Factors Necessary to Consider Before Selecting A Final Site for any Store

Factors Necessary to Consider Before Selecting A Final Site for any Store :

(1)       Kind of products sold : For stores, dealing in convenience goods, the quantity of traffic is most important. The corner of an intersection, which offers two distinct traffic streams and a large window display area is usually a better site the middle of a block. Convenience goods are often purchased on impulse from easily accessible stores. For stores dealing in shopping goods, the quality of the traffic is more important. Stores carrying speciality goods that are complementary to certain other kinds of shopping goods may desire to locate close to the shopping goods stores. In general, the speciality goods retailer should locate in the type of neighbourhood where the adjacent stores and other establishment are compatible with his or her operation.

            2.      Competitor’s Location : The type and number of competitors is another important factor. The presence of major retail centres, industrial parks, franchisee chains and department stores should be noted. Intense competition in the area shows that new businesses will have to divide the market with existing business. If one is not able to offer better quality and competitively priced products, one might reconsider that particular location. An excellent location may be next or close to, parallel or complimentary businesses that will help to attract customers.

3.      Ease of Traffic Flow and Accessibility : These two factors are sometimes more important to some businesses than others. Consider the nature of the business one is planning to open and the potential customers. Retailers selling convenience goods must attract business from the existing flow of traffic. Studying the flow of traffic, noting one-way streets, street widths, and parking lots is hence important. The following factors have to be considered : parking availability, distance from residential areas or other business areas, traffic congestion, side of street, width of street, part of the block, and neighbours. Evaluate how accessible the site is for a walk-in or drive-by traffic and the amount of pedesdrain traffic and automobile traffic that goes by the proposed location.

4.      Market Trends : Evaluate the community from a broad, futuristic perspective. Local newspapers are a good source of information. Discussions with business owners and officials in the area can also help. Make use of information available through the chambers of commerce. Is the community receptive to change and is a new business welcome? Does the community depend on a single firm or industry? If so, is it prospering? Is there sufficient demand in the local market to support a new business?

5.      Visibility : Visibility  has a varied impact on a stores sales potential. It is important when a shopper is trying to find the store for the first or second time. Once the shopper has become a regular customer, visibility no longer matters. If a store cannot readily be seen, prospective shoppers will not choose it. Another aspect of visibility relates to travellers and passers-by. Generally speaking, a store’s trade area accounts for 75 to 90% if its business. This means that about 10 to 25% of a stores business comes from beyond its trade area. With respect to this component of a store’s business, visibility takes on added importance. No one type of location is better than the others. The following questions need to be answered while choosing a particular retail site

(a)     Is there a need to be in the middle of traffic flow of customers as they pass between stores with the greatest customer pull?

(b)     Who will be the store’s neighbours?

(c)     What will be their effect on stores sales?

(d)     How much space is needed?

Based on experience, the amount of space required can be determined to run the expected level of operations. The amount of space will determine rent. Many retailers need to rethink their space requirements when locating in a shopping centre. Rents are generally very high and therefore space must be used efficiently.

7.      Parking and Major Thoroughfares :  Parking is another site characteristics that is especially a cause for concern in densely populated areas. When evaluating the parking that exists at a retail site, there are two considerations : parking capacity (the number of cars that can be parked), and parking configuration (the way the parking lot is laid out, the direction of the travel lanes and spaces, landscaping, etc.) There are several ratios that are generally used to determine the adequacy of a parking lot. While different ratios exist for different types of retailers or service providers, the ideal ratio for food stores is in the magnitude of seven-eight cars per 1000 sq.ft. of food store. An ideal ratio hardly ever exists in real life, especially in densely populated areas. The more suburban the location, the greater the emphasis should be on maximising parking availability. Urban stores generally get a significant amount of their business from walkers, bikers and shoppers who use public transport to and from the store and, thus can get by with a lower parking ratio.