THE SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION PATTERNS OF THE CATERING TRADE IN NANCHANG BASED ON INTERNET PUBLIC REVIEWS

The spatial distribution characteristics and patterns of the catering industry in Nanchang were studied to determine the spatial laws of the local urban catering organizations. To establish a word-of-mouth evaluation system, the evaluation data of selected catering merchants were used to calculate comprehensive word-of-mouth scores and rankings for each merchant using principal component analysis. A nuclear density analysis of the spatial distribution of the catering industry was also carried out. The study results showed that Nanchang catering merchants can be divided into three groups of which high-consumption (the total amount of money spent by each customer at a single sitting) merchants accounted for 2.8%, middle-consumption merchants accounted for 37%, and low-consumption merchants accounted for 60.2%. The catering industry’s overall development level was further found to be low. Moreover, the high-consumption merchants were predominantly clustered in Honggutan, while the low-to-medium consumption merchants were mainly located in Zhongshan City. There was also a correlation between merchant distribution and merchant word-of-mouth: The distribution of catering chambers determined the level of word-of-mouth, and the degree of word-of-mouth determined the direction of catering development. Additionally, it was established that the internal business form and activity patterns of a city could affect the spatial distribution trends of catering merchants. Importantly, the study of network data combined with urban physical spaces could play a significant role in urban planning.

The spatial distribution characteristics and patterns of the catering industry in Nanchang were studied to determine the spatial laws of the local urban catering organizations. To establish a word-of-mouth evaluation system, the evaluation data of selected catering merchants were used to calculate comprehensive word-of-mouth scores and rankings for each merchant using principal component analysis. A nuclear density analysis of the spatial distribution of the catering industry was also carried out. The study results showed that Nanchang catering merchants can be divided into three groups of which high-consumption (the total amount of money spent by each customer at a single sitting) merchants accounted for 2.8%, middle-consumption merchants accounted for 37%, and low-consumption merchants accounted for 60.2%. The catering industry’s overall development level was further found to be low. Moreover, the high-consumption merchants were predominantly clustered in Honggutan, while the low-to-medium consumption merchants were mainly located in Zhongshan City. There was also a correlation between merchant distribution and merchant word-of-mouth: The distribution of catering chambers determined the level of word-of-mouth, and the degree of word-of-mouth determined the direction of catering development. Additionally, it was established that the internal business form and activity patterns of a city could affect the spatial distribution trends of catering merchants. Importantly, the study of network data combined with urban physical spaces could play a significant role in urban planning.