Factors Affecting Automobile Shopping Trip Destinations

Abstract

Central business districts in many North American cities have been losing shoppers to suburban shopping centers that have developed over the past few decades. One of the major factors affecting this loss is a rise in automobile ownership and the subsequent need to provide adequate parking for shoppers. Similar trends have occurred in Fredericton, New Brunswick. This study uses a binary logit disaggregate behavioral model to determine the major factors affecting shoppers' destination choice. These factors are found to include: store hours of operation, quality of goods offered, availability of parking, price of goods, accessibility to the shopping area, selection of goods offered, and protection from environmental influences. Suggested operational approaches and public policies may serve to attract renewed consumer patronage to the downtown area.