Press Releases

July 17, 1997
Westhampton Beach: A Quaint and Quiet Place, Says SCIRR Survey

Contact: Virginia Bennett
(516) 287 8313
Fax: (516) 283 4081

A recent survey conducted by the Westhampton Beach Chamber of Commerce and the Southampton Graduate Campus Institute for Regional Research (SCIRR) asked 150 people in downtown Westhampton Beach their opinions as to what they like most and what they like least about the Village as well as where they prefer to shop and why.

In terms of their reason for being in Westhampton, nearly 34% of the respondents were in the Village to shop, 23% to ³take a walk² and/or exercise, 20% to work, and 17% to eat a meal. What these respondents liked most about the Village was that it was a quaint, quiet place with natural surroundings (25%), clean (17%), a good area/friendly (16%), with a fairly good selection of products and services (17%).

What they liked least was that the Village stores were overly expensive (33%), the Village had too many tourists/crowded (32%), and the stores lacked a variety of products and services (15%). Forty percent of the respondents said their favorite place to shop was Manhattan, (the largest choice by nearly 25%) because of the variety and selection available to them (61%).

Of the individuals who took this "on the street" survey, 40% of the respondents were full-time residents while 25 % identified themselves as second homeowners, another 23% as visitors, and nearly 10% as ³seasonal.² Slightly over 60% of the respondents were under age 35 and had no children.

The most interesting piece of information dealt with the differences between the preferences of the full-time residents as compared to second homeowners, seasonal residents, and visitors. Full-time residents were impressed with the area's friendliness and with the wide variety of places to shop. S econd homeowners and seasonal residents liked the quaint natural look of the area. Visitors, however, were most impressed by the cleanliness of the Village.

Full-time residents, seasonal residents, and visitors all said that what they least liked about the Village were the prices. Second homeowners thought that the Village was overly crowded with tourists.

All of the respondents (except the visitors) said their favorite place to shop was Manhattan. The visitors preferred Westhampton. All of the respondents clearly chose their favorite place because of the variety and selection of products and services while second homeowners were secondarily interested in the ³atmosphere.²

What should businesses in Westhampton Beach learn from this survey?

"It is clear from the survey that full-time residents have different shopping patterns from second homeowners, seasonal residents, and visitors," said Dr. Herbert Sherman, Director of the Southampton Graduate Campus Institute for Regional Research. "Business owners are advised to alter their pricing patterns and product lines to accommodate all types of shoppers with the understanding that nearly all of the respondents were price sensitive and preferred to shop in stores with large product selections."

The survey was commissioned by the Westhampton Chamber of Commerce and administered by Westhampton High School students as part of a day-long project for the Chamber of Commerce. Mike Daly, a member of the Chamber, can be phoned at (516) 288-3337 for further information.

The Institute for Regional Research, a not-for-profit public opinion and marketing research facility based at Southampton Graduate Campus of Long Island University, conducts surveys of social or economic conditions on Eastern Long Island. Dr. Sherman is its director and also the Business Division Director at Southampton Graduate Campus. He can be reached at (516) 287-8285.