ABSTRACT
A detailed understanding of consumer behaviour and the way it is changing is fundamental to the basic requirement of retail planning, that of projecting the future level and character of demand for shopping provisions. In essence, the retail planner is confronted with two related problems. First, he has to determine what the size capacities of individual shops and shopping centres can and should be at some particular point in time. Secondly, he has to arrange these in such a way that for any particular situation there will be some measure of protection given to the existing elements of the system but that there will also be an overall improvement in relative economic health or efficiency. These have to be dealt with against the background of changes in consumer pReferences and new forms of business organisation. In recent years, a large body of technical literature has emerged—especially in reference to British conditions—that provides a comprehensive choice in techniques that may be used. This chapter takes stock of the most common types of techniques and provides a critical assessment of their relative strengths and weaknesses.
