Store Openings Research Articles

Addressing cold start problems in new store locations with transfer learning in spatial GNNs

The cold start problem poses a significant challenge for retailers opening new store locations, primarily due to the lack of historical sales data necessary for accurate demand forecasting and effective inventory management. This paper explores the application of transfer learning within spatial Graph Neural Networks (GNNs) as a solution to this issue. By leveraging existing data from established stores that share similar characteristics, our proposed methodology enhances the forecasting accuracy and helps mitigate the risks associated with new store openings. We detail the architecture of the spatial GNN model, which captures complex spatial relationships and customer interactions, providing richer insights into demand patterns. Experimental results demonstrate substantial improvements in forecasting performance compared to traditional methods, highlighting the potential of transfer learning to inform strategic decision-making in retail. This research aims to provide actionable insights for retailers seeking to optimize their operations in new markets.

Young Adult Alcohol and Cannabis Impaired Driving After the Opening of Cannabis Retail Stores in Washington State.

Motor vehicle crashes are a leading cause of death for young adults (YA) in the USA, and driving under the influence of alcohol (DUIA), cannabis (DUIC), and simultaneous use of both substances (DUIAC) are prominent risk factors. Trends in YA impaired driving behaviors after opening of cannabis retail stores have been understudied. We examined YA trends in DUIA, DUIC, and DUIAC from immediately prior through 5years following the opening of cannabis retail outlets in Washington State (2014-2019). Differences in trends were assessed across age, sex, and urbanicity. Weighted logistic regressions assessed yearly change in prevalence of DUIA, DUIC, and DUIAC from 2014 to 2019, using annual statewide data from the Washington Young Adult Health Survey (n = 12,963; ages 18-25). Moderation of trends by age, sex, and urbanicity was assessed. Prevalence of DUIA decreased overall (AOR = 0.93, 95% CI 0.90, 0.97) and among drinkers (AOR = 0.95, 95% CI 0.91, 0.99) but remained at concerning levels in 2019 (10% overall; 16% among drinkers). Overall DUIC did not change significantly (AOR = 0.99, 95% CI 0.96, 1.03; 11% by 2019) but decreased among those who used cannabis (AOR = 0.91, 95% CI 0.86, 0.96; 33% by 2019). DUIAC decreased but not significantly (overall: AOR = 0.89, 95% CI 0.78, 1.01; those who used alcohol and cannabis: AOR = 0.84, 95% CI 0.74, 1.04). Prevalence of YA DUI remained concerning. Trends may reflect some success in reducing DUI, but additional detection and prevention are needed.

Surviving Competition: Neighbourhood Shops versus Convenience Chains

Abstract Hundreds of millions of microenterprises in emerging economies face increased competition from the entry and expansion of large firms that offer similar products. This paper examines the impacts of the opening of chain-run convenience stores on one of the world’s most ubiquitous microenterprises: owner-operated shops. To address endogeneity in time and location of chains’ opening, I pair two-way fixed effects with a novel instrument that shifts the profitability of chains but not of shops at the neighbourhood level. Expanding the number of chain outlets from zero to the neighbourhood average of 6.7 stores reduces the number of shops by 15%, a decline driven not by increased shop exits but by decreased shop entries. Shops retain their sales of fresh products and keep 96% of their customers, but customers visit shops less frequently and spend less on packaged goods. Surviving shops leverage competitive advantages stemming from being owner operated, such as lower agency costs, cultivating relationships with neighbours, and offering customers informal credit. The welfare gains of convenience chains replacing shops increase with household income; the poorest households experience a welfare loss.

Entry regulations with implementation lag: Evidence from convenience store markets in Korea

Seocho County in Korea attempted to advance the interests of incumbent businesses by weakening competition in the convenience store market. To this end, it created a regulation impeding the opening of new convenience stores. Although this regulation intensified proximity restrictions between stores, our findings reveal that the announcement of legislation condemned incumbent businesses to unfavorable survival probabilities. We provided supporting evidence that so-called implementation lags—time lags between the announcement and implementation of policies—and adaptive behaviors of potential store owners may have caused unintended consequences. Our findings imply that policymakers should consider implementation lag and the adaptive behaviors of economic agents.

Are Dollar Stores Magnets for Violent Crime? Evidence from Chicago

With the rise of economic inequality in recent decades, dollar stores have flourished in the United States. Although the media has increasingly portrayed dollar stores as violent crime magnets, limited academic research has examined their impact on nearby crime. This study employed a difference-in-differences approach to investigate the impact of dollar stores on localized violent crime patterns in Chicago. Results showed a significant increase in violent crimes, especially robberies, in nearby areas relative to the control areas, following the opening of dollar stores. There were no signs of spatial crime displacement. Moreover, after the closing of dollar stores, the levels of violent crime in nearby areas relative to the control areas returned to those of the prestore opening period, regardless of the type of crime. This study also explored how the impact of dollar store openings on nearby crime rates evolves over time and varies according to the surrounding context of the store's location.

Virtual group photography based on scene and person perception

Group photos have become indispensable in various gathering scenarios, such as family reunions, friends' gatherings, competitions, conferences, store openings, and school graduation ceremonies. The researchers tried automatically adding people who could not participate in the group photo. However, the current research on generating the pose or position of the person by context prediction of the group photo ignores the individual attributes (such as height and body shape) of the target person and does not consider the pose and boundary of the person at the same time. To address these issues, we propose a virtual group photography model that combines the global context of a group photo and the individual attributes of the target person. The model is divided into two stages. The first stage is to predict the person's position, pose, and boundary in the new group photo based on the context of the input group photo and the person's characteristics. The second stage generates new group photos based on the first stage's pose and boundary results. The experimental results show that our method can significantly improve the harmony and authenticity of the synthesis of people in group photos and synthesize the characters that should exist in the group photo, which is very suitable for the field of group photos.

Transition to selective regulation of retail trade in Ukraine on the basis of EU experience

The article analyzes the causes and consequences of the rapid development of retail trade networks. It is shown that this contributed to increased production efficiency, while retail chains gained market power and began to play a key role in the supply chains of many consumer goods. This allows them to redistribute in their favor part of the value added created in other sectors. For this purpose, they use unfair trading practices: unjustified delays in payments for delivered products, imposing services that do not add value to suppliers, transferring commercial risks to them, etc. The system of regulation of retail trade in European countries has been studied. Differences in the regulation of this sector in 13 countries were analyzed based on the data of the Retail Restrictiveness Indicator. It is shown that the strictest restrictions are enforced in Belarus and in Italy. The regulatory regime in the Baltic states is the most liberal. The authors argue that in the EU countries there is a tendency to move to selective regulation of retail trade, whose object primarily includes "discontinuities" in commodity and financial flows in the systems of vertically adjacent commodity markets. Selective regulation does not limit the operation of market mechanisms, but, on the contrary, promotes their more efficient functioning, eliminating market failures without a significant regulatory burden on business. On the one hand, restrictions on the opening of large-format stores, on trade at reduced prices, etc., are considerably eased. On the other hand, regulation is introduced in certain areas where it was not implemented before. Clarified changes in the regulatory system of retail trade in the EU after adoption of Directive 2019/633 on unfair trading practices in business-to-business relationships in the agricultural and food supply chain. The authors substantiate the necessity and ways of transition to selective regulation of retail trade in Ukraine. It is shown that the prohibition of unfair trading practices in the food supply chain is much more important in Ukraine than in EU countries. The need to implement the norms of EU Directive 2019/633 into domestic legislation by adopting the Draft Law "On protection against unfair trading practices in relations between business entities in the field of supply of agricultural and food products" has been justified.

Business Model Canvas and SWOT Analysis as a Development Strategy Frozen Food Culinary Industry

The purpose of this study is to analyze the business condition of the home industry Frozen Food Pempek Palembang Kukuinutri using Business Model Canvas. Next, to create a new Business Model Canvas Frozen Food Pempek Palembang Kukuinutri, the scope of this research is focused on analyzing Business Model Canvas along with internal (importance and performance) and external (industry competition) factors of home industry Frozen Food Pempek Palembang Kukuinutri, as well as the formation of new business models using BMC based on future industries. The research method used is descriptive with a qualitative approach. Data collection was carried out using interview techniques with the owner of Frozen Food Pempek Palembang Kukuinutri. This type of research is a case study. The analysis technique used is SWOT analysis to see the weaknesses and threats faced by optimizing the advantages and opportunities owned and business mapping using the Business Model Canvas (BMC). This research produces solutions that can be used by business owners to be able to expand market reach on the Value Proposition element by attending business development training so that the products produced are more varied, Channel elements to add channels by participating in Bazar Events, Key Resources elements by creating production houses and more competent workforce, Key Partner elements to make halal logo certification and BPOM. The results of this research will later be used to create strategies to increase revenue streams, especially for planning offline store openings.

Pedestrian street and its effect on economic sustainability of a historical Middle Eastern city: The case of Chaharbagh Abbasi in Isfahan, Iran

Pedestrianization is an urban revitalization strategy to enhance sustainability and livability in car-oriented cities. Despite many studies in this research field, the effects of pedestrianization on the economy of cities in developing countries still need further investigation. Additionally, the impact of this strategy on the tenant mix of commercial and historical areas in Middle East countries is nebulous. To address these inadequacies, we considered Chaharbagh Abbasi street, located in the heart of Isfahan, Iran, and investigated the impact of a pedestrianization project with particular emphasis on how it affects the economic sustainability of existent commercial fabric. Pre- and post-project data along with field observations and quantifications used to assess structural replacements in trade, were analyzed with SPSS and ArcGIS software. The results revealed unexpected outcomes, such as the closure of some traditional businesses (27.5%), a stagnation in sales (69%) and a decrease in job offers (84%) leading the local economy to a fragile situation. Conversely, it was found that the footfall volume increased by 64% and 73% from the retailers’ and pedestrians’ viewpoints. This evolution along with a wide opening of food and beverage stores (approximately 60%) makes the post-pedestrianization results more promising than earlier predictions. In conclusion, these findings reinforce the importance of pedestrian streets in revitalizing economic activities in historical and commercial areas from the perspective of economic sustainability. Due to the lack of similar investigations in Middle East countries, these findings can support decision-makers and urban planners to take preventive measures in preserving the diversity of individual small shops for upcoming urban rehabilitation projects in terms of pedestrianization.

Перехід до селективного регулювання роздрібної торгівлі в Україні на основі досвіду ЄС

The article analyzes the causes and consequences of the rapid development of retail trade networks. It is shown that this contributed to increased production efficiency, while retail chains gained market power and began to play a key role in the supply chains of many consumer goods. This allows them to redistribute in their favor part of the value added created in other sectors. For this purpose, they use unfair trading practices: unjustified delays in payments for delivered products, imposing services that do not add value to suppliers, transferring commercial risks to them, etc. The system of regulation of retail trade in European countries has been studied. Differences in the regulation of this sector in 13 countries were analyzed based on the data of the Retail Restrictiveness Indicator. It is shown that the strictest restrictions are enforced in Belarus and in Italy. The regulatory regime in the Baltic states is the most liberal. The authors argue that in the EU countries there is a tendency to move to selective regulation of retail trade, whose object primarily includes "discontinuities" in commodity and financial flows in the systems of vertically adjacent commodity markets. Selective regulation does not limit the operation of market mechanisms, but, on the contrary, promotes their more efficient functioning, eliminating market failures without a significant regulatory burden on business. On the one hand, restrictions on the opening of large-format stores, on trade at reduced prices, etc., are considerably eased. On the other hand, regulation is introduced in certain areas where it was not implemented before. Clarified changes in the regulatory system of retail trade in the EU after adoption of Directive 2019/633 on unfair trading practices in business-to-business relationships in the agricultural and food supply chain. The authors substantiate the necessity and ways of transition to selective regulation of retail trade in Ukraine. It is shown that the prohibition of unfair trading practices in the food supply chain is much more important in Ukraine than in EU countries. The need to implement the norms of EU Directive 2019/633 into domestic legislation by adopting the Draft Law "On protection against unfair trading practices in relations between business entities in the field of supply of agricultural and food products" has been justified.

Western cultural influence on corporate innovation: Evidence from Chinese listed companies

This study presents robust findings that Western cultural influence, as measured by Starbucks stores, significantly improves corporate innovation outcomes at nearby Chinese listed firms. These outcomes are generated by risk-taking in research and development investment, more aggressive CEO compensation packages, and tougher intellectual property protection. Our results show greater significance in areas where local cultural influence is less, industries are highly competitive, and non-state-owned enterprises are less prevalent. We generate insights into the cumulative and the incremental impact of Western cultural influence on firm innovation using yearly data on the number of Starbucks stores and new store openings within a given area.

Is walmart the same as ten years ago? A non-parametric difference-in-differences analysis of walmart development

Walmart experienced tremendous growth and changes from 1962 when the first store opened. This study examines the temporal variation in Walmart's effects on neighboring house prices and local labor markets employing a new non-parametric difference-in-differences method to address concerns that areas immediately around a Walmart and comparison areas nearby may have different trends prior to a store opening. The results show that the prices of homes located within 0.5 miles of Walmart increased at a maximum rate of 2.97% due to store openings from 1990 to 2000. Conversely, store openings in 2002–2007 resulted in approximately zero effects on neighboring house prices, and stores that opened in 2008–2013 experienced house price declines of roughly 3% within 0.5 miles of the store. Explorations of the underlying mechanisms suggest that Walmart openings had led to deteriorating shopping convenience but increasing negative spillovers from the early to the late 2000s. Government subsidies and zoning policies targeting these issues might help mitigate the negative spillovers from Walmart.

ТРАНСФОРМАЦИЯ СТРАТЕГИЙ ТОРГОВЫХ СЕТЕЙ

in the modern world, retailers face the need to adjust their strategies to the pressure of the external environment, consumer preferences and legislative restrictions. Such a need has arisen throughout the whole history of their development, and those retailers who managed to respond to the challenges of the time in a timely manner and change their development strategies continued to expand and develop. This article is devoted to strategies for the development of retail chains through the study of their activities at different time intervals from the opening of the first stores to the transformation into multinational companies. Five stages of retailers’ development are considered and strategies for each of them are outlined: resource-based development, internationalization (development in international markets), adaptation, consolidation, multichannel. The article examines the cases of the world’s largest retailers – Auchan, Leroy Merlin, Ikea, etc. in order to identify and substantiate the patterns of development in each allocated period of time.

서울시 홍대 주변 상권의 공간적 변화에 관한 연구

1. CONTENTS (1) RESEARCH OBJECTIVES Recently, the spatial structure of commercial areas is rapidly changing. This phenomenon is of increasing interest as it relates to commercial gentrification. However, most of the previous studies that analyzed changes in commercial areas targeted a single time period or analyzed changes within a single commercial area. There are insufficient studies to detect spatial expansion of commercial districts and analyze their characteristics. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to analyze the spatial change of the commercial area around Hongdae, Seoul. (2) RESEARCH METHOD In this study, 38 commercial areas located around Hongdae were set as the spatial range and 2000-2019 was set as the temporal range. And opening and closing data of stores located within the spatial range were used as data for the study. As an analysis method, the center point, standard deviation distance, and standard deviation ellipse model that can confirm the spatial movement of commercial areas were used. (3) RESEARCH FINDINGS The research findings of this study are as follows. First, the movement patterns of the commercial areas around Hongdae differ depending on the store type. The expansion of the Hongdae area occurred mainly through cafes. Third, it is difficult to specify the direction of store opening and closing. 2. RESULTS The results of the study are summarized as follows. First, the change in the center point of store opening & closing that occurs in the commercial areas around Hongdae is divided into two patterns. This is a pattern that moves from Hongdae to Mangwon, Hapjeong, and Yeonnam-dong, and a pattern that shows no significant change near Hongdae. Second, the standard deviation distance of cafe opening increases, which means that the expansion of commercial areas near Hongdae is mainly through cafes. Third, it is difficult to confirm a clear change in the degree of deflection in the standard deviation elliptic model. Therefore, it is difficult to confirm the tendency of the opening and closing of stores in a specific direction.

Impact of Social Isolation on the Physical and Mental Health of Older Adults: A Follow-Up Study at the Apex of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Brazil

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic has affected people’s lives and caused changes in habits. The World Health Organization recommends social isolation as a way of minimizing the risk of contagion of the disease. Objective: The aim of the study was to assess the impact of social isolation due to COVID-19 pandemic on the physical and mental health of older adults and to investigate how anthropometric, functional, and clinical aspects are associated with this process. Methods: Fifty healthy older adults were followed-up during 5 months. The subjects had their physical and mental health assessed during social isolation (pre-vaccine situation) and after the opening of stores and activities in the municipality (post-vaccine situation). Physical evaluation was performed using the 30-s sit and stand test. Participants’ mental health was assessed with the Geriatric Depression Scale and the Loneliness Index. In this methodological design, muscle strength, depressive symptoms, and loneliness index were subject to pre-post analyses. In addition, these variables were included as outcomes in linear regression models. Participants’ anthropometric, functional, and clinical factors were included as predictors of the statistical model. Results: Participants’ scores at baseline were consistent with mild depressive symptoms and low loneliness. The muscle strength of the subjects was appropriate to their ages. After 5 months of social isolation, all variables declined, but with statistical significance only for depressive symptoms (p = 0.017, effect size of 0.11). Anthropometric, functional, and clinical factors explained 42.8% of depressive symptoms, 22.3% of loneliness, and 30.2% of muscle strength in the elderly. Discussion/Conclusion: Older adults presented baseline scores consistent with mild depressive symptoms and low loneliness. The muscular strength of the subjects was appropriate for their ages. After 5 months of social isolation, all variables declined. Anthropometric, functional, and clinical factors explained a substantial part of the depressive symptoms, loneliness, and muscular strength in the elderly. Health care professionals should be aware of performing a wide assessment in subjects’ lives to ensure better health status.

Penentuan Pembukaan Gerai dengan Menggunakan Analytic Hierarchy Process Empat Layer

In the neighborhood, there is a slew of flavored drink shops. Bubble drinks, sometimes known as "boba drinks," are currently popular across various demographics, particularly among teenagers and young people. The sweet taste of the drink and the range of options drive demand for this boba drink, which is growing increasingly popular. In addition to its presentation, this beverage producer offers customization options for beverage taste, sugar level, drink glass size, and even ice cube quantity to satisfy consumer preferences. Several criteria, such as pricing, purchasing power, and location, must be considered while deciding on store opening These elements can still be subdivided. Therefore the AHP (Analytical Hierarchy Process) method is appropriate for determining store openings. The findings of this study demonstrate that, among numerous alternative locations, location G has the highest value, with a weight of 0.2236.

Retail store entry and online consumer search: the role of cognitive versus physical search costs

PurposeRelatively little research explicitly considers how a firm’s channel decisions affect consumer tradeoffs between the cognitive costs of online search and the physical costs of visiting a retail store. This study aims to argue that opening a new retail store affects both cognitive and physical search costs, but that the magnitude of these effects depends on the location of the consumer relative to the new store. In addition, individual differences in consumers’ cognitive costs that should moderate these effects.Design/methodology/approachThis study takes the opening of multiple retailer stores on the same day as the nature experiment. Combining with data from other sources, this study tests the hypotheses using conditional logit for the correction of incidental problem in the traditional fix-effect logit model. Endogeneity issue is tested with the control function approach.FindingsThis study finds that opening a new store leads to a 136% increase in the odds of online visiting by consumers who live in the broader metropolitan area of the new store, while it leads to a 43% decrease in the odds of online visiting by consumers who live in the nearby shopping region. However, the effect of store entry on increasing website search is weaker for consumers who are more loyal, and the effect of store entry on decreasing website search is weaker for consumers who are more efficient in searching online.Originality/valueThis study adds to prior research by identifying when, and for which consumers, opening a physical store has complimentary versus substitutive effects on online search behavior.

An empirical investigation of forward-looking retailer performance using parking lot traffic data derived from satellite imagery

In this research note, we study the effectiveness of parking lot traffic in predicting forward-looking retailer performance (measured by Tobin's q). We obtain parking lot car count data derived from satellite images to construct a quarterly aggregate measure of parking lot traffic for 15 general merchandise retailers. To mitigate endogeneity concerns, we exploit the exogenous shocks of mass shootings that provide exogenous variations in parking lot traffic. Applying the control function approach and a panel firm fixed-effects estimator on 402 retailer-quarter observations, we find that quarterly aggregate parking lot traffic significantly predicts forward-looking retailer performance. Moreover, drawing on the perspectives of organizational competency, we find that the positive relationship between parking lot traffic and forward-looking retailer performance is moderated by factors that are related to a retailer's store management competency, namely, a retailer's existing store management competency (measured by comparable store sales), its proactivity to maintain the competency (reflected by store management intensity, i.e., the total number of store openings and closings relative to the total number of stores), and the external environment (measured by industry concentration) that affects its store management competency.

대형마트 폐점이 주변 상권 및 고용에 미치는 영향

대형마트 폐점이 주변 상권 및 고용에 미치는 영향

Effects of competing food desert policies on store format choice among SNAP participants

AbstractWe measure how Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) participants respond to policies designed to improve access to retail food store formats that stock healthy foods, specifically grocery stores. Supply‐side policies seek to increase the supply of grocery stores by subsidizing store openings. Demand‐side policies seek to increase the demand for food from grocery stores by, for example, increasing benefits. Unique SNAP administrative data allow us to estimate and compare impacts of grocery store openings and a SNAP benefit increase at a fine geographic scale. We find both policies increase shopping at grocery stores relative to other store formats but observe substantive impacts for grocery store openings only among households in very close proximity to the opening. Furthermore, we find that the impacts are mediated by car ownership and food desert status. In particular, households without cars in food deserts exhibit the largest impact. Grocery store openings decrease SNAP spending shares primarily at ethnic stores, whereas benefit increases decrease SNAP spending shares at convenience stores. Neither policy decreases total SNAP spending at convenience stores. The spillover effects on shopping at other store formats therefore make the potential effect on access to healthy food ambiguous.