Abstract
This study examines how consumers adopt a strong national brand immediately after its entry into a small regional market. Using anonymized mobile location data from the first twenty-nine weeks of a new Starbucks location in Anniston, Alabama, the analysis evaluates weekly visitation, repeat behavior, visitor origin distance, trip chaining, and temporal demand. The store opened above its subsequent steady state, indicating activation of preexisting demand rather than a gradual diffusion process. Repeat visitors generated 82.6% of visits within the observation window, showing rapid movement from trial to habitual use. The entrant also exhibited a flatter distance decay gradient than adjacent anchors and most coffee competitors, evidence of brand gravity that stretched the expected trade area for a convenience category. Post visit journeys shifted away from home and toward work and nearby retailers, while morning demand dominated the store's temporal profile. The findings connect brand equity, retail gravity, habit formation, and trip chaining, and demonstrate how establishment level mobility data can reveal the geography and speed of consumer adoption.
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