Delineating retail conurbations: A rules-based algorithmic approach

•Retail conurbations provide a statistically robust, base zonal geography.•An adapted TTWA algorithm is an effective method for delineating retail conurbations.•The self-containment component effectively aids in maximising internal customer flows.•Study indicates that the adapted TTWA algorithm out-performs common practise methods.

Retail conurbations may be defined as market areas with high intra-market movement. A limited range of approaches has been used to delineate such retail conurbations. This paper evaluates a simplified version of an existing zone design method used to define labour market areas, the Travel-To-Work-Area algorithm (TTWA), for application in a retail context. Geocoded loyalty card spend data recorded by Boots UK Limited, a large health and beauty retailer, were used to develop retail conurbations (newly termed Travel-To-Store-Areas (TTSAs)) for several UK regions using this algorithm. The output TTSA boundaries displayed significantly greater intra-zone flows compared to existing retail conurbation delineation approaches. There is thus scope for researchers and analysts to broaden the zone design approaches used to develop retail conurbations.