor area, of w hich over 60% is accounted for by th e categ o ry of sem i- -d u rab les. T h ere a re nine gen eral sto res in th e c e n tre w ith a com bined gross floor area of 57,456 m 2, th a t is 19% of th e to ta l gross floor area in th e A m sterd am shopping centre. T h ere a re m oreover 22 clothing sto -res 15, to g e th e r tak in g up 39,165 m 2. T ogether w ith o th e r shops selling rea d y -m a d e clothes for ladies, g en tle m e n and c h ild ren th e y account fo r 52% of th e gross floor are a in th e sem i-d u rab le sector, w hich is less th a n in th e c e n tre of R o tterd a m and th e Z uidplein cen tre, w h ere th e corresponding percen tag es a re 61 and 71, respectively. T he sh are of g en e ra l stores, too, is sm a lle r in A m sterd am (19%) th a n in th e cen-tre of R o tterd am (32%) and on th e Z uidplein (37%). T he sh ares of o th er a rticles w ith in th e sem i-d u rab le sector a re sy ste m atic a lly som ew hat h ig h er in A m sterd am th a n in th e o th er tw o shopping centres.
T H E H A G U E C E N T R E
T he shops in th e city of The H ague cover 248,900 sq u are m etres of gross floor are a ie, n e a rly 60% being ta k e n up by th e sem i-d u rab le sec-tor. The sh a re of g eneral sto res is qu ite im p o rta n t: 26% of th e to ta l gross floor area. W ithin th e sem i-d u rab le sector th e clothes b ran c h accounts for 58% , th e clothing d e p a rtm e n ts of gen eral sto res not in clu -ded. T h a t m eans th a t th e clothing sh are in th e se m i-d u rab le sector in The H ague is about equal to th a t of R o tterd am cen tre, and hence exceeds th a t of A m sterd am cen tre.
A lthough th e com position of re ta il tra d e in th e c en tre of T he H ague is sim ila r to th a t in th e c en tres of A m sterd am and R o tterd am , th e av e-rage size of th e e stab lish m en ts is d iffe re n t, as th e tab le 3 w ill show.
4. TH E SO C IO -D EM O G R A PH IC A L A SPEC T IN IN N ER C IT IE S
In shopping inquiries, volum e a n d com position of th e p o p u lation p lay an im p o rta n t role n e x t to consum er beh av io u r and th e n u m b er and d istrib u tio n of shops. Two aspects w ill be b rie fly d e a lt w ith now, n am
e-15 S m all ones an d la rg e ones.
lł T he a v e ra g e gross floor a re a p e r estab lish m e n t, in clu d in g g en e ra l stores, is ab o u t 100 m2 lo w er in T he H ague th a n in th e ce n tres of A m ste rd a m and R o tte rd a m ; th e re a r e n u m e ro u s sm all shops in th e city of T h e H ague: 40% of th e shops th e re a re sm a lle r th a n 75 m* g.d.a.
T a b l e 3 A v erag e gross floor a re a p e r e stab lish m e n t
Shopping centre Average g.f.a. per establishment in m J general stores included general stores excluded
Rotterdam Centre 500 300
Rotterdam Zuidplein 380 210
Amsterdam Centre 515 370
The Hague Centre 405 •
S o u r c e : R e t a i l i n v e s t i g a t i o n 1976 b y t h e C h a m b e r o f C o m m e r c e a n d I n d u s t r y f o r T h e H a g u e , p a r t I : 7 h e H a g u e R e g io n .
ly, th e population losses in th e th r ee larg e D utch tow ns, and th e change o f in n e r-c ity tow n q u a rte rs into m u lti-ra c ial com m unities.
To illu s tra te th e process of decine in th e th re e larg e tow ns w e p r e -se n t in th e tab le 4 not only th e decrea-se in th e ir n u m b ers of in h ab i-ta n ts, b u t also th e dem ographic d ev elopm ent in th e respective agglo-m erations.
T a b l e 4 D evelopm ent o f th e p o p u la tio n in th r e e la rg e to w n s in th e N eth e rla n d s
Municipality or urban region
Population of municipality or
urban region Change % Population of aglomeration Change % 1971 1 1976 1971 1976 Rotterdam* Amsterdam The Hague 843,442 820,406 537,643 771,146 751,156 479,369 - 8 .6 - 8 .4 -1 0 .8 1,141,762 1,140,080 762,900 1,123,853 1,102,441 735,474 - 1 ,6 - 3 .3 - 3 .6 • I n c l u d i n g S c h i e d a m a n d V l a a r d i n g e n . S o u r c e : L. v a n d e n B e r g , S. B o e c k h o u t , K. V i j c e r b e r g , U r b a n D e v e -l o p m e n t a n d P o -l i c y R e s p o n s e i n t h e N e t h e r -l a n d s , N E I, S e r i e s : f o u n d a t i o n s o f E m p i r i c a -l E c o n o m i c R e s e a r c h ” 1978/2, p . 30.
W hile th e m u n ic ip a lity of R o tterd a m ap p ears to have su stain ed th e g re a te s t population losses, th e decrease in th e w hole R o tterd a m agglo-m era tio n was less th a n th a t in th e aggloagglo-m erations of T he H ague a n d A m sterdam ; ap p a re n tly , th e outflow to places outside th e ag glom era-tio n has proceeded fu rth e r in The H ague and A m sterd am th a n in R o tterd am . Y et, all th re e m u nicipalities a re co n fro n ted w ith a s u b sta n -tia l decrease in th e n u m b er of in h ab ita n ts, p a rtic u la rly in th e o ld er tow n q u a rte rs. In th e period 1972— 1977 n e a rly 75,000 persons left th e older p a rts of R otterdam , and it w ill be cle a r th a t such an exodus has conse-quences fo r th e shops in th e afflicted tow n q u a rte rs. No w onder th e n
th a t for instance in th e m ain shopping stre e ts th e shopping provisions a re shrinking.
The outflow m u st be expected to continue for som e tim e, and unless com pensation can be found in new p urchase flow s fro m elsew here, it is in ev itab le th a t th e shopping provisions in tow n c en tres w ill feel th e effect. One m ore reason to give m uch a tte n tio n to th e effective p u rc h a -sing beh av io u r of consum ers from th e region.
The changing com position of th e p o p u lation in old tow n q u a rte r is a n o th e r aspect to stu d y w ith care. A R o tterd a m exam ple has been cho-sen as an illu stratio n , rig h tly so, because R o tterd am houses th e g re a te st p ro p o rtio n of fo reigners 17.
F o reig n ers and people from S u rin am and th e A n tilles a re spread v e ry u n e q u a lly am ong th e to w n q u a rte rs, th e g re a te st co n cen tratio n (up to 350 in ev ery 1,000 in h ab ita n ts of th e tow n q u a rte r) being found in 19th c e n tu ry q u a rte rs, as ap p ears from th e tab le 5.
T a b l e 5 F o re ig n ers an d people fro m S u rin a m a n d th e N e th e rla n d s A n tilles in th re e
R o tte rd a m to w n q u a rte rs (on th e 1st of J a n u a ry , 1977)
Town Quarter Total number of inhabitants Inhabitants from Surinam and Neth. Antilles Inhabitants of non-Dutch nationality Number of non-Dutch subjects + people from Surinam and Neth. Antilles per 1,000 inh. total from Medi-terranean countries* Oude Westen 10,223 862 2,774 2,457 356 Oud Crooswijk 7,005 579 1,887 1,725 352 Feyenoord 6,187 442 1,691 1,571 345 Rotterdam 601,005 16,201 37,602 28,380 90 * S p a n i a r d s , T u r c s , Y o u g o s l a v s , P o r t u g u e s e , M a r o c c a n s , I t a l i a n s , G r e e k s .
T here is, of course, a rela tio n b etw een th e outflow of th e au to c h -thones and th e inflow of specific eth n ic groups in p a rtic u la r in th e 1 9 th -c e n tu ry tow n q u a rte rs. T he d ev elopm ent has re su lte d in a m u lti- -racial com position of th e population in th ese q u a rte rs. The m igrations affect th e d em and for shopping provisions; shops th a t c a te re d firs t and forem ost for D utch dem and a re closing dow n fo r lack of custom ers, and foreig n ers set up new shops — often in th e abandoned p rem ises — th a t offer th e goods th e new in h ab ita n ts ask for. A n in te re stin g asp ect of shopping th a t w e have w an ted b rie fly to com m ent upon.
17 See: G uide-lines, D ienst v a n S ta d so n tw ik k e lin g R otterdam , P lan n in g -R e - se arch D ep a rtm en t, Ju n e 1976.
5. CONCLUSIONS
To sum m arise th e foregoing, th e follow ing nine m ajo r conclusions h av e been draw n.
1. In th e plans for new shopping c en tres or decisions to m ain ta in ex istin g ones, th e consum er has been r a th e r neglected in th e past few decades. N ot only has th e increasing m obility of consum ers been ov er-looked, b u t it has not been recognised e ith e r th a t consum ers do not w a n t to behave according to p la n n e rs ’ sta n d a rd figures.
2. Shopping c e n tres in new tow n q u a rte rs a re fu n ctio n in g as „ in te r-ven in g o p p o rtu n itie s” for regional consum ers w ho used to go to th e tow n centre. Such large-scale provisions on th e o u tsk irts of tow ns have a n eg ativ e effect on th e regional o rie n tatio n to th e tow n centre.
3. Two th ird s of th e households in terv iew ed have a car at th e ir disposal for shopping, and use it n o tab ly for p u rch asin g sem i-d u rab le articles.
4. On S a tu rd a y s m ore m oney is u su ally sp en t p e r visit on sem id u -rab le a rticles th a n on w eekdays.
5. A car is not only a convenient m eans of tra n s p o rt to bridge th e d istan ce betw een hom e and shopping cen tre, b u t serves also as „fam ily p a c k h o rse ”.
6. V isitors a rriv in g by c ar spend m ore th a n visitors arriv in g by o th er m eans of conveyanpe, irresp ectiv e of th e frequency.
7. As th e distance to th e shopping c e n tre increases, th e am ount sp e n t becom es larg er.
8. In p lan n in g p a rk in g space in in n e r cities in should be realised th a t not only accessibility and p a rk in g provisions p la y a role, b u t also th e w alking distance b etw een p a rk in g and shops. M inim ising th is w a l-kin g distance affects th e shopping p o ten tia l of in n e r cities.
9. P re su m ab ly th e outflow of p o p u lation from , in p a rtic u la r, th e 1 9 th -c e n tu ry tow n q u a rte rs w ill continue u nabated. W ithout com pen-sa tin g p urchase flow s from th e agglom eration (due to en hanced shopping p o ten tia l of th e tow n cen tre) th e outflow w ill affect th e com position of shopping provisions in to w n c e n tres and th e are a th e y occupy.
6. FIN A L REM ARK
The p rese n t note does n ot p re te n d to develop a vision of th e fu tu re functio n in g of shopping areas in tow n centres; th a t is up to th e ad m i-n istrato rs, a fte r acq u aii-n tii-n g them selves w ith th e re le v a i-n t facts ai-nd d e-velopm ents. It has been our task to p rese n t th e resu lts of research into
actu al consum er beh av io u r in in n e r cities, re su lts th a t m ay h e lp policy m ak ers to fram e th e ir view of th e d evelopm ent of in n e r cities as f a r as th e shopping aspect is concerned.
A. A. R uiten b erg , A. M. T a b a k
PO S T Ę PO W A N IE K O NSU M ENTA I SIE C HANDLOW A A CEN TRA M IE JS K IE
W a r ty k u le zap reze n to w an o w y n ik i b a d a ń n a d zw iązkam i istn ieją c y m i m ię-dzy postęp o w an iem k o n su m e n ta a w ielkością i rozm ieszczeniem sieci h an d lo w e j w dużych c e n tra c h n ie k tó ry c h m ia st h o le n d ersk ic h (R o tte rd am , A m ste rd a m , H aga). W o p arc iu o p rze p ro w ad z o n e b a d a n ia em p iry czn e w y o d ręb n io n o i w y sp ecy fik o w an o czynniki, zw łaszcza o c h a ra k te rz e p rz e strz e n n y m i socjodem ograficznym , k tó re w isto tn y sposób w p ły w ają n a zróżnicow anie p o stęp o w an ia k o n su m e n tó w w za-leżności od d yslokacji d etalicz n ej sieci h an d lo w e j w dużych a g lo m erac ja ch m ie j-skich.
