What are shopping hierarchies? can someone please tell me!?

Question

Does anyone know what a shopping hierarchy is in geography? please help. what do they show? is there any geography teacher that can help me? PLEASE!!:):)

Answer 1

Shopping Hierarchy

• In general, the larger the settlement, the greater the variety of shops and services. Convenience goods and groceries will be available in small settlements, though larger stores and comparison goods require a visit to a town or city. This is the shopping hierarchy.
• The threshold population is the number of people needed to ensure that a shop or service is profitable. A village shop may need a few hundred people to keep it going, but a large supermarket will need thousands of customers.
• The sphere of influence or catchment area is the distance or range that people are prepared to travel to buy goods or services. This idea is linked to the shopping hierarchy.
• The sphere of influence is dependent on factors such as transport links, availability of parking and quality of the environment. This makes more distant settlements more attractive to shoppers in some cases, despite the same goods being available more locally.
• The internet is rapidly changing the geography of retail, especially for groceries and certain comparison goods.