There are three basic types of locations available for retail stores: (1)solitary sites,
(2)unplanned shopping areas and (3)planned shopping districts. Each of the basic location types is
associated with specific advantages and disadvantages according to, for example, the size of the
catchment area, occupancy costs, pedestrian or vehicle customer traffic, restrictions placed on store
operations or convenience of the location.
1.Solitary Sites (Free-Standing Sites, Isolated Sites)
This type of location relates to single, free standing outlets that are isolated from other retailers. They
can, for example, be positioned on roads or near other retailers or shopping centres. Such sites are
used, for instance, by large store formats in food and non food retailing or for convenience shops.
2.Unplanned Shopping Areas
Unplanned shopping areas are retail locations with several outlets in close proximity to each other that
have evolved over time. The retail mix is not the result of long range planning and for such locations,
there is no centralized management. The main kinds of unplanned shopping areas are (1)central
business districts (traditional “downtown” areas in cities/towns), (2)secondary business districts in larger
cities and main street or high street locations in smaller cities, (3)neighbourhood districts, and (4)strip or
string locations (locations along a street or motorway).
3.Planned Shopping Districts/Shopping Centres
Planned shopping areas are retail locations that have been architecturally planned to provide a unified
theme for a number of outlets. These sites are developed deliberately and usually have some large, key
retail brand stores (“anchor stores”) and a number of smaller retailers to add diversity and special
interest. The basic types of shopping centres are retail parks that consist of a purpose built cluster of
free standing retail outlets. There are(large)parking facilities and shopping centres that consist of single
buildings which are marketed as a unified shopping destination, usually with one name and logo. The
retail mix is different from retail parks, as the range of stores is wider and often includes luxury and
leisure items as well as clothing, footwear and other typical central location merchandise. Several
specific types of retail parks and shopping centres have been developed: (1) neighbourhood or
strip/community centres that are typically anchored by a supermarket, (2) power centres that consist
primarily of large format retailers, (3) shopping malls that are enclosed, climate controlled and lighted
shopping centres (regional or super regional shopping malls), (4) lifestyle centres that encompass an
open air configuration of upscale specialty stores, entertainment and restaurants, (5) fashion/specialty
centres that comprise mainly upmarket clothing shops and boutiques carrying high quality and price
fashion merchandise, (6) outlet centres that contain manufacturers’ and retailers’ outlet stores or off
price retailers, and (7) theme or festival parks that typically employ a unified theme carried by the retail
outlets, their architectural design and their merchandise and can be anchored by restaurants or
entertainment facilities.
The decision as to which kind of retail location to select depends on the company’s strategy. It is
an integral part of the retail location decision process.