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The Triple Blow Effect : Retailing in an Era of Disasters and Pandemics—The Case of Christchurch, New Zealand

Dyason, David ; Fieger, Peter ; Prayag, Girish and Hall, C. Michael LU (2022) In Sustainability (Switzerland) 14(3).
Abstract

In the last two decades, the retail sector has experienced unprecedented upheaval, having severe implications for economic development and sustenance of traditional inner-city retail dis-tricts. In the city of Christchurch, New Zealand, this effect has been exacerbated by a series of earthquakes in 2010/2011 which destroyed much of the traditional retail precinct of the city. After exten-sive rebuild activity of the city’s infrastructure, the momentum of retailers returning to the inner city was initially sluggish but eventually gathered speed supported by increased international vis-itation. In early 2020, the return to retail normality came to an abrupt halt after the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic. This study uses spending and... (More)

In the last two decades, the retail sector has experienced unprecedented upheaval, having severe implications for economic development and sustenance of traditional inner-city retail dis-tricts. In the city of Christchurch, New Zealand, this effect has been exacerbated by a series of earthquakes in 2010/2011 which destroyed much of the traditional retail precinct of the city. After exten-sive rebuild activity of the city’s infrastructure, the momentum of retailers returning to the inner city was initially sluggish but eventually gathered speed supported by increased international vis-itation. In early 2020, the return to retail normality came to an abrupt halt after the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic. This study uses spending and transaction data to analyze the compounding impact of the earthquake’s aftermath, shift to online shopping, and the retail disruption in the Christchurch central retail precinct because of COVID-19. The findings illustrate how consumers through their spending respond to different types of external shocks, altering their consumption patterns and retail mode (offline and online) to cope with an ever-changing retail landscape. Each event triggers different spending patterns that have some similarities but also stark differences, having implications for a sustainable and resilient retail industry in Christchurch. Implications for urban retail precinct development are also discussed.

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author
; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Consumption displacement, COVID-19, Economic development, Online shopping, Retail
in
Sustainability (Switzerland)
volume
14
issue
3
article number
1779
publisher
MDPI AG
external identifiers
  • scopus:85123993921
ISSN
2071-1050
DOI
10.3390/su14031779
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
ad1ad59f-e64b-4595-9805-22a9c48d2026
date added to LUP
2022-04-07 13:55:20
date last changed
2023-01-01 20:59:52
@article{ad1ad59f-e64b-4595-9805-22a9c48d2026,
  abstract     = {{<p>In the last two decades, the retail sector has experienced unprecedented upheaval, having severe implications for economic development and sustenance of traditional inner-city retail dis-tricts. In the city of Christchurch, New Zealand, this effect has been exacerbated by a series of earthquakes in 2010/2011 which destroyed much of the traditional retail precinct of the city. After exten-sive rebuild activity of the city’s infrastructure, the momentum of retailers returning to the inner city was initially sluggish but eventually gathered speed supported by increased international vis-itation. In early 2020, the return to retail normality came to an abrupt halt after the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic. This study uses spending and transaction data to analyze the compounding impact of the earthquake’s aftermath, shift to online shopping, and the retail disruption in the Christchurch central retail precinct because of COVID-19. The findings illustrate how consumers through their spending respond to different types of external shocks, altering their consumption patterns and retail mode (offline and online) to cope with an ever-changing retail landscape. Each event triggers different spending patterns that have some similarities but also stark differences, having implications for a sustainable and resilient retail industry in Christchurch. Implications for urban retail precinct development are also discussed.</p>}},
  author       = {{Dyason, David and Fieger, Peter and Prayag, Girish and Hall, C. Michael}},
  issn         = {{2071-1050}},
  keywords     = {{Consumption displacement; COVID-19; Economic development; Online shopping; Retail}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{3}},
  publisher    = {{MDPI AG}},
  series       = {{Sustainability (Switzerland)}},
  title        = {{The Triple Blow Effect : Retailing in an Era of Disasters and Pandemics—The Case of Christchurch, New Zealand}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/su14031779}},
  doi          = {{10.3390/su14031779}},
  volume       = {{14}},
  year         = {{2022}},
}