Dept. of Geography, University of Georgia, 210 Field St., Rm. 204, Athens, GA 30602, USA; Dept. of Financial Planning, Housing, & Consumer Economics, University of Georgia, Dawson Hall, 305 Sanford Dr., Athens, GA 30602, USA.
Dept. of Health Policy and Management, University of Georgia, 211D Wright Hall, Health Sciences Campus, 100 Foster Rd., Athens, GA 30602, USA.
Soc Sci Med. 2018 Jul;209:125-135. doi: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2018.05.046. Epub 2018 May 26.
Retailer mobility, defined as the shifting geographic patterns of retail locations over time, is a significant but understudied factor shaping neighborhood food environments. Our research addresses this gap by analyzing changes in proximity to SNAP authorized chain retailers in the Atlanta urban area using yearly data from 2008 to 2013. We identify six demographically similar geographic clusters of census tracts in our study area based on race and economic variables. We use these clusters in exploratory data analysis to identify how proximity to the twenty largest retail food chains changed during this period. We then use fixed effects models to assess how changing store proximity is associated with race, income, participation in SNAP, and population density. Our results show clear differences in geographic distribution between store categories, but also notable variation within each category. Increasing SNAP enrollment predicted decreased distances to almost all small retailers but increased distances to many large retailers. Our chain-focused analysis underscores the responsiveness of small retailers to changes in neighborhood SNAP participation and the value of tracking chain expansion and contraction in markets across time. Better understanding of retailer mobility and the forces that drive it can be a productive avenue for future research.
零售商的流动性，是指零售商地理位置随时间的变化，是影响社区食品环境的一个重要但研究不足的因素。本研究通过分析 2008 年至 2013 年期间，亚特兰大市区内接近 SNAP 授权连锁零售商的变化情况，填补了这一空白。我们根据种族和经济变量，在研究区域内确定了六个在人口统计学上相似的普查区地理集群。我们使用这些集群进行探索性数据分析，以确定在此期间，与 20 家最大的零售食品连锁店的接近程度如何变化。然后，我们使用固定效应模型来评估商店位置的变化如何与种族、收入、SNAP 参与度和人口密度相关。我们的研究结果表明，不同商店类别在地理位置上存在明显差异，但在每个类别中也存在显著的变化。SNAP 参与度的增加预测到几乎所有小型零售商的距离都会缩短，但许多大型零售商的距离会增加。我们的连锁零售商集中分析强调了小型零售商对社区 SNAP 参与度变化的敏感性，以及随着时间的推移跟踪市场上连锁零售商的扩张和收缩的重要性。更好地理解零售商的流动性及其驱动因素，可以为未来的研究提供一个富有成效的途径。
