Comparing and Integrating Location Selection Criteria’s and Indicators of Chain Stores from The Perspective of Customers and Retail Industry Experts with Geomarketing Approach

The present study aims to compare and integrate the location selection criteria’s and indicators of chain stores from the perspective of customers and retail industry experts with a geomarketing approach. The analytical method applied in the experts’ section was a combination of fuzzy Delphi technique and Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and in the customer section, a combination of KMO index and Bartlett test in Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) and Friedman classification test with SPSS software was utilized. The statistical population includes experts and customers of the retail industry in Tehran. In this study, firstly, both the need to address the issue of optimal location of retail stores as well as the necessity of locating these centers were explained. In the next section, the most significant criteria’s and indicators of retail stores location selection were identified and ranked from the perspective of experts and customers. In the next step, comparison and integration between the criteria’s and indicators of chain stores location selection from the perspective of customers and experts were performed. Finally, a comprehensive model of Integrating location selection indicators from the perspective of customers and experts using structural equation modeling with Smart PLS software was presented. At the end, it can be mentioned that macro-level research findings provides a framework for the optimal location selection of retail stores with a geomarketing approach.