The Johannesburg Inner City Partnership commissioned writer, researcher, planner and policy developer Tanya Zack to conduct research on the scope and nature of cross border shopping in the Joburg CBD.
The research document is available HERE
About the research (Taken from Conclusions pg 129)
Cross border shoppers are international visitors to Johannesburg. Their visits to the city increase the demand for services, products and good infrastructure. These are all economic imperatives that attract jobs and investment in the inner city. They require and inspire new investment in buildings, maintenance, entertainment services, transportation services and accommodation establishments. They transform buildings and environments in the inner city. And they attract and support new cultural enclaves and diversity.
This study has cast a spotlight on how the activity of cross border shopping operates in the spatial environment, how it operates from the perspective of shoppers and how it operates from the perspective of retailers. These findings offer a number of hooks for maximising the benefits of this activity and addressing the negatives in order that the inner city of Johannesburg may take full advantage of the benefits of being sub-Saharan Africa’s shopping hub and that in turn may rise to being the host of choice for shoppers and retailers in this international trade.
If the inner city loses customers the entire trade is at risk. The response to the current advantages and risks must focus on the needs of those customers.
Photos by Mark Lewis
