GCSE GEOGRAPHY COURSEWORK PREPARATION

1. GCSE GEOGRAPHYCOURSEWORK PREPARATION SHOPPING PATTERNS IN SOLIHULL

2. SHOPPING PATTERNS IN SOLIHULL Your study has strong links to many Human Geography topics in particular shopping, but it also has links to settlement, industry and economic activity. It is crucially important that you realise the connection between your coursework and Geography and that you can put your work into context i.e. how it fits into your GCSE and why you are doing it. You need to be aware of the following aspects of SHOPPING: • How shopping habits have changed over time • Shopping Hierarchy and how this has changed over time • Types of goods that people buy – high and low order goods • Sphere of Influence.

3. First things first…. • Types of goods (what they sell for you to buy) • Low order goods: essential every day items, convenience goods – such as bread, milk food etc. Historically these goods would have been bought from corner shops (though now obviously supermarkets have replaced their importance.) • High order goods: those needed less frequently, non-essential often luxurious items, comparison goods such as electrical items, furniture, designer label clothes etc. They are more expensive and are generally bought from large shopping centres, retail parks etc where people can shop around and have a larger choice.

4. What is hierarchy?

5. In brief……..!!! As you go up a hierarchy the quantity is generally less but the importance greater.

6. What is shopping hierarchy? • Shops can be placed into a hierarchy based on the services they provide. At the bottom of the hierarchy are small shops selling low order, convenience goods (e.g. bread and milk). At the top are the shops selling high order goods (e.g. furniture and electrical goods).

7. What was the British shopping hierarchy of the 1960's and 1970's? This diagram shows the shopping hierarchy for Britain in the 1960s/70s. At the bottom are corner shops which sell low order goods. They are greater in number than any other shopping area. Above the corner shops are suburban parades and secondary centres. These sell middle order goods. This is usually a mixture of convenience and specialist goods. There are usually several of these areas within a large settlement. At the top is the CBD (central business district - town/city centre). There is usually only one CBD in a town or city. The CBD contains shops which sell comparison goods (shops containing goods which you will compare the prices of - due to their expense!), luxury and specialist shops.

8. What is today's British shopping hierarchy? • Can you spot the difference between today's modern settlement hierarchy with the hierarchy from the 1960's/70's? • The CBD is no longer at the top of the shopping hierarchy It has been superseded by regional shopping centres (e.g. Meadowhall, The Metro Centre and Merryhill). Due to increased mobility (the result of increased car ownership) people can travel further to shops, visit shops with a wider range and volume of stock and buy in bulk. • There have also been other, less obvious, changes in the settlement hierarchy For example the number of corner shops have reduced. This is the result of greater mobility, the limited and often expensive range of goods available and due to more people being paid monthly they buy in bulk from supermarkets. • In some areas CBDs have declined due to competition with regional shopping centres. Dudley is an examples of this. The construction of the Merryhill Shopping Centre has caused huge problems in Dudley the local CBD. Many shops have closed or moved to the shopping centre

9. So what is the difference?How has shopping hierarchy changed?

10. Sphere of InfluenceThe sphere of influence of a shop, shopping area or service is how far people will travel to make use of it. For example, a corner shop selling low order goods will have a smaller sphere of influence than a shopping mall selling high order goods. People are more willing to travel a long distance to get to a high order service (e.g. Harrods shop in London) as there will be a wider choice and it therefore has a very large sphere of influence. 0 10 miles

11. In Summary In general, the larger the settlement, the greater the variety of shops and services. Convenience goods and groceries will be available in small settlements, though larger stores and comparison goods require a visit to a town or city. This is the shopping hierarchy. • The threshold population is the number of people needed to ensure that a shop or service is profitable. A village shop may need a few hundred people to keep it going, but a large supermarket will need thousands of customers. • The sphere of influence or catchment area is the distance or range that people are prepared to travel to buy goods or services. This idea is linked to the shopping hierarchy. • The sphere of influence is dependent on factors such as transport links, availability of parking and quality of the environment. The quantity, type and nature (eg. Whether they are exclusive to this place or found in all shopping centres) are also important. Also of importance is whether or not the shopping area will draw people from a wider area is what else it has to offer alongside shops e.g. eateries, a cinema, sports facilities etc. This is more likely to make people travel further as they can have an all round day out. This makes more distant settlements more attractive to shoppers in some cases, despite the same goods being available more locally. • The internet is rapidly changing the geography of retail, especially for groceries and certain comparison goods.

12. In summary – why have shopping habits changed? • People’s lifestyles have changed both economically and socially • Better transport facilities so people can travel further • More people have their own cars • Small shops have declined due to competition from larger shopping areas and retail parks who generally have cheap or free parking • Whole day experience provided by many shopping areas • Longer opening hours so can shop after work • Greater choice of shop • Supermarkets have all your needs under one roof as far as the weekly grocery shop is concerned • People are more fashion conscience so want labels and more original clothing • People want more specialist electrical equipment so shops to cater for these needs too • More people have higher income • Fuel prices • Credit cards • Terror scares • Internet and mail order • Ebay