Urban Consumers' Cognitions of Distance

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Abstract
This paper examines the relationship between consumers' cognitions of distances and the physical distances that separate shops in the micro-spatial retail environment. Initially, the geographical literature pertaining to distance cognition is reviewed and areas that merit further research are identified. Methods of measuring individuals' cognitions of distance are discussed and potential measurement errors assessed. By means of ‘ratio estimation’, consumers' judgements of distances involving shoe shops in the central shopping area of Maidstone are converted to metre estimates. These are regressed with the true distances, for various consumer groups that reflect a) whether shops are regularly part of comparison behaviour, b) levels of constraints acting upon consumer spatial activity and c) consumer socio-economic characteristics. The results parallel the distance overestimation found in more macro-spatial studies. However, the mathematical form of the regressions varies over consumer groups. Also, significantly less of the variation in cognitive distance is explained by physical distance than is the case at the macro-spatial level. The results suggest that time estimates may be a component of micro-spatial cognitions of distance, especially for the more elderly.

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