Keywords:
fashion
store performance
retail agglomeration
store traffic
store location

  • Abstract

    Owing to stiff competition from other platforms such as e-commerce and direct sellers, apparel retailers face declining sales. While numerous studies have evaluated the drivers of consumer behavior for apparel, few studies have focused on footfall drivers for offline retail formats. This study seeks to provide a comprehensive view of the antecedents of footfall on the basis of published research and its impact on store performance. The methodology adopted is a systematic literature review based on the SPAR-4-SLR framework and bibliometric analysis of research publications from 1970-2024. Pareto analysis of publication data was used to evaluate the impact of research across countries, organizations, and publishers. The volume of research on apparel stores is significantly greater than research on retail footfall, with the bulk of research publications published in North America and Southeast Asia. The content analysis evaluated published literature on retail footfall to identify themes in the research. The predominant antecedents of retail footfall among organized apparel retail outlets identified through the study are location, retail agglomeration, promotions, and unforeseen events such as COVID-19. The findings call for research on standalone organized retail formats in high streets or other commercial zones instead of agglomerations such as malls. There is also a need for research on footfall in unorganized retail agglomerations such as bazaars and thrift stores. Furthermore, research on footfall in South Asia is limited to primary data and observational studies. In contrast, studies in Western Europe and developed nations employ various data sources, including geospatial data, location intelligence, and other technologies.

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Devanesan, M. D., & Venkatesh, R. (2025). Antecedents of retail footfall among apparel stores – A systematic literature review. Multidisciplinary Reviews, 9(1), 2026005. https://doi.org/10.31893/multirev.2026005
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