Intershopping duration: an analysis using multiweek data

Abstract

This study examines the rhythms in the shopping activity participation of individuals over a multiweek period by modeling the duration between successive shopping participations. A hazard-based duration model is used to model intershopping duration, and a latent segmentation method is applied to distinguish between erratic shoppers and regular shoppers. The paper applies the methodology to examine the regularity and frequency of shopping behavior of individuals using a continuous six-week travel survey collected in the cities of Halle and Karlsruhe in Germany in the fall of 1999. The empirical results underscore the need to adopt a flexible hazard model form for analyzing intershopping durations. The results also provide important insights into the determinants of the regularity and frequency of individuals’ shopping activity participation behavior.