Exploring spatial distribution of retail stores in South Korea

In location decisions, retailers generally choose to cluster stores to capture more customers. This study examines the spatial distribution of retail stores in South Korea, and provides empirical guidelines for practitioners in urban planning and property management. Three areas representing urban, semi-urban, and rural regions were chosen for the study and analyzed using the L-function and variogram analysis, which are standard evaluation tools for geographical clustering. Stores such as private academies were found to be located close to each other at the shortest distance, followed by real-estate offices and sports equipment stores. The L-function analysis showed that stores were clustered within a distance of up to 2 km in Seoul, 6 km in Gyeonggi province, and 10 km in Gangwon province. In addition, the identified scales correspond approximately to the spatial dependence ranges of land prices. These results are expected to be utilized to design commercial zones in urban planning and delineate cluster boundaries.