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Driven by the development of information and communications technology as well as the spread of social networking services (SNS), access to spatial information has changed the way people select sites or areas. This study determines whether new urban place selection—that is, the selection of places in a way that differs from the classic locational principle of land use—occurs via SNS by examining changes in the location of Food and Beverage(F&B) retail facilities patronized by citizens daily. More specifically, this study employs spatial and quantitative analyses to investigate location selection of F&B customers, which respond most sensitively to place selection, in six metropolitan cities in South Korea. The results show phenomena indicating that the place selection pattern via SNS was different spatially and quantitatively from that via the established retail location principle. The location of F&B retail facilities most commonly selected via SNS is largely shaped by small-scale and hierarchically lower roads near existing commercial area and is unaffected by land price and distance from public transportation. These findings sufficiently contradict the general location principle in terms of the location characteristics of F&B retail facilities. As such, this study reveals a novel behavior pattern regarding place selection based on SNS. F&B retail facilities should be prepared to adapt to changing consumer behavior. Moreover, this fact indicates that the consideration of gradual changes in the selection of urban project sites, development of land use plans, and calculation of rent for retail is needed in light of advancements in SNS.
