Richmond Shopping Field Study

Figure 1. An Illustration and Explanation of a Shopping Hierarchy

Figure 2. Christaller’s Central Place Theory

People will generally travel further distances in order to get higher order goods and this leads to the topic of the sphere of influence. A sphere of influence of a shopping centre is the area that the centre serves and that is determined by the range which is the maximum distance that the customers will be willing to travel to purchase the goods sold in the stores. Therefore a city centre mall has a much higher sphere of influence than a corner shop. (Please refer to Figure 3).

Figure 3. The Sphere of Influence of Shopping Centres.

Methods of Data Collection

Surveyed Shopping Centres

The following shopping centres were studied in this field study. They are dispersed throughout Richmond so as to provide accurate and wholly applicable results. For a location map of these shopping centres, please see Map 2 which is on the following page. Shopping Centres that are 6th and 1st order were omitted in this field study.

Figure 4. Surveyed Shopping Centres

This field study involved group collaboration. Two or more students went out to one specific shopping centre and gathered the necessary data. Any uncertainties or concerns such as trouble determining the types of stores were written down for a group decision on the issue. The individually gathered data is then combined with data gathered by other pairs to give data for the 20 shopping centres being studied. The data gathered included a count of all the stores in the specific shopping centre, qualitative observations, pictures, and the type of store or the service provided is also recorded according to set headings. The initial table only had thirteen indicator functions but, a few more were added as a group decision. These were: convenience stores, aesthetic stores (make-up, perfume, etc.), services, supplies, hobbies, and home furnishing. Then a formula is used to determine the Centrality Index for each shopping centre and that index is used in the classifying process of shopping centres into orders.

Figure 5. Methods Used for Data Collection

For the calculations of the Centrality Index the following formula was used:

Then the centrality values are multiplied by the number of that type of store in that shopping centre. This is done for every type of store and the sum gives the Sum of Centrality Value. The Sum of Centrality Value is then added on to the total number of stores in that shopping centre and the answer is the centrality index. The centrality index is then used to aid in the process of determining the order of the shopping centre.

For the calculation of the Spearman’s Rank Correlation Coefficient the following formula was used:

Any uncertainties had to be brought up to the group for a collective decision in order to ensure consistency with the results. Every pair of students had a camera to take pictures that would yield qualitative data. The same table was distributed among all the students to once again, maintain the essential consistency. The shopping centres under study are fairly diverse as in their locations, sizes, and stores. This control of precision would prove beneficial in the production of quality arguments in the field study.  

Interpretation and Analysis

Through the data gathered it is extremely clear that some shopping centres are more prominent than others. The larger centres have almost a hundred times more stores than little clusters of shops (Please refer to Figure 6).

Figure 6. Number of Stores in Studied Centres.

The calculation of the centrality values of the shopping centres based on the number of stores and the types of stores revealed a similar trend. Large malls have a much higher centrality value than a small collection of stores (Please refer to Figure 7).

Figure 7. The Centrality Index of the Studied Centres.

By calculating the Spearman’s Rank Correlation Coefficient (rs) between the centrality index and the amount of stores in the shopping centres, a solution of 0.9925 was given through the formula:

1.0 is a perfect positive correlation therefore there is an almost perfect correlation between the number of stores and the centrality index of a shopping centre.

The centrality index was used to rank the stores and the results are as follows:

Figure 8. The Ranking of the Shopping Centres

 

The ranking of stores suggests the order that they should be in, it is not however the ultimate deciding factor. Below is the table showing what classifies shopping centres under orders two to five since the first and the sixth order shopping centres are not being looked at. This table was extrapolated from the figures 1 and 3.

Figure 9. Guideline for the Classification of Shopping Centres

The twenty shopping centres that were investigated in the field study will now be classified into the respective orders. Only centres needing special attention will be explained due to the limiting word count.

Richmond Centre- is Richmond’s largest shopping centre in terms of the number of stores and received the highest centrality index value out of all the shopping centres studied. The mall carries a wide assortment of goods ranging from traditional Chinese medicine products to kayaks in Sport Chek. There are many chain stores such as HMV and a Canadian favourite Tim Horton’s. There are also department stores present and specialist services are in abundance. Richmond Centre can be safely classified as a fifth order regional shopping centre since it amply fulfills the required criteria. Fashion stores make up the largest percentage of all stores. The mall also has at least one of each store type indicator used adding meaning to the high centrality (Please refer to Figure 10 although not all 19 types could be fit in the legend). The Central Place Theory states that higher order places usually have more functions and when dealing with shopping centres, this gets translated into the variety of stores. Fashion stores can be considered as higher order comparison goods because customers go from store to store choosing clothes and they do not get purchased on a daily basis. 50% of the stores in Richmond Centre sell fashion articles which is an excellent indicator of the high position of the mall in the hierarchy. The following pictures display qualities of a 5th order centre.

Figure 10. Store Types in Richmond Centre

Figure 11. Food Court

Figure 12. Parking Space

Figure 13. Children’s Playground

Figure 14. Relaxation station

Lansdowne Mall- is Richmond’s largest shopping centre in terms of area. The mall is one of Richmond’s oldest accounting for the 40 acres of free parking since land prices were substantially lower in the past. The mall is not as successful as Richmond Centre and it appears to cater to a different base of customers. There are more elderly-oriented stores such as a medical scooter store. There has been an attempt at rejuvenation through renovation and a change in image although not much difference is noticed. A recent addition to the mall is Best Buy which is interesting because the mall already has a Future Shop in it which is owned by the same company. It is clear that Lansdowne Mall has larger stores because of the ample space and the lower prices on lease due to fewer customers enforcing the primary economic law of Supply and Demand. Lansdowne classifies as a fifth order shopping centre because it has stores selling high order goods and it falls in the necessary criteria. I put it as fifth order with hesitation because of the proximity with the more prominent Richmond Centre. Generally two fifth order shopping centres are not going to be less than 1 kilometre apart but there are always exceptions. Surprisingly, restaurants make up the largest proportion of all stores in the mall.

Parker Place- Parker Place is a niche “Asia-centric” shopping centre commonly seen in Richmond, Canada’ s leading city in terms of a foreign-born population where 57.4% of the population were born outside of Canada and most of these are immigrants from Asian countries, especially China. The abundance of these stores can be explained by the demand of the population for goods from original home countries. Most stores are centred around Asian fashion, food, and culture. (Please refer to Figure 15).

Figure 15. Parker Place

The shopping centres studied classified in their respective orders can be seen on the following graph:

Figure 16. Orders of Shopping Centres

Fashion stores indicate a higher order shopping centre since fashion articles are comparison goods. By looking at what types of stores are the most common in a shopping centre, I was able to draw a map of Richmond showing the approximate primary services and goods offered in each area. Please refer to Map 3 on the next page.

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Accessibility and Range

The map shows that the fashion stores are located in Richmond’s CBD which is generally where the central place or in this case, the highest order shopping centres should be located according to Christaller’s theory.

To further look at this claim, I showed the location of the shopping centres on a map and by colour coding their order; I was able to once again create a rough visual of Richmond’s areas with the probable order of shopping centres. Please refer to Map 4 on the following page.

The reason for the location of the high order shopping centres in close to or in the CBD can be displayed with the Bid-Rent Theory (Please refer to Figure 17).

Figure 17. The Bid-Rent Theory

Shopping centres that can attract enough customers to be able to pay for the high land prices near the CBD do it because in return for the extra costs, they are exposed to a much higher accessibility by customers.

Richmond Centre Mall is highly accessible by public transit, this greatly increases the range because customers would be more wiling to travel to Richmond Centre Mall if it is easy to get to. The 4th order shopping centres are also located on No 3 Rd. which is generally the centre of Richmond and is the most accessible. (Please refer to Map 5).

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Map 5. Transportation in Richmond

The map by TransLink shows 16 different buses that get to Richmond Centre and almost as many to the 4th order centres. While most 2nd order centres only get one or two buses that get to them.  

Threshold

In order for a big company to open a store in an area, there has to be a large enough threshold population to support it. Richmond Centre has plenty of big name stores and companies operating under its’ glass roof. (Please refer to figure 18).

Figure 18. Sears, a Well-known Company.

A good way to look at the threshold population is to examine the population density of the area. Map 6 illustrates the population density of Richmond.

Map 6. Population Density of Richmond

Although the map is not precise enough to show the population density of each block, it does reinforce the fact that the areas surrounding the CBD have ample population to make a favourable threshold. Low order shopping centres have big names as well like Panago and 7-11 but, these stores sell low order goods. There are always exceptions though; St. Edward’s Crossing (a 2nd order shopping centre) contains The Brick which is a store that sells high order goods, because of ample demand and lower land prices as reflected in the Bid-Rent diagram above, the store is able to function even in a lower order centre.

Spheres of Influence

The spheres of influence of shopping centres are extremely hard to determine accurately with the use of questionnaires therefore, an average zone will be used with variations based on factors such as competition in nearby cities. The map on the following page illustrates the spheres of influence of a shopping centre in each order.

A hierarchy of shopping centres does exist in Richmond but, it is not entirely dependent on the Centrality Index. The hierarchy in Richmond based on all aforementioned factors is as follows:

Figure 19. Hierarchy of Shopping Centres in Richmond

Conclusion and Evaluation

“Is there a shopping hierarchy within Richmond?” was the focal point of this field study. My hypothesis stated that there is a shopping hierarchy evident by the disparity between the shopping centres, and the data proved it through a variety of indicators such as spheres of influence and the Centrality Index. The problem with using the Centrality Index to determine if there is a hierarchy is that there is a difference in personal judgments where one person might consider Sport Chek a department store while another might put it under supplies. That is why stores that were unclear, were written down a collective decision was made on their type. Calculating the Centrality Index involved classifying stores into types and there might have been possible errors in that area. Completing all the data gathering individually would solve the problem but, is extremely time consuming. Divisions between orders and classifying centres was also problematic since they did not always fit perfectly, thus it had to be an estimation. In addition, the shopping centres used were not a perfect representation of Richmond. Aberdeen Centre is another “Asia-centric” mall located on No 3 Rd. (Please refer to Map 8)

Map 8. Aberdeen Centre

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