The impact of shopping centre attributes on the destination preferences of trip makers in Brisbane

Shopping centres in Australia are playing an increasingly substantial role in providing customers with their daily and weekly requirements. This importance has increased as the advantages of purchasing retail goods in shopping centres has become more apparent to a population whose access opportunities are determined increasingly by private car use. The way in which many of these retail-oriented destinations have been located in Brisbane is explained by beneficial trade areas as well as customer preferences. A number of studies have identified that distance in addition to other destination attributes including type of retail outlet (a regional shopping centre from a local centre), retail employment and retail floor area of the centre are major factors which affect shoppers' preferences over destination choice. This study uses discrete choice modelling to investigate the importance of destination-specific, trip-specific and individual-specific characteristics of 1,676 retail trips to 194 different shopping centre destinations reported in the Brisbane Statistical Division. Two logit choice models have been developed that use 10 variables to investigate retail destination choice for various trip types including 'grocery and food', 'clothes', 'household goods' and 'personal goods'. The result provides a better understanding of the factors which influence Brisbane shoppers' destination choices. The results can help inform planners and decision makers to design a more sustainable retail environment.