  Pedestrian studies in retail areas are critical for comfort and convenience
in transportation facility designs. But existing literature lacks detailed
empirical observations that focus on pedestrian speed variations and their
mechanisms in front of stores. This paper bridges this gap by analyzing 1193
pedestrian trajectories in front of a convenience store located in a metro
station. The results show that the store imposes a non-uniform slowing effect
on the pedestrian flow. The spatial distribution and the lower walking speed of
consumers and gazing pedestrians jointly contribute to such an effect while
avoiding behaviors between pedestrians play little role. The findings
complement the existing empirical observations and lay a foundation for
realistic pedestrian modeling in retail areas.
