The effect of events on retail area visits

Many retail areas are in a “vicious circle” of declining retail area visits and store closures. Cities try to mitigate this negative development through interventions that revitalize retail areas, one of which is events. This study examines whether and which events can have a positive incremental (or: net) effect on retail area visits. Specifically, it explores which event characteristics and event timing increase retail area visits most. An analysis of panel data from events in two cities against synthetic control groups shows that events have a positive effect on retail area visits during the event (+5.9% visitor increase), without a negative pre/post cannibalization of visits. The positive effect of events is contingent on event characteristics and timing: Retail events (+22.2%, vs. non-retail events) exacerbate the positive effect on visits, while longer events diminish it. However, the event-driven increase in visits to a retail area might be redistributive, coming at the cost of visits to neighboring city retail areas, which creates potential trade-offs for event organizers. These findings can help policymakers and retailers as empirical benchmarks for event effectiveness, as events come at a substantial cost.