Viability of a new out of town shopping centre.
Business Challenge
The client had just obtained planning permission for a new out of town shopping centre in the SE. Company needed to identify the market and shopping profile of likely customers; who were defined as being resident within a 30-mile radius. The information would be used to attract the type of shops and brands shoppers were likely to require. The likelihood of usage compared to other shopping centres in the catchments were also required, together with the identification of the initiatives to maximize the shopping experience and traffic to the new site.
Solution
A multistage approach was adopted starting with 1,000 face to face street interviews with consumers in the catchments. As specific topics or issues emerged these were examined in later qualitative stages, mainly focus groups, so the client could observe feedback and gain the required insight first hand. For this project the interpretative expertise was from the consultancy group while the research team focused on the research design, data collection and reporting of the findings.
Results
The client has identified the shops and leading brands required, factors of importance to potential shoppers and initiatives to ensure the offering from the total shopping experience would exceed that of the competitive shopping centres. The resulting business plan was accepted.
