2017 Spencer Comprehensive Land Use Plan

Spencer, Iowa  2017  Comprehensive Plan

As of 2014 the pull factor for Spencer is 2.10. This means that Spencer’s retail is supporting more than double what is considered stable. Spencer is bringing in people from other areas to shop, while supporting their own residents as well. Even with strong retail competition from a tourist region in Dickinson County, the city is still not losing a considerable number of shoppers to that region. Below shows a regional map of cities around the Spencer area and the pull factors for those individual cities.

Figure 31 - Region map showing the Pull Factor (retail surplus or leakage indicator) for area cities

Source: Retail Trade Analysis Report, FY 2014, Iowa State University Dept. of Economics

TRADE AREA CAPTURE Another method for determining the amount of retail sales activity occurring in Spencer is to calculate the city’s trade area capture. The purpose of the trade area capture formula is to examine how many customers or potential purchasers are spending their dollars in Spencer to shop for any type of product at any given time. The trade area capture estimates the portion of customers the city attracts or loses from within and outside its boundaries. The trade area capture analysis is also used by retail sectors to understand trade growth or decline.

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NW Iowa Planning & Development