Diffusion of Supercentres in England and Wales

Abstract

<p>In the last ten years Britain has witnessed a revolution in retailing, partly through rationalization of operations within the retail trade, and partly as a response to external demands for change resulting from suburban growth, increased affluence and changes in consumer attitudes towards shopping. A major result of these factors has been the growth and spread of an innovation in retailing which has come to be called the "out-of-town Superstore or Hypermarket", or the more inclusive term, "Supercentre" used in this paper.</p> <p>Qualitative analysis of this growth, outlined in Sections two and three of this paper, indicates that diffusion of this innovation conforms to the hierarchical-expansion diffusion model in the earlier stages, with evidence of neighbourhood effects during the later stages of infilling, at the same time following the urban hierarchy in overall growth.</p> <p>Quantitative analysis, employing the multiple linear regression model, which is described in Section four, tested the validity of several hypotheses relating to the influence of "economic" or "market" factors in determining the growth and spread of Supercentres. The results indicate that these factors partially explain diffusion of this innovation between 1964 and 1972.</p>