Introduction | Buying Power | Grocery Store | Drug Store | Market Studies | Conclusion & Sources

The study first wanted to find out how much of each business type the Mystery District could support.  Demand taken up by the competition within the area was subtracted out and, and the total available square footage for each retail type that is unsatisfied in the area by competition was determined.

Consumer expenditure for each retail category was initially needed. National data is the only available data of this nature. It details how much different income groups spend on different goods. Each good also has a different trade area than the next -- this had to be taken into account. The study chose to analyze certain businesses they thought might be appropriate to the area. With specific goods to research, the trade areas for each good were determined from the Retail Location Analysis Manual (CEDC, 1970). With the trade areas determined, they referred to U.S. Census data to find median household income and the number of households in the trade area. Using the Consumer Expenditure Survey, the median household income was used to find how much is spent, per household, on each good.

Figure 7 shows the goods studied and some of the calculations and assumptions made in determining which goods would be appropriate for the Mystery District.

Figure 7.
Shows calculations and assumptions used to determine which goods would be appropriate for the Mystery District.

The group then determined the effective trade area of the Mystery District by subtracting out the shared, competitive square footage of adjacent trade areas. Figure 8 shows which businesses would be viable in the Mystery District due to the remaining market demand. As the chart shows, the demand for liquor stores in the area is saturated, so this use was not recommended as an option for development.

Figure 8.
Shows which businesses would be appropriate according to the unsatisfied demand in square feet.

The Horizon Convention Center also has an influence on the study area. The group considered only the conventions that would bring in people from outside Muncie, thus indicating that the convention attendees would stay overnight in a local hotel. The Convention Center provided some information for the group to use in their calculations:

• 31 conventions per year
• 99,861 annual attendees
• Average stay of 2.5 days
• Average spending of $120 per person, per day

It was also important to know how the $120 per person, per day was spent. After reviewing a feasibility study provided for Buffalo, New York's convention center, certain goods and services were determined to be appropriate for the Mystery District, as seen in Figure 9.

Figure 9.
Details the adjustments made to the demand for certain goods, after consideration of the Horizon Convention Center.

The viability of childcare for the Mystery District was also studied. It was assumed that the trade area for a childcare center was two miles and that children between the ages of 1 and 5 would be using the service. Ten childcare centers are located in the trade area. According to the average square footage of a service of this type, and the square footage required per child, they were able to determine that these competitors provided service for approximately 660 children. According to census data, this mean that around 3,700 children in the trade area were not provided with daycare opportunities. With an estimate of $95 per week, per child, this means that there is a demand of around $15 million for childcare service. This study shows that a childcare center might also have the opportunity to succeed in the Mystery District.

Additional analysis showed that a grocery store, a laundromat, a dry cleaner, a specialty apparel, a shoe store, or a bookstore would be appropriate for the Mystery District.

Students Alan Flora, B.J. Ziskal, John Roach, Sarah Chmielak, Jesse Pohlman, and Amy Sharp  developed this study.