How Smaller Rural Downtowns Are Faring Under the New Normal’s New Retailing

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Introduction    

This article is a follow up to “The Changes in the Retail Industry That Are Impacting Our Downtowns” which can be found at:

https://www.ndavidmilder.com/2016/09/the-changes-in-the-retail-industry-that-are-impacting-our-downtowns

It is the first of a three article series that will explore how the changes in the nation’s retailing are manifesting themselves in different types of downtowns. The changes this series of articles will look at are:

  • The emergence of the deliberate consumer
  • Reduced demand for retail spaces
  • The growing strength of e-commerce
  • The continued growth of a broadly defined …
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The Changes in the Retail Industry That Are Impacting Our Downtowns

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By

N. David Milder

Introduction

Since 2009, the Downtown Curmudgeon has been writing about the “new normal” that has emerged for our nation’s downtowns. One of the most important features of this new normal is the great changes occurring nationally in retailing that are having significant impacts on downtown retail growth potentials. While such growth is still possible, for many downtowns, the changing nature of our retail industry has made it much tougher to achieve.

A follow-up article will investigate how these retail changes …

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Retail Leakage Analyses Should Be Treated With Great Caution by Analysts and End Users: 2 Some Serious Data Issues

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By N. David Milder

Introduction

This is the second of a two-part article on the need to be very cautious when doing or using a leakage analysis. Part 1 focused on the analytical issues associated with this economic development research tool. It can be found at

https://www.ndavidmilder.com/2016/09/retail-leakageleakage-analyses-should-be-treated-with-great-caution-by-analysts-and-end-users-analytical-issues.

This article will focus on the problematical data too often used in leakage analyses.

GIGO is an acronym well-worth knowing. It stands for Garbage In, Garbage Out. Too many leakage studies are very problematic because the …

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Retail Leakage/Gap Analyses Should Be Treated With Great Caution by Analysts and End Users: 1. Analytical Issues

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By

N. David Milder

Introduction

A retail leakage (a.k.a. gap) analysis essentially compares consumer expenditures sorted by NAICS codes in a trade area (demand) with the corresponding retail sales of trade area stores (supply). Sometimes it may be confined to just a few code categories or even just one.. A leakage exists when demand exceeds supply. The demand that is not met locally is seen as leaking out to shops beyond the trade area’s borders. These leakages are usually interpreted as identifying local …

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