CUED

Retail Industry Survey and Analysis

This study is part of a project called the Retail Chicago Initiative (RCI) administered by the City of Chicago's Department of Planning and Development (DPD). The RCI is a long-range initiative to encourage commercial development in Chicago that is consistent with the retail needs of local consumers and their communities. One aspect of the RCI then is to study the demographics and shopping patterns of Chicago consumers.

To conduct such a study, DPD retained the Center for Urban Economic Development (UICUED) to report on consumer demographics and shopping patterns based on nearly 4700 shopper surveys. UICUED's role was to design the shopper surveys; collect, tabulate, and analyze the findings; and to report the results. The surveys were administered between July and October 1995 by 35 of the City's community development delegate agencies. Three different types of retail markets were surveyed: 1) Category A, big box and grocery store anchors; 2) Category B, retail strips ; and 3) Category C, ethnic and tourist shopping areas.

UICUED's report is designed to help the City of Chicago identify some of the characteristics of viable shopping districts and stores. The report is divided into two major parts. Part I gives a general analysis of the survey results. Part II gives a more specific analysis by focusing on the survey questions and by highlighting significant patterns in the surveyed retail areas.

Briefly summarizing the survey results, it was found that big box and grocery anchor respondents shopped more frequently than retail strip shoppers and those who patronized ethnic and tourist area stores. Grocery and household products were most often purchased at big box anchor stores, according to all three categories of respondents. In all three types of surveys, the two most commonly cited advantages were convenient location and easy access by public transportation, while the most frequently cited disadvantages were limited merchandise selection and high prices.

The majority of survey respondents in all three categories had use of an automobile for their shopping needs. However, many respondents in Category B (retail strips) walked to their shopping destinations, indicating that many retail strip shoppers are local residents. The age range of respondents was typically between 26 and 55 years old. According to survey results, younger shoppers tend to frequent retail strips and ethnic areas, while one third of the respondents in Category A were aged 66 and older. In all three categories, the most common household size was between two and three people.

Most of the respondents in all three categories were white and/or female. More minority communities seem to have been surveyed in Category B surveys, and more males were surveyed in Category C surveys. Survey results show that annual household incomes tend to be lower in Category A surveys, middle-range in Category B surveys, and higher in Category C surveys.

The survey results yielded several key findings. Respondents were dissatisfied with retail strips in lower-income communities because of their limited merchandise selection and high prices. Also, there seems to be an inadequate number of big box and grocery store anchors in lower-income communities. Therefore, lower-income consumers must either accept the limited shopping options in their own communities, or they must travel by public transportation to Category A stores for a broader selection of goods at reasonable prices.

A significant proportion of Category C (ethnic area) shoppers are from out-of-town or nearby suburbs. Category C respondents shop less frequently in ethnic and tourist areas, and they cite inadequate parking and lack of safety as the biggest disadvantages of the survey sites. Almost all Category C respondents drove to their ethnic and tourist stores, and most of these respondents earn $25,000 or more per year.

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UIC-Center for Urban Economic Development