Modelling the attraction of travel to shopping destinations in large-scale modelling

Development of major shopping centres continues even though online shopping is increasing. This has implications for mode and destination choice for shopping travel and therefore also for sustainability, which need to be considered in planning policy. In this paper, we estimate models for shopping travel using an unusually rich data set of shopping attractions. We find that shopping travel is best represented in three separate models: consumables in short and long activity segments and durables. In all of these models, we show that representing nearby attractions outside the destination zone adds to the measured attraction. For long activity consumables and for durables, the addition of secondary attractions within 2 km of the main destination gives the best models. For short activity consumables, both 2 km and 5 km add to the model, but 5 km is slightly better. Furthermore, we find significant within-zone correlation in the consumables models but are unable to find significant between-zone correlation, indicating that zone boundaries have some behavioural meaning for shopping travellers, but larger areas are not viewed in this way. Shopping attractions with a specifically Swedish impact, Systembolaget (official alcohol outlet in Sweden) and IKEA, proved to be important in all the models. These attractors work better as part of the size than as part of the utility, indicating that they appear to be separate attractors of trips, rather than as adding to the utility of other attractors. The models are also applied in two policy scenario analyses in which the impacts of new IKEA establishments and availability of Systembolaget in all zones on destination and mode choice are assessed.