Multi-outlet retail site location assessment

One of the most important decisions a retailer can make is where to locate a retail outlet. Because convenience is so important to today's consumers, a retail store can prosper or fail solely based on its location. Recently, a changing retail environment is augmenting the location importance as retail economic groups develop multi-outlet chains of small stores. The methods used in the development and calibration of location models for commercial spaces and sales forecast are multiple, varying from simple analogy forecast models to very complex spatial interactions models, which may incorporate dependence models in a gravitational or logit structure and many exploratory variables. More recent developments incorporating meta-heuristics such as genetic algorithms for the global problem of the multi-outlet chain configuration, or the use of Voronoi diagrams in store trade area delimitation, are also presented. Finally, the Geographical Information Systems' role on the decision support process is equally explored.