Retail churn can bring both volatility and vitality to a neighborhood

Local neighborhoods seldom remain static – but why do some have a greater turnover of retailers than others? And can excessive retail churn be a bad thing? Using New York business data, Rachel Meltzer investigates these questions, finding that bigger households and higher shares of white residents are most strongly associated with less retail churn, as are having more restaurants, more necessity services (like grocery stores or drug stores) and a greater diversity of businesses. Population growth, on the other hand, is the strongest predictor of greater retail turnover. She writes that local government and nonprofits can use this information to encourage more businesses that will benefit the community, such as independents and those which provide needed services.