Is Location a competitive advantage on retail convenience shopping?

Retail sector is not sustainable although it is considered to be one of the biggest employment sectors in Tanzania. This is due to established retail shops which end up being closed after short period of time. The main objective of this study was to examine location as a competitive advantage on retail convenience shopping. Specifically, to assess the influence of parking facilities on retail convenience shopping, to determine the impact of accessibility on retail convenience shopping and to delineate the influence of shop visibility on retail convenience shopping. Data was collected through structured questionnaires which were distributed to 242 retail shop customers in Kinondoni- Dar es Salaam region. Convenience sampling was used to select retail shops in Kinondoni. Multiple linear regression was used to test the hypotheses. Findings of this study reveal that parking facilities, accessibility to the shop and shop visibility have positive and significant impact on retail convenience shopping at p > 0.001 significance level. Therefore, when choosing where to locate a retail shop, retailers should consider these three factors in order to be competitive in the market. We recommend future studies to focus on location and convenience shopping, as well as large supermarkets in Zanzibar.