Survey of Downtown Pullman, Washington 6/26/2019 Survey of Downtown Pullman, Washington Joan Giese, Clinical Associate Professor Max Isen, Research Assistant Taylor Shewchuk, Research Assistant Callum Davies, Research Assistant

Downtown Pullman, Washington 6/26/2019 Downtown Pullman, Washington

Why Downtown Pullman? Why Now? 6/26/2019 Who conducted the research? WSU student research teams in the undergraduate marketing research classes 10 teams surveyed about 1400 WSU undergraduate students in Fall 2017 16 teams surveyed about 740 Pullman residents in Spring 2018 Why Downtown Pullman? Why Now?

Pullman 2040 Survey: Visioning Questions (Steering Committee, 2017) Visitors What places do you like to take out-of- town visitors? WSU 62% Downtown 36% Pullman (R/E/S) 58% Moscow (R/E/S) 23% Parks/Paths/Trails 32% County Parks 43% Another Town 30% R/E/S – Restaurant/Entertainment/Shopping

Pullman 2040 Survey: Visioning Questions Visitors What places do you avoid taking out-of- town visitors? Downtown College Hill Greek Row Certain Stores Campus Apartment Land Grand Bishop Blvd Pot Shops Moscow Avoid Downtown – lack of R/E/S, not vibrant, not clean, traffic College Hill – not conducive to family-friendly and non-college crowd Grand/Bishop/Downtown – traffic, infrastructure

Pullman 2040 Survey: Visioning Questions 5. What should be preserved in our community? 6. What should be changed in our community? Parks Downtown Green Space Shopping Trails Infrastructure Small Town Feel Business Recruitment Historic Areas Restaurant Education Traffic Safe Parking Bypass/Alternate Routes Community Vacant Buildings Locally Owned Businesses Preserve: Parks/Green Space/Trails Small Town Feel Safe Education Changed: Downtown Infrastructure – Traffic, Parking, Bypass Business Recruitment Vacant Buildings

What are the perceptions of WSU undergraduate students? 6/26/2019 What are the perceptions of WSU undergraduate students?

UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS (Fall 2017) About Our Respondents UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS (Fall 2017) N = 1,392

WSU Students are Neutral about Downtown UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS (Fall 2017) N=1,392

Neutral about Dining but Negative about Retail UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS (Fall 2017) N=539, 215

Transportation is Not the Issue … Downtown is Not Fun UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS (Fall 2017) N=649, 1020

UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS (Fall 2017) 6/26/2019 So, what's going on here?  Neutral “I look forward to shopping downtown” (p = .337) “I look forward to dining downtown” (p = .335) DISAGREE “I look forward to spending time with my friends downtown” (p = .01) NOT BECAUSE: “Downtown is located too far away from where I live” (p < 0.001) “I typically don’t have transportation to get downtown” (p = .11) “I feel like I am not welcome downtown” (p < .001) BECAUSE:  “Downtown Pullman is NOT a fun place to go” (p < .001) Neutral on “forward to shopping & dining” - no difference b/w mean & mid-point of scale (4 pt. scale) STRONGLY DISAGREE with friends -- p value is significantly different from mid point of scale Students do not think downtown is too far away, they DO have transportation, and they do feel welcome UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS (Fall 2017)

UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS (Fall 2017) 6/26/2019 What significantly impacts WSU undergraduate students’ decisions to go to Downtown Pullman? Friends desire to go to Downtown Pullman  1. ‘Good deals’ at stores 2. Festive lights are displayed in Downtown Pullman 3. More restaurant choices TAKEAWAYS: Blending the downtown & WSU culture to include promotions and attractive aesthetics is important. Focusing on these aspects may increase undergraduate foot traffic to Downtown Pullman. No significant difference between 1&2 Significant difference between 2&3 Significant difference between 3&4 UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS (Fall 2017)

UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS (Fall 2017) 6/26/2019 What has a neutral impact on WSU students’ decisions to go to Downtown Pullman? More places to hang out Theme Locally owned stores Bakery  TAKEAWAYS: Undergraduates are ambivalent about these aspects of downtown. These aspects are unlikely to impact foot traffic to Downtown Pullman either positively or negatively. The same question revealed these as neutral or ambivalent to influencing a decision to come downtown -- focusing on these issues should be secondary UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS (Fall 2017)

UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS (Fall 2017) 6/26/2019 What does not significantly impact students’ decisions to go to Downtown Pullman? More parking Frequent transportation Outdoor hang out spots Vibrant atmosphere TAKEAWAYS: There is no need to invest in these aspects of Downtown Pullman for undergraduates. These will likely have no impact of going to Downtown Pullman in regards to these aspects. Lastly, the same question revealed that these aspects would not have any influence on going downtown -- we suggest to not invest in these issues at this time. UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS (Fall 2017)

What do we know from WSU Students? 6/26/2019 What do we know from WSU Students? In general, WSU students are neutral about Downtown Pullman and dining, but negative about retail. Students do not think that Downtown Pullman is too far away; they do have transportation; and they feel welcome. Downtown is perceived to not be fun and not a place where friends want to go. Students are more likely to go to downtown if: friends want to go; there are good deals and festive lighting; and there are more restaurant choices.

Demographic Data Paints a Deceptive Picture 6/26/2019 Demographic Data Paints a Deceptive Picture Whitman County population: 49,046 WSU Pullman population: 21,022  Whitman County Median Household Income: $38,636 Whitman County Poverty Percentage: 25.9%

A Revealing Example: Insomnia Cookies is a Hit with Students 6/26/2019 A Revealing Example: Insomnia Cookies is a Hit with Students

Post Hoc: Discretionary Income Survey Launched a survey directed at discretionary income and how it is spent locally for students (n = 66) Students on average eat out and go to bars once a week Average money spent eating out is $15.66/week Average money spent at bars is $22.76/week Students on average online retail shop once a month Average money spent is $37.86/month Most students get their discretionary income from their parents or from working during the school year

What are the perceptions of Pullman residents? 6/26/2019 What are the perceptions of Pullman residents?

PULLMAN RESIDENTS (Spring 2018) About our Respondents... PULLMAN RESIDENTS (Spring 2018) (N = 736)

If you could change one thing in Downtown Pullman, what would it be If you could change one thing in Downtown Pullman, what would it be? (based on 675 comments)

More specifically, what do Pullman Residents want?

Pullman Residents, in general, aren't very satisfied. PULLMAN RESIDENTS (Spring 2018)

Dining is not satisfactory to some... "More dining options, including a bakery!" "More family friendly restaurant selections" PULLMAN RESIDENTS (Spring 2018)

Downtown Pullman should look better... "Get rid of the eyesores such as Mimosa. That is a huge embarrassment" "I would freshen up the storefronts. Fresh coat of paint, whatever, to make it look updated and vibrant."  PULLMAN RESIDENTS (Spring 2018)

Lack of Engagement with the Stores Downtown "Many of the businesses are not walk in businesses. When I walk in a city's downtown, I want to be drawn into their stores/shops/restaurants. Very few of the stores downtown pull you in. I am not going to walk by an architecture firm or law office and spontaneously go in and spend money." RESIDENTS

Parking and Traffic still slowing things down "more free parking that isn't restricted to short time frames" “change Main Street to 2 lanes and include diagonal parking"  “reroute large trucks away from downtown" PULLMAN RESIDENTS (Spring 2018)

What do we know from Pullman Residents? 6/26/2019 What do we know from Pullman Residents? Families with one or more children are the most dissatisfied with Downtown Pullman and with dining and aesthetics, more specifically. Female residents are significantly more dissatisfied than males when it comes to shopping and dining. Long-term residents are more dissatisfied than short-term residents. Parking and Transportation are big issues! PULLMAN RESIDENTS (Spring 2018)

If you could add one thing to Downtown Pullman, what would it be? 6/26/2019 If you could add one thing to Downtown Pullman, what would it be? More affordable and diverse dining options More parking and angle parking Route the trucks away from DT Boutique, novelty, and art stores A specialty grocer Family friendly gathering areas and outdoor spaces Retail stores Nicer looking buildings PULLMAN RESIDENTS (Spring 2018)

Recommendations From students: From residents: 6/26/2019 Recommendations From students: Create “fun” reasons to be in downtown (conduct more research) Offer good deals Offer more dining variety Make downtown festive (provide “great ‘selfie’ opportunities”) [Note: still unsure about what retail mix would resonate with students (conduct more research)] From residents: Fix parking and traffic issues Focus on the aesthetics: Clean up and fix up Offer more family-friendly dining and activities Create a more appealing retail mix (conduct more research)

Five University Towns Ithaca, New York (Cornell) 6/26/2019 Five University Towns Ithaca, New York (Cornell) Ames, Iowa (Iowa State University) Stillwater, Oklahoma (Oklahoma State University) Manhattan, Kansas (Kansas State University) Logan, Utah (Utah State University)

College Town Showcase: Ithaca, NY Cornell University Population: 30,720 Student Population: 21,970 Median Income: $31,531 Median Residential age: 22.0 Noteworthy Businesses: Target; Bed, Bath, and Beyond; GameStop; Multiple Gift Shops Click to add text

Excited about the Future: Downtown Pullman, Washington Thank You!!