Spatial consumer behaviour in small and medium-sized towns

Small and medium-sized towns are often recognized as important components of the rural economy. In this article, we focus on the current function of small and medium-sized towns in providing retail services to local households in five European countries. Furthermore, we analyse the spatial shopping behaviour of these households. It appears that towns are still important places for shopping: more than half of the purchases of households living in town or the direct hinterland are bought in town. We find that the length of residence in a rural area has a definite effect on the local orientation in shopping behaviour: newcomers ceteris paribus are more strongly oriented towards shopping destinations further away, which implies that the position of towns is not unchallenged