University of Washington
New retail geography



1) Reflects new developments in the study of economic geography:  beyond the neoclassical assumptions of short-run profit maximization by firms and of utility maximization by consumers, to considerations of:


Long-run corporate strategy

Capital and finance


Institutions:  long-lasting norms and requirements that shape social and economic behavior (c.f. "regulation")


Labor in retailing

Consumer behavior



2) Reflects new developments in the study of cultural geography:  beyond the comparison and interactions of traditional cultures across space, to considerations of:

Consumption as a cultural artifact

Varied cultures within a nation (class, gender and gender orientation, ethnicity, age)

Consumption as a political statement

Corporate/capitalist influence on culture


3) How can we use these studies?


SOURCES
Crang, P. and Malbon, B.  1996.  Consuming geographies: a review essay.  Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers 21(4): 704-711.

Lowe, M. and Wrigley, N.  The ‘continuously morphing’ retail TNC during market entry: interpreting Tesco’s expansion into the United States.  Economic Geography 86(4): 381-408.

Marston, S.A. and Modarres, A.  2002.  Flexible retailing: Gap Inc. and the multiple spaces of shopping in the United States.  Tijdschrift voor Economische en Sociale Geograpfie 93(1): 83-99.

Murphy, A.  2002.  The emergence of online food retailing: a stakeholder perspective.  Tijdschrift voor Economische en Sociale Geograpfie 93(1): 47-61.

Wrigley, N. and Lowe, M. eds.  1996.  Retailing, Consumption and Capital: Towards the New Retail Geography.  Harlow, England:  Longman.



Copyright James W. Harrington
revised 17 May 2011