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This thesis was scanned from the print manuscript for digital preservation and is copyright the author. Researchers can access this thesis by asking their local university, institution or public library to make a request on their behalf. Monash staff and postgraduate students can use the link in the References field.

Across many markets, the unplanned centre (also referred to as the downtown or town centre) continues to lose market share to the planned shopping centre. This trend is not new. Some unplanned centres have been forfeiting market share for more than half a century. Efforts to revive the unplanned centre have often proven less than successful. One possible explanation is that convenience has been largely ignored as a strategy for rejuvenation. Research into retail centre patronage has consistently found that convenience does not serve as a salient determinant over consumer spatial behaviour. Yet other studies continue to suggest the emergence of a convenience-oriented society. This paper offers a more conclusive definition of retail centre convenience to its predecessors; one that incorporates its dimensions and its attributes. In doing so, it highlights the need to treat existing patronage studies with caution, and the need for research to revisit the convenience concept.

The emergence of the internet and a more discerning consumer has created the need for traditional retail centres to provide a more convenient shopping environment. Two attributes determine the convenience afforded by the physical structure of a retail centre; its design and degree of enclosure. This study provides statistical insight into the convenience offered by these two attributes across a sample of 25 planned centres and 25 unplanned centres. Analysis showed that the majority of unplanned centres' possess linear designs. With too few stores spread over excessive distances, the cost of patronising the unplanned centre may be too prohibitive for many shoppers. The findings also indicate that, provided enclosure is valued by consumers, the planned centre holds an obvious advantage. Less than 8% of businesses in unplanned centres operate within enclosed structures such as arcades or complexes. The fact that these structures show symptoms of economic blight suggests why enclosure, in isolation, has often failed to rejuvenate the unplanned centre.

Retail centre patronage is influenced by the type of transport used by consumers. With the continued proliferation of the car contributing to the emergence of a far more discerning and mobile shopper, consumers are using convenience to differentiate between planned and unplanned centres. Access and parking are the two attributes of a retail centre that determine the convenience of patronage for the carborne shopper. This study provides statistical insight into the convenience offered by these two attributes across a sample of 38 planned centres and 33 unplanned centres. The findings indicate that the planned centre offers the car-borne shopper a more convenient retail environment. The statistical disparity between the two retail forms also adds support to the notion that the demise of the unplanned centre could be linked to its inability to satisfy the needs of a convenience-oriented society.

The emergence of the internet and a more discerning consumer has created the need for traditional retail centres to provide a more convenient shopping environment. A retail centre offers convenience when it minimises the spatial, temporal and effort costs of shopping. Existing strategies for spatial convenience include controlling the size of the centre by restricting the number of businesses, creating a more compact physical design, limiting the entry of non-retail firms and creating compatible clusters. The authors' propose an alternative method; the degree of retail concentration. This study provides statistical insight into the degree of retail concentration offered by a sample of 9 planned centres and 9 unplanned centres. The findings yielded three important insights. Firstly, across the three tests for retail concentration, the planned centre was found to offer consumers' greater shopping convenience. Secondly, the findings add support to the notion that the demise of the unplanned centre could be linked to its inability to satisfy the needs of a convenience-oriented society. And thirdly, while the un-planned centre may be at a competitive disadvantage in terms of spatial convenience, market mechanisms such as Bid Rent Theory provided a better-than-expected spatial juxtapositioning of its businesses.

The unplanned retail centre (also known as the downtown centre, town centre or strip centre) continues to lose market share to the planned shopping centre. At the same time unprecedented growth in the development of the concept of 'service' in the retail sector has focussed attention on elements of customer service which influence centre patronage and store choice. A key element of service cited in retail studies is that of'convenience'. Previous studies have identified various attributes of convenience. Not until 1993 (Gehrt and Yale) were the temporal, spatial and energy/effort costs of shopping discussed. This paper offers a more inclusive definition of convenience, one that incorporates shopping costs and attributes of convenience. In doing so, it highlights the need to treat existing patronage studies with caution, and the need for research to revisit the convenience concept and to test the model proposed. Efforts to revive unplanned centres have achieved mixed success. One possible explanation is that convenience has been largely ignored as a strategy for rejuvenation.

The emergence of the internet and a more discerning consumer has created the need for traditional retail centres to provide a more convenient shopping environment. A retail centre offers convenience when it minimises the spatial, temporal and effort costs of shopping. A key means for reducing the temporal and effort costs of patronising a retail centre are through its trading hours and shopping services and amenities. This exploratory study provides insight into the convenience offered by these two attributes across a sample of 25 planned centres and 25 unplanned centres. The findings indicate that the planned centre offers the car-borne shopper a more convenient retail environment. Its extended trading hours not only provide temporal flexibility, but can also reduce shopping effort by allowing consumers to shop during less congested periods. The numerous shopping services and amenities it offers also allows consumers to save time, while reducing the unnecessary expenditure of effort. The findings challenge the notion that the continued growth of planned centres may represent a problem for the disadvantaged consumer.

In many markets, the unplanned retail centre (also known as the downtown, town, city or strip centre) continues to lose market share to the planned shopping centre. Rejuvenation strategies focusing on infrastructure and aesthetic design, recreational appeals, promotion and a managed approach have met with mixed success. Many of these strategies revolve around improving how the unplanned centre offers its merchandise. A more direct alternative is the actual composition of businesses in a retail centre, and what they offer shoppers. There are four attributes of a retail centre's composition that determine its appeal; the number of merchants, the merchandise-mix, its major attractors, and its ability to provide for one stop shopping. This study provides statistical insight into the composition offered by a sample of 38 planned centres and 33 unplanned centres. Across all four attributes the planned centre was found to enjoy a significant advantage. These findings pose a major problem for the unplanned centre. Its inability to provide for one stop shopping offers little appeal to convenience-oriented shoppers. Similarly, its lack of major attractors is unlikely to draw the other important shopper typology, the leisure-oriented consumer.

The emergence of the internet and a more discerning consumer has created the need for traditional retail centres to provide a more convenient shopping environment. A retail centre offers convenience when it minimises the spatial, temporal and effort costs of shopping. A key means of providing spatial convenience is through store compatibility. Creating clusters of stores that share customers, also reduces shopping's temporal and effort costs. This study provides statistical insight into the degree of compatibility offered by a sample of 6 planned centres and 6 unplanned centres. Across all four tests, the planned centre was found to hold a significant competitive advantage. The findings add support to the notion that the demise of the unplanned centre could be linked to its inability to satisfy the needs of a convenience-oriented society.