AN ASSESSMENT OF REILLY'S MODEL OF CONSUMER BEHAVIOR

All human behavior occurs in space and can therefore be studied in a manner that emphasizes the locational components of that behavior. One tenent fundamental to spatiallyfocused studies is that decisions related to spatial behavior are perceived as rational. This paper exam'ines a model of a particular type of spatial behavior involving decisions-the shopping behavior of rural people when buying retail goods or services that are relatively ubiquitous. William J, Reilly's law of retail gravitationl and the related breaking-point equation, derived mathematically from Reilly's law and explicitly stated byPaul D. Converse and associates2 , provide a model that predicts which of two towns people living in the intermediate area will patronize. Their choices of where to shop involve decisions based on perceived utilities of shopping opportunities. Thus the model directly pertains to rational decision-making and decision-taking that underlie all spatial behavior.3