The Spatial Nature of Retail Property: Evidence from Minna, Nigeria

Abstract

This study examines the nature of retail property by providing empirical evidence from Minna, Nigeria. Spatial data on 278 retail establishments transcending the major roads in the innercity neighbourhoods of the study area, socio-demography of their respective occupiers and the nature of retail services provided were collected by employing a mobile data collection software known as kobotool. This data allowed an overview of the composition of these retail spaces to be presented and compared across space. The analyses were conducted using GIS technologies, cross-tabulation, nearest neigbour analysis and descriptive analysis. A major finding from this study is the actuality of spatial differentiation in the distribution of the retail shops, with more retail establishments spatially clustered in the northern part of the study area. In view of this clustering tendency in the retail shops distribution, the study recommends that efforts on future urban planning and development as well as public policy should be directed towards the south part of the study area, so as promote balanced development of urban retail space in the study.