Open Geosciences 2020; 12: 1541–1556 Research Article Zhao Yannan, Zhang Lu*, and Zhang Xinhuan* The spatial distribution of retail outlets in Urumqi: The application of points of interest https://doi.org/10.1515/geo-2020-0149 provide a reference for guiding the adjustment and opti- received May 17, 2020; accepted October 21, 2020 mization of retail layouts. Abstract: Studies on the distribution of retail outlets are Keywords: retail outlets, category, spatial distribution, crucial for optimizing urban resource allocation, and POIs, Urumqi their rationalized layout plays an important role in devel- oping urban economies and meeting consumer demand. However, the literature on the subject has been limited by data collection. In the era of big data, there has been an 1 Introduction emergence of geo-referenced data that are more accurate and convenient and thus more able to be applied in the Rapid urbanization has brought drastic changes to the [ ] retail analysis. This study addresses this lacuna by development of contemporary retail 1 . Although there exploring the spatial distribution of various retail outlets are lots of online shopping stores, retail stores occupy an with the application of points of interest. Our study important place in modern cities, particularly in terms of [ ] demonstrates that (1) the retail outlets in Urumqi are con- economic growth and employment 2,3 . Retail activity, centrated in the inner city. The inner-city area has which is one of the most important cost factors for urban fl a higher density distribution of retail outlets, and the residents, has played a powerfully in uential role not ff development of the retail function is more mature. (2) only in socioeconomic development but also in a ecting ’ [ – ] Various categories of retail outlets display dissimilar urban residents life quality 4 6 . Studies on the spatial fi agglomeration characteristics and hot spots. Specialty distribution of retail outlets have signi cant importance stores, clothing and footwear stores, convenience stores, for land management and the optimization of urban [ ] and home-building material markets have lower average resource allocation 5 , and its rationalized layout is nearest-neighbor distances. (3) The retail outlets in the critical for the development of urban economies and [ ] subject area are directionally distributed in the north- meeting consumer demands 7,8 . west–southeast direction, which is the result of both With the continuous development of the retail - the topographical condition and government interven- industry, the issues of retail outlets are gaining increas [ ] tion in Urumqi. (4) Various categories of retail outlets ing attention 9 . Previous studies have focused on retail [ ] [ ] tend to agglomerate at different scales. These results location 10 , hierarchy 11 , consumer behavior and [ ] are conducive to the exploration of the location rules commercial space 12 , and retail outlet aggregation and [ ] and layout preferences of retail locations, and they competition 13 . Studies on the distribution patterns of retail outlets are of great significance to understanding retail industry rules [14]. However, what has been missed in previous studies is that the retail outlets can be divided into several categories (e.g., supermarkets and conveni- * Corresponding author: Zhang Lu, Department of International ence stores), which raises the research question that what Economics and Trades, School of International Economics and - Management, Beijing Technology and Business University, Beijing, are the distribution characteristics of various retail out 100048, China, e-mail: [email protected] lets. Ignoring the differences is unfavorable to display * Corresponding author: Zhang Xinhuan, State Key Laboratory of different characteristics in spatial distribution. One of Desert and Oasis Ecology, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and the reasons for the research lacuna is the lack of data. Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi 830011, China, The data used in retail studies have traditionally mostly - e mail: [email protected] - Zhao Yannan: Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural been obtained through economic census data and ques Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chaoyang tionnaire surveys, which has led to a lack of timeliness District, Beijing 100101, China, e-mail: [email protected] and comprehensiveness of such studies. Generally, two Open Access. © 2020 Zhao Yannan et al., published by De Gruyter. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. 1542 Zhao Yannan et al. obstacles make it a challenge to obtain proper data. The to study properties in space. An enormous need is felt first obstacle is the limitation of data availability. The fact to utilize POIs for retail studies as the pace at which that the retail industry generates an enormous amount of new communities have grown and the sheer number of information makes it very difficult to obtain. The second geospatial variables have been generated in the process obstacle pertains to the fact that most information on the cannot be efficiently captured traditionally. In terms of retail industry is not available to the public. As noted by research, we propose POI as an alternative data source Tomlan [15], although commercial activity is everywhere for characterizing spatial distribution for the following and well-known, the identification and utilization of reasons. The greatest advantage of POIs is that they are “good” data are relatively new developments. entities of interest with well-defined locations. Another Big data bring opportunities and challenges to spa- obvious feature of POIs is that they are available from tial data mining. In addition to the use of statistical data, service providers as well as in online maps. In addition, and other types of data, open-access data play an in- POIs have great potential for global analyses since they creasing role in related studies [16]. Recent advances in provide nearly global coverage. With all these advan- some geospatial big data, such as location-based service tages, POIs offer new avenues for exploring the geogra- data [17], points of interest (POIs)[18], and open data phies of user-generated content. from Internet, have been applied to the research of urban Existing studies on the application of POIs in retail structure. Specifically, POIs, i.e., specific point locations outlet analysis focused on the three research agendas. that may be useful or interesting, represent an explosion The first research agenda is to explore the spatial distri- of rich, spatially embedded information. As a conse- bution pattern of retail outlets. The rational distribution quence, there is a proliferation of research using POIs of retail outlets is of great significance to the economic in commercial studies [19]. In contrast to traditional sta- development of a city and to satisfy the daily consump- tistical data, POI data sets represent a much finer grained tion of residents. Some scholars explored the agglomera- picture of retail distribution [20]. Gaode map, which is a tion and spatial patterns of retail outlets [24]. In addition, map software used as a proxy for retail outlets, records previous studies show that the spatial distribution of the location information and helps to identify spatial dis- retail outlets is related to the transport infrastructure [2] tribution characteristics for retail centers. In addition, and street centrality [20]. The second research agenda studies on retail outlets in northwestern China, which focuses on the identification of retail hot spots and the has been characterized as a less developed area, are quite delineation of type zones. The identification of retail out- limited. Thus, the main aim of our analysis is to analyze lets plays an important role in the study of urban com- the distribution characteristics of various retail outlets mercial structure. Previous studies explored the scope, with the application of POIs. spatial structure, and mode of commercial centers in The remainder of this study is organized as follows. cities such as Beijing and Guangzhou [25,26]. The third Section 2 reviews the rationality of the application in research agenda is to evaluate commercial services which retail studies. Section 3 describes the study area, data are essential to increase the attractiveness of customers. sources, and methods. Section 4 reports the main results Previous studies show that there is a spatial distribution of the study while Section 5 discusses the main findings difference in customer satisfaction. Among these, the lo- as well as some limitations of the analysis. Finally, Sec- cation of metro stations and business centers is the key tion 6 presents our main conclusions and some avenues factor for customers’ satisfaction with commercial facil- for future research. ities [27]. Some scholars also discussed the rationality of commercial service facilities’ layout [28]. This is the first research agenda to be addressed by our analysis. The overall distribution of retail outlets has 2 POIs as data sets in the literature been well examined in Western European and Southeast Asian countries and Japan from the perspectives of cen- In the era of big data, we have seen the emergence of geo- tral place and economic agglomeration theories [29–31]. referenced data which have increasingly attracted in- China has undergone a very dramatic shift from the scar- terest from geographic information system (GIS) scholars city of basic