RETHINKING DOWNTOWN ENTERTAINMENT NICHES: Non-Formal Entertainment and Work-as-Entertainment

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Thesis: In a contracting economy populated by time-pressured consumers, downtowns need to rethink their entertainment niches to include and foster informal entertainments that are low-cost and convenient.

Most economic development experts have come to agree that entertainment niches are good fits with the assets of many downtowns and such niches have indeed flourished across the nation.

While “formal” entertainment facilities such as concert halls, legitimate theaters, rehabilitated movie theaters, sports stadiums and arenas can generate subsidiary economic benefits and make towns more …

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The Mommy Niche

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Cultivating the Mommy Niche In the last few postings, we have detailed the trends negatively impacting downtowns as the economy constricts, but we have also discussed strategies for overcoming those negative trends.

One such strategy for downtowns is building and/or strengthening the “Mommy Niche.”The reason is simple: Women are our nation’s shoppers. Though they comprise little more than half the population, women make over 80% of the consumer purchasing decisions. Mothers with children make up about a third of all households …

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Downtown Retail Part II. Food: Capture What You Should Own

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People spend a lot of money on food. In 2006, the average total expenditures for food by households in the bottom, middle and top income quintiles were $3,195, $5,614 and $10,212 respectively. And the need to eat is fairly inelastic. Proximity and convenience are major factors driving food purchases, with higher fuel costs just increasing their strength. Food emporiums and eateries bring more customer traffic into small and medium-sized downtowns than any other kind of retail. Additionally, working parents have …

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Downtown Retail Part II. Survive, Manage Effectively and Reposition

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It is essential for downtown retailers to keep the proper perspective. While the media frequently ask and answer the recession question, no one to our ken has suggested that we are entering a depression resembling what this nation experienced during the 1930s. Consumers have not stopped shopping, though they may be spending less, purchasing a different basket of merchandise and making consumer purchases based on new weights for the variables in their decision-making calculations. The consumer expenditure pie has shrunk, …

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Downtown Retail Part II: The Nexus of Time Pressure, Proximity, Convenience and Customer Service

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In recent postings I have detailed how retailers, over the coming five years, will be facing an environment in which shoppers, especially those in the middle-income bracket, will be having fewer discretionary dollars to spend and consequently inclined to give more weight to low price in their purchasing decisions. In this posting I argue that downtown retailers will best handle these trying circumstances if they understand and exploit the nexus of time pressure, proximity, convenience and customer service. Even …

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