Using GIS for Retail Location Assessment at Jeddah City

Abstract

GIS software has different useful tools that can be used for sites, demographic and competitive analysis. These tools enable retail and market researchers to find solutions related to many retail planning issues. The aim of this paper is to use Geographical Information Systems (GIS) for retail location assessment of two retail centers called Al-Dawly and Al-Mahmal centers located at Jeddah city, Saudi Arabia. The first part of the paper presents a review about retail centers classification and about GIS applications in retail planning field. The second part of the paper discuss the outputs of the created application which include a-defining retail catchment area, b-building retail demand profile, and c-analyzing retail catchment area. The results of this application can be used by retail planners for evaluating retail centers location and for identifying the extent of retail market