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Although formal techniques of locational analysis have been available for over 50 years, most retailers traditionally made no use of them, relying instead on intuition guided by experience and “common sense”. However, the simultaneous advent in the last 15 years of low cost computing and the increasing availability of retail related data of all types has given retailers the opportunity to take a much more rational approach to decision making. This paper examines the extent to which retailers have taken advantage of the potential released by these developments, and adopted more “scientific” rules based methodologies. The analysis is based on an extensive questionnaire survey of UK retailers conducted in 1998 which encompassed organisations operating altogether more than 50,000 outlets across eight sectors. The survey sought to identify the use made both of particular types of techniques, and of Geographical Information Systems, which act as a platform for them. It was complemented by a series of in‐depth interviews with location specialists in a number of major retail organisations.

Purpose: This chapter explores the current hybridization between true crime and nonfiction investigative documentaries on Video on Demand (VOD) platforms. It would seem necessary to distinguish true crime productions from long-form journalistic documentaries in order to avoid confusion between different products that do not pursue the same ends, such as audiovisual products with highly emotive and engaging components versus a journalistic approach to the truth about what happened. Methodology/approach: The analysis is based on the specific theory of true crime developed by Punnett, who provides genuine narrative codes (Justice, Subversive, Geographic, Forensic, Vocative, and Folkloric) for true crime to distinguish it from the formal conventions and social objectives of journalistic documentaries. The case study (El crimen de Alcàsser) was selected because of its potential to drive a detailed and in-depth study on one of the most traumatic crimes in the country’s recent history: the kidnapping, rape, torture, and killing of three teenagers in 1992. Findings: Several scholars have identified journalistic elements in true crime productions in the digital context, adopted in an attempt to distance them from the true crime tradition of appealing to primitive instincts. Although it has been perceived also as a renewed formula for journalism to reach a wide audience and mainstream success, it banishes journalism from its origin and goals: to guarantee the citizenship’s right to be truly informed about crime. In this way, journalistic documentaries inspired by real crimes may play a crucial role in a democratic society, while true crime only exploits the empathy of viewers and places them in the active participation of determining the suspect-protagonist’s guilt as a mode of “clickable” entertainment in the digital culture. Research limitations: This is the first in a series of studies within a broader research project on true crime documentaries released on the VOD platforms in Spain. The findings are, in this case, preliminary. The analysis needs additional testing before its utility can be reasonably determined and a theory about true crime made in Spain could be developed. Originality: First, there is no specific research in the field of true crime in Spain, although crime stories already enjoyed a prominent place in Spain’s conventional TV programming. Second, the Punnett analysis model introduces an interesting way to complement existing theoretical references about the connections between true crime and journalism.

To detail the changing nature of retail and service activity in Canada's downtowns and examine the role of business improvement areas (BIAs) in promoting downtown vitality.

The research is based on a combination of retail structural analysis and case study research. The structural analysis provides data on transitioning urban demographics and tracks retail and service activity sales change in Canada's major metropolitan downtowns. The case study reports an overview of findings from in‐depth research with the Downtown Yonge BIA. A small number of retail metrics are presented.

The paper highlights the significant suburb shift in retail activity across Canada's metropolitan areas and the associated challenges that this has resulted in for the downtown. The role of BIAs are outlined, and examined with reference to operation of the BIA concept within the downtown core of Canada's largest metropolitan market, Toronto.

The research has been selective in focusing on the Downtown Yonge BIA, the experiences of BIAs across Toronto (and other Canada metropolitan areas) are likely to vary widely. Highlights the need to develop metrics to measure performance and compare BIAs.

The paper provides an interesting perspective on BIA strategies, with the selected metrics providing BIA managers and urban planners with a set of additional measures to assess BIA performance

The paper relates BIA planning to the development of performance metrics.

Considers the potential that retail loyalty card schemes offer for a more informed understanding of consumer behaviour. With the widespread introduction of loyalty card schemes across the UK, Europe and North America, retailers now have the opportunity to link detailed shopping pattern information to the individual consumer. Data gathered from loyalty card transactions can be referenced to the address of the individual, and as such, can be considered to be a particular type of potential geographic information. Based on detailed semi‐structured interviews within five UK retail organisations that have implemented loyalty card schemes, the article shows the nature of data analysis and applications at present, with data being mostly utilised in direct marketing. It is argued that recognition of the geographic nature of loyalty card data is currently lacking amongst scheme operators, yet is vital if higher order functions are to be realised. To that end, the paper presents visual frameworks that position loyalty card data within the organisational hierarchy and highlight potential techniques and applications that can be achieved via loyalty card data analysis.