Know-How Exchange : Research/Metrics

The answer is obviously a range. Some people are not willing to drive more than 10 minutes, while others may drive an hour. And it's probably different in rural, suburbs, city. And 10 minutes could be 2 miles in some places and 6 miles in others.

The more interesting question is whether people who drive further (i.e., make a greater investment in the shopping occasion) shop less frequently and/or spend more per visit on average than those who don't travel so far.

And urban dwellers (as in New York, for example) may not drive at all. They might walk or take public transportation.

Also note that the distance may be more a function of how far their favorite retail outlet is than their "willingness" to drive. If I'm committed to Nordstrom's and the nearest Nordstrom's store is 15 miles away from where I live, I might be willing to drive that far, even if there are several other retailers nearer.

Similarly, if I live very near my favorite retailer I might not be willing to drive any farther than that.

What are you hoping to do with an answer (if we could come up with one)?

Compared to what?

For a quart of milk, I wouldn't go far.

For a new computer, I'd go a bit further. Within reason, I would go further if the further away store had the item for less money than a closer store did.

To buy a new Ferrari, I have to go where the dealer is no matter how far it is.

So it depends on what the person is buying and how much they value it.

my 2 cents:
1) range: we used 30 miles (robustness check: 10 miles) in a project to evaluate the impact of adding clothes stores (Pauwels and Neslin, Marketing Science Institute, 2008)
2) whatever your range, make sure to count from both people's home and from their work place: folks that live outside the city but go inside for work, often go shopping right after work

koen

Depends on the brand and the customer's desire to buy a specific brand. This is why many retail stores ask for my zip code when I check out.