Since the introduction of shopping centers, it has become more and more common that the retail trade is taken over by the shopping centers. The shopping centers can offer the customers indoor shopping with stores, cafés and restaurants under the same roof. This comfortability is a competitive advantage for the shopping centers in comparison with other purchasing areas, such as the city core.

In Jönköping on the 2nd of April 1987 A6, a large shopping centre at this time the largest in the region, had it opening with great festivities. The merchants located in the city core feared that the large shopping centre would drive them out of business. After negotiations the merchants of the city core of Jönköping, the municipality and A6 made peace.

Today the two shopping areas are competing for the same customers, but are they competing on the same grounds? The city core of Jönköping is facing problems with customers leaving, but where are they going? What can be done to attract new customers and gain their old ones?

In this report we will try to find out how the city cores can do to gain, maintain and satisfy the customers. This will be done by a quantitative study of the Jönköping city core and the shopping centre A6. Interviews will be done with respondents at both A6 Centre and in the City core of Jönköping. The material we will gather, will be handed over to the organization ‘På Stan’, who is an association working with issues regarding the merchants in the city.

Through the interviews with the 200 respondents we accessed three main issues that have an impact on the customer’s choice of shopping location. These three are accessibility, range of stores and environment.