Retailers in Graz overestimated the importance of the car for customer travel

(from Traffic Restraint and Retail Vitality, Sustrans 2003)

Actual mode of customer travel(Shopkeepers estimates in brackets)

44% (25%) 8% (5%) 16% (12%) 32% (58%)

Shoppers and howthey travel

INFORMATION SHEET LN02

Sustrans’ Liveable Neighbourhoods programme works with local residents and other partners to createhigh quality urban environments which promote sustainable travel behaviour and are safe, pleasant

places to live in and visit. Sustrans is the UK’s leading sustainable transport charity and works on practicalprojects to encourage people to walk, cycle and use public transport to benefit health and the environment.

National Cycle Network Centre, 2 Cathedral Square, College Green, Bristol, BS1 5DD

www.sustrans.org.uk

Over ten years ago, retailers in theAustrian city of Graz were asked howthey thought their customers travelledto the shop, and shoppers were theninterviewed to determine the reality.The results were fascinating: retailershugely overestimated the importanceof the car, and underestimated howmany of their customers walked, cycledand used public transport (1).

Sustrans’ researchers have nowreplicated the Graz study on twoneighbourhood shopping streets inBristol. Once again, we found thatretailers overestimate the importance ofthe car. We also found that theyoverestimate how far their customerstravel and underestimate how manyshops each customer visits.

These findings have real significancefor business planning – as well as landuse and transport. It is traditional forretailers to pursue more car access andparking, and to resist measures to promote walking, cycling and public transport use – althoughpedestrian shopping areas tend to becommercially most successful. Ourfindings suggest that retail vitality wouldbe best served by traffic restraint,public transport improvements, and arange of measures to improve thewalking environment.

Know your customerAs part of the VIVALDI project, BristolCity Council is working to improve anumber of arterial bus routes into thecity. The routes concerned run throughimportant local shopping areas, andtraders in these areas have expressedconcern that the works might havenegative impacts on their businesses.

To help traders understand thebehaviour of their customers, and toensure that future transport planning isbased on real data rather thansupposition, Bristol and Sustransinvestigated how customers travel totwo important shopping zones on theVIVALDI bus routes. One of these hasalready seen the implementation of aShowcase bus route; the other is duefor treatment in the future.

The Gloucester Road survey site: a sociableshopping experience

2www.sustrans.org.uk

The researchers interviewed 126 retailersand 840 customers, using a standardquestionnaire. Customers were asked:

• how far they travel to these shoppingstreets (ie, how far away they live)

• what mode of transport they use (walk,cycle, bus or car)

• how many shops they visit at one time (asa measure of how committed they are asa customer to the whole street)

Traders were asked to estimate theircustomers’ behaviour according to thesesame measures, so giving a valuable insightinto how customer behaviour compares withthe traders’ perception.

Shoppers live locallyAlthough both of these streets are urbanarterial roads, with relatively limited parking,traders assumed that most of theircustomers were visitors to the area. Theyestimated that just 12% of customers livedwithin half a mile, and 40% more than twomiles away. In reality, 42% had travelled lessthan half a mile and 86% had travelled lessthan two miles. Most customers are local.

Most shoppers walkRetailers overestimated the importance ofcar-borne trade by almost 100%; theyestimated that 41% of their customersarrived by car, whereas only 22% had doneso. In fact, more than half of shopperswalked to the shops. Walking toneighbourhood shops, and meeting friendsand acquaintances there, is an enjoyablesocial activity, as well as an efficient way ofshopping.

Moving away from the carInterviews with traders, shoppers andneighbours show that local people wouldlike to see the impact of traffic reduced. Thisis not surprising – many people now have

Shoppers and how they travel

24,500 potential customers live within half a mile of the Gloucester Road survey site

Crown Copyright. All rights reserved. Bristol City Council. 100023406. 2006.

Shoppers’ choice of travel modes in Bristol study

Actual mode of customer travel(Shopkeepers estimates in brackets)

22% (41%)55% (42%) 13% (11%)10% (6%)

C

experience of traffic-free local shopping,often in other European countries.Everyone enjoys shopping in anenvironment free from the noise, speed,pollution and threat of motor traffic.

The Bristol East Side Traders (BEST)group has studied the area aroundChurch Road, the survey site where bus route improvements are now due, and prepared detailedrecommendations for measures toimprove the area as a commercial zoneand the quality of environment it offerslocal people.

BEST Enterprise Manager Ian Lawrysays “we do face a dilemma; manycustomers still come by car, and somelocal businesses would like to see moreparking spaces provided, but at thesame time the busy and polluted road isa disincentive to shoppers, walkingaccess and crossings are poor, andmany traders want environmentalimprovements.”

The Sustrans survey found that only aquarter of shoppers come to ChurchRoad by car, while almost two thirds walkand cycle. Traders, who are clearly veryconscious of the transport mix and the need for an attractive retail street environment, nonethelessoverestimated the importance of the carby 80%. This misperception creates therisk of mistakes in transport andplanning policy.

Changing the roadhierarchyThe Sustrans results are closelycorroborated by a shopper survey donein the area by Shepherd Epstein Hunter,in 2003. This found that 69% ofrespondents walked or cycled to theshops, and interestingly that 58%wanted “better traffic control alongChurch Road”. The BEST reportsuggests considering “a shift in theRoad Hierarchy in favour of thepedestrian user”.

However, for individual traders, the toppriority, by a huge distance, was morecar parking (48%). This disparitybetween the traders’ preferences andthose of their customers replicatesfindings in other cities. It may leadtraders to push for transport planningdecisions which are not in their bestinterest.

Traders may overestimate theimportance of the car because ofuncertainty about where customers aretravelling from and how they shop.Almost half of the Church Roadcustomers interviewed live within half amile of the shops, and almost threequarter under a mile. The traders’perception was that 17% came fromunder half a mile – they underestimatethe importance of this local market byalmost two thirds.

3www.sustrans.org.uk

The bicycle is often overlooked - in the UK atleast - as a transport mode for shopping

Many shopping streets need wider pavements

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How customers travel to Church Road, Bristol

Car Bus Cycle On foot

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Retailer estimates

Customerbehaviour

Distance travelled to shops in Bristol study

Under1/2 mile

1/2 - 1mile

1 - 2mile

2 - 5miles

Over5 miles

Retailer estimates

Customerbehaviour

These local customers are also veryloyal. Traders believed that as many asone in four shoppers would visit just onestore (perhaps the vision is, parkingoutside) whereas in reality only 13% didso. They thought less than one in tenwould visit more than three stores;remarkably, almost 30% did so.

So the picture is of local shoppers,mainly walking to the shops, andvisiting a number of stores.Interestingly, this is also a picture ofhealthy, physically active lifestyles,populous streets and informal contactwith other local people. This is thepicture that urban planners, publichealth specialists and communityleaders want to see. Sustrans’ view isthat we should do all we can to supportand grow this active, community basedlocal market. Measures to do so aredescribed in the BEST action plan –“widening of the footway, removal ofobstructions, resurfacing works, dropkerbs, tactiles etc … and a shift in theRoad Hierarchy in favour of thepedestrian user”. In other words,restraint of motor traffic.

Shoppers’ attitudesto bus routeimprovementsThe planned bus route improvementswould have an impact on private motortraffic. While they would improve publictransport access to the Church Roadbusinesses, this is not the primaryobjective. Not surprisingly, local tradersare concerned that the net impact ontheir business might be negative. So thesurvey looked at how traders and theircustomers viewed the proposedchanges, and the picture in GloucesterRoad where works have already beencarried out.

In Church Road, just two percent of traders could envisage a positive impact from the plannedimprovements, and over half expectedtheir business to be harmed. It is verydifficult for a local authority to carry outworks in the face of such concern.Among customers however, thebalance between positive and negativewas much closer; 7% positive and 10%negative. Three quarters thought thingswould not change. Given that the publicare generally cynical about localauthority transport measures, and the negative publicity fostered by opponents of the bus routeimprovements, this lack of concernmight be interpreted almost as a vote ofconfidence.

4www.sustrans.org.uk

INFORMATION SHEET LN02

Shopping locallly can be a real part ofcommunity life

Pedestrians visit more shops. We have noevidence that they buy less than car drivers

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Retailers

Customers

Impact ofGloucesterRoad busimprovements:retailer andshopper views

Positive Negative Thesame

Don’tknow

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Retailers

Customers

Impact ofplanned ChurchRoad busimprovements:retailer andshopperforecasts

Positive Negative Thesame

Don’tknow

5www.sustrans.org.uk

“I’ll just be a minute”, the negative impact ofdrive-thru shoppers on a busy retail street maybe out of all proportion to the extra businessthey bring

In Gloucester Road, where much of theplanned work is complete, 40% oftraders felt the changes had harmedtheir business. However, whenshoppers are asked, 7% claim to shopthere less, 8% more, and a massive59% unchanged. The increase is notstatistically significant, of course, buttraffic restraint elsewhere in Europe hastended slightly to reduce retail turnoverduring the first year, before a positivemove as customers adjust to theimprovements(2), so it is reasonable toexpect that these figures will improve. Itis difficult, however, to reconcile thenegative trader response with the lack ofconcern expressed by customers.

Please note that traders were not asked“are your takings up or down?”, as thismight be due to other variables. Theywere asked “In your opinion, what effecthas the Showcase bus route had ontrade on Gloucester Road?”. One in fiveresponded “Don’t know”; it is of coursevery difficult to isolate the impact of thisone variable.

Pedestrians are greatcustomersNeighbourhood shopping areas oftenevolved before the era of massautomobile ownership. They are from atime when journeys to local shoppingcentres would be predominantly on

foot. Planners sought to promoteaccessibility in neighbourhood unitswithin a city, and shopping was usuallyplaced in the centre of theneighbourhood unit to minimise thewalking distance from the surroundingresidential area(3). Both of the surveyareas have dense residentialcatchments, and although they now findthemselves bisected by major arterialroads, most shoppers still walk.

It is very instructive to analyse how manybusinesses a shopper will visit,according to their mode of travel.Cyclists and car users make four timesas many single-shop visits aspedestrians – on foot, it is so mucheasier to call in to another shop on thesame trip. So almost four out of fivepedestrian shopping trips take in two tofive shops, compared with three fifths ofcar or bike trips.

Bus-borne shoppers behave more likepedestrians than car users, with morethan three quarters of them visiting twoto five shops during each shopping trip.The figures suggest that many car-borne shoppers are “drive-thru”shoppers, stopping to pick up one itemon the way to their eventual destination,rather than people for whom shoppingis their main purpose for visiting thearea. This will have a negative impact ona busy retail street, which is likely to bedisproportionate to the extra businessthat it generates.

Many people enjoy continental traffic-freespaces (Zurich)

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Car

On foot

Bus

Cycle

Who visits most shops? Number of businesses visited by mode of travel

1 2 to 3 4 to 5 5 or more Don’t know

6www.sustrans.org.uk

INFORMATION SHEET LN02

Most British cities have given top priority to the car...

... but people enjoy a more human environmentfor shopping

This evidence indicates that it would beadvantageous to local businesses tosupport measures aimed at attractingmore pedestrians and bus passengersto the local shopping centre rather thancar users. Major investment in thewalking environment, such as widerpavements and traffic restraintmeasures, should result in attractingmore regular, dedicated custom to thearea and have a positive impact onretailers and customers alike.

Further reading Sustrans, 2003, Traffic restraint and retailvitality reviewed studies in several UKcities, as well as the Graz study whichfirst brought to light the disparitybetween retailers’ interest in the car andtheir customers’ much broader travelchoice.

Ecolane, 2001, The Impact ofPedestrianisation on Retail EconomicActivity argued that “There is strongevidence of the proven benefits oflimited road closures” and that” a largenumber of studies conducted in Europeand elsewhere show that levels of retailactivity are generally improved”.However the report also noted that“there can be a reduction in turn-overduring a transition period of 1-2 years”.

Environ, 1992, Paved with Gold?Looked at transport and business inLeicester, and noted that “car borneshoppers are not of overridingimportance to trade in Leicester Citycentre. Numerically, bus passengersare far more important”.

Halcrow Fox, 2000, Central EdinburghTraffic Management Scheme:Pedestrian Surveys found that mostpeople arrived by bus (39.5%), followed

by people travelling on foot (25.2%).The car had less than 25% of the totaltransport spread.

Patrick Lingwood, 2000, Walking inTowns and Cities, Select Committee onEnvironment, Transport and RegionalAffairs is forthright. “the range andquality of facilities offered by localcentres, especially the availability offood shops, is an importantdeterminant of the extent to whichpeople use neighbourhood centres,rather than travel to centres elsewhere.The availability of facilities issubstantially more important than othertransport related factors such as publictransport or parking”.

Transport for London, 2004, RetailMonitoring: Shopper Satisfaction Survey2004

Transport and Travel Research Ltd,2002, The Impact of SustainableTransport Policies on the TravelBehaviour of Shoppers- Final Report

Transport for London, 2004, MakingLondon a Walkable City

For more informationwww.vivaldiproject.org

References1. Socialdata, 1991, Sanft Mobilitat

2. Ecolane, 2001, The Impact ofPedestrianisation on Retail EconomicActivity

3. Patrick Lingwood, 2000, Walking inTowns and Cities, Select Committeeon Environment, Transport andRegional Affairs

What is VIVALDI?

VIVALDI is a €40 million, four-yearproject, co-funded by the EUCIVITAS initiative. It involves fiveEuropean cities: Bristol; Bremen(Germany); Nantes (France); Aalborg(Denmark) and Kaunas (Lithuania).Bristol City Council co-ordinates theproject, and other local partnersinclude Sustrans, Dial-a-Ride, FirstBus and the University of West ofEngland.

The VIVALDI initiatives in Bristolinclude improved “showcase” buscorridors, the Dings home zone,clean fuel vehicles, improvedtransport information, TravelSmartindividualised travel marketingcampaigns, new walking and cyclingroutes and a range of otherimprovements.

Further informationFor further information on the Bristol retail travel study

visit www.sustrans.org.uk/liveableneighbourhoods

email liveableneighbourhoods@sustrans.org.uk

or call 0117 926 8893.

Photo credits: Sustrans staff

Sustrans 2006C