%0 Thesis
%9 Master
%A Zijlstra, Lena, A.H.
%D 2022
%F theses_frw:4129
%P 44
%T Decreasing footfall rates during Covid-19: a catalyst on retail vacancy in the Netherlands?
%U https://frw.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/4129/
%X During 2020 and 2021, the Dutch government enforced restrictions to prevent the Covid-19 virus from spreading, which had considerable implications for the Dutch retail sector. The consequences of these restrictions were mainly visible in a significant decrease in footfall in Dutch shopping streets. Consequences of the significant decrease in footfall in Dutch shopping areas have yet to be investigated in existing literature, only a few studies have addressed this issue so far. Therefore, this study investigates the relationship between footfall and retail vacancy in shopping areas in the Netherlands, especially during Covid-19. A Logistic Regression Model (LRM) was performed on a large dataset containing property level data on 15,221 unique retail properties in 84 different shopping areas in the Netherlands. The results show that the chances that vacancy arises in the years 2015 – 2019 were lower, compared to 2020 – 2021, when footfall was significantly lower in Dutch shopping areas. Subsequently, the results from the LRM show a weakening association between footfall and retail vacancy during Covid-19, in the years 2020 and 2021. Which could mean that the consequences of Covid-19, especially the effects of the measures taken by the Dutch government, had an impact on the retail sector. A final discussion provides arguments for a more extensive analysis of this research topic to make thorough policy recommendations.