The Price of Distance: A Computational Analysis of Market Prices in Tanjay City
Keywords:
market prices, computational analysis, store location, price variability, Tanjay City, correlationAbstract
The study examined how far away from the city center sari-sari stores are located in relation to the prices charged for a selection of commonly purchased goods (rice, sugar, cooking oil, eggs, instant noodles, and Coca-Cola, 1 liter) within the city of Tanjay on the island of Negros Oriental. To collect this information, a computational-descriptive research strategy was employed which utilized the direct price queries method to collect data from 10 sari-sari stores. In addition to gathering price data, the distance from each store to the city center was also recorded in kilometers. The summarization of distances and prices has been accomplished through descriptive statistics, means, and standard deviations. The association between distances from the city center and product prices is determined using Pearson’s correlation coefficient (r). The results of this study demonstrated that certain commodity prices, eggs and cooking oil had minimal variance with respect to distance from the city center, and there were moderate variances in the prices for rice and Coca-Cola. The correlations calculated from this study revealed differing levels of correlation, with cooking oil showing the strongest positive correlation which indicates that prices increase to a small degree as the store's distance increases from the city center. The study results demonstrate how the application of computational mathematics can assist analysts in the assessment of markets and also provide valuable information concerning pricing trends for consumers and small shop owners. In addition to providing information that could help consumers, small enterprises, and municipal planners in understanding pricing behavior in semi-urban areas, the study shows the value of computational mathematics in market analysis. The study demonstrates the usefulness of computational mathematics in market analysis in addition to providing information that could help consumers, small businesses, and municipal planners in understanding pricing behavior in semi-urban locations.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Sean Eleazar Aguilar, Grace R. Aspacio (Author)
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