Abstract:

A study on the spatial distribution and the format difference of large-scale retail business facilities is always essential to the optimization of urban business resources, and using POI (Point of Interest) data instead of traditional survey data increases the preciseness and reliability of the results of such a study. Therefore, taking Guangzhou as an example, based on large-scale retail business facilities POI data and using spatial econometric methods, this paper analyzes spatial distribution characteristics and the influencing factors of the overall distribution and the different format distribution of large-scale retail business facilities to improve relative studies of large-scale retail business facilities and to promote the targeted planning of large-scale retail business facilities further. The results of the case study are as follows: 1) Regarding the spatial distribution characteristics, generally, large-scale retail business facilities in Guangzhou form a multi-central agglomeration, and the degree of agglomeration decreases from the downtown area to the periphery. In addition, large-scale retail business facilities are distributed along the main roads, connecting important business areas to each other. Moreover, they are obviously adjacent to the metro stations in the city center but are not so obvious in the whole city because the city metro system is incomplete. There are differences in the distribution of the three different retail formats. Large-scale shopping malls are distributed mainly in the city center and in the sub-centers of the city and are more adjacent to the metro stations than the other two formats are. The distribution of large-scale supermarkets diffuses from the downtown area to the periphery. Large-scale specialty stores are distributed mainly in the periphery of the downtown area and are more adjacent to the main roads than the other two formats are. 2) Regarding the influencing factors, population, economic development, and rent have a significant effect on the overall distribution and the distribution of the three retail formats. The factors influencing the different formats also have differences. Distance to the city center has a positive impact on both the distribution of large-scale supermarkets and large-scale specialty stores, meaning that their distribution prefers farther location from the city center. Rent has a positive effect on the overall distribution and the distribution of large-scale shopping malls. Road density and proximity to life centers have a positive influence on the distribution of large-scale supermarkets, while proximity to industrial parks and specialized wholesale markets has a positive effect on the distribution of large-scale specialty stores. According to these results, the planning of large-scale retail business facilities should make efforts to meet the different demands of the different retail formats. The efforts include building more large-scale shopping malls in the periphery area with a growing population and rich land resource, building more large-scale supermarkets in the neighborhood of new life centers, and building more specialty stores near relative industrial parks and specialized wholesale markets properly. Through these efforts, the planning of large-scale retail business facilities can be promoted in a more detailed and more effective way.

Key words: large-scale retail business facilities, spatial distribution, format difference, POI data, Guangzhou