Survey Results: The Shopping Habits of Altadena Residents

The results of an Altadena Chamber of Commerce survey on shopping in Altadena was released Friday.  The full survey results can be found on surveyaltadena.com or attached to this story.

The and what to do about it are, of course, a of on this site.

Though the survey provides useful information for retailers, it was not done with a professional firm to ensure that an accurate cross-section of Altadena was surveyed.  For example, the survey was online only, so those without Internet access were not involved. 

It was not also done to accurately reflect the demographics or geography of Altadena, as entrants were not selected based on where they lived or any other characteristics.  The survey ended up being taken overwhelmingly by women, with 254 of the 385 survey takers identifying themselves as such (28 declined to state).

Nearly 80 percent identified their household income as being $86,000 or above.

There were also relatively few people under the age of 35 or over the age of 64 who took the survey.

That said, the results are very interesting, though probably not surprising for most people.

Among the findings:

• Almost three quarters of those surveyed (74.8 percent) said they shop in Altadena either one to two times a week or less than one time a week.
• Trader Joe's at Hastings Ranch was the most popular grocery store
• 92 percent said Altadena does not offer enough retail businesses
• The most requested additional type of retail business was restaurant, with grocery, coffee house, books, and entertainment also showing a lot of popularity
• People surveyed are not avoiding Altadena restaurants because they don't eat out: 82.9 percent said they eat out two to three times a week.
• The number one reason people give for not shopping in Altadena is the lack of choices, and the second is the availability of goods.
• Most surveyed don't seek out professional services in Altadena, with the notable exception of veterinarian.

• There is not an aversion to shopping at chains for those surveyed: 74.6 percent said they mostly shop at brand name stores.

In addition, Chamber representative Ed Meyer has a up on the site about the survey, and over on the Altadenablog, Laura Monteros has an article about the presentation of the results on Thursday evening.