Publication Type
Journal Article
Version
publishedVersion
Publication Date
9-2016
Abstract
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to ascertain how elements of the built environment may or may not influence the frequency of grocery shopping. Design/methodology/approach – Using data from the 2009 Seattle Obesity Study, the research investigated the effect of the urban built environment on grocery shopping travel frequency in the Seattle-King County area. Binary and ordered logit models served to estimate the impact of individual characteristics and built environments on grocery shopping travel frequency. Findings – The results showed that the respondents’ attitude towards food, travel mode, and the network distance between homes and stores exerted the strongest influence on the travel frequency while urban form variables only had a modest influence. The study showed that frequent shoppers were more likely to use alternative transportation modes and shopped closer to their homes and infrequent shoppers tended to drive longer distances to their stores and spent more time and money per visit. Practical implications – This research has implications for urban planners and policy makers as well as grocery retailers, as the seemingly disparate groups both have an interest in food shopping frequency. Originality/value – Few studies in the planning or retail literature investigate the influence of the urban built environment and the insights from the planning field. This study uses GIS and a planning framework to provide information that is relevant for grocery retailers and those invested in food distribution.
Keywords
Geographic information systems, Grocery shopping, Shopping frequency, Urban built environment
Discipline
Transportation | Urban Studies
Research Areas
Integrative Research Areas
Publication
International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management
Volume
44
Issue
9
First Page
903
Last Page
922
ISSN
0959-0552
Identifier
10.1108/IJRDM-06-2015-0091
Publisher
Emerald
Citation
JIAO, Junfeng; MOUDON, Anne Vernez; and DREWNOWSKI, Adam.
Does urban form influence grocery shopping frequency? A study from Seattle, Washington, USA. (2016). International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management. 44, (9), 903-922.
Available at: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/cis_research/510
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Additional URL
https://doi.org/10.1108%2Fijrdm-06-2015-0091