Impacts of pedestrian schemes on the types of retailers

Abstract

Since 2000, Transport Department has been implementing pedestrian schemes in Hong Kong to provide a comfortable environment for pedestrians. Many studies have indicated that the retail environment in pedestrian streets would be enhanced.

This study was conducted to understand the theoretical concepts about the effects of pedestrian streets to retailing. The distribution of different types of retailers in pedestrian streets and the nearby streets was investigated and the reasons and possible effects of the above findings were also examined.

Field survey on business inventory in Mong Kok, Causweay Bay and Sheung Shui was conducted. Descriptive statistics was then used to explain the results and chi-square test was devoted to examining whether types of retailers depend on street types.

This study showed that types of retailers depend on street types and provided evidence to support pervious researches that specific retailers including chain stores, merchandise retailing or clothing, jewellery and watches shops tended to located in pedestrian streets while some businesses including independent shops or shops selling low-end products were not.

The impacts of implementing pedestrian schemes on the types of retailers were discussed. Since more visitors are willing to shop in pedestrian streets due to pleasant environment, retail turnover would usually increase and some investors may want to open shops in the streets to make profits. As a result, property owners would feel more confident to increase the rent of shop to gain more money as the demand of the limited rental street space increases. Those privileged businesses, which can afford higher rent, can open shops in pedestrian streets so the portion of underprivileged businesses in these streets is lower due to unaffordable rent.

The study also indicated few more reasons to explain the distribution of retailers’ types. Accessibility is one the factors that affect the attractiveness of pedestrian streets, which also impact the retailers’ types. National economic trend and local factors would increase the portion of specific shops while market economy policy from the Government encourage distributing of retailers’ types using market principle.

For the economic implications, privileged businesses would dominate pedestrian streets and affect economic diversity and businesses in pedestrian streets would be affected by economic trend. Moreover, property owners can make more money as rents go up. For social implications, products available in pedestrian streets become tourists-oriented and may not meet the local needs and local identity would gradually disappear.

Finally, the study suggested the Government could provide space for independent retailers to continue their businesses and encourage underprivileged businesses to enhance their competiveness. Besides, in the policy point of view, the Government should assess the impacts on the distribution of retailers before implementing pedestrian schemes.