Study Examines Ripple Effects of School Shooting Events
June 7, 2025 – New research co-authored by Texas A&M University’s Dr. Shrihari Sridhar reveals that fatal school shootings have a deep and lasting impact on communities—extending far beyond emotional trauma. The study, published in the Journal of Marketing Research, shows that anxiety following school shootings significantly reduces public spending for months, especially in liberal-leaning areas.
Analyzing data from 63 school shootings between 2012 and 2019, researchers found that grocery spending in affected counties dropped by 2%, restaurant and bar spending fell by 8%, and food and beverage retail declined by 3%—with effects lasting at least six months. The findings stem from household-level data gathered via NielsenIQ’s Homescan panel, matched with retail traffic data from SafeGraph and Advan.
Dr. Sridhar, senior associate dean at Texas A&M’s Mays Business School, explained, “These tragic events quietly but profoundly alter the rhythms of entire communities. Even something as routine as grocery shopping declines for months.”
Controlled experiments showed that anxiety about public safety is the driving force behind these behavioral changes. The psychological toll is more acute in liberal-leaning counties, where grocery spending declined by 2.4%, compared to 1.3% in conservative-leaning areas. Researchers attribute this to differing interpretations of gun violence—liberals view such events as systemic failures, increasing anxiety, while conservatives are more likely to see them as isolated incidents.
The study’s broader implications are clear: school shootings cause economic ripple effects that affect local businesses and community engagement. Unlike natural disasters, which often receive targeted economic recovery support, mass shooting-affected communities are largely left to recover on their own. The researchers urge policymakers to consider recovery efforts that go beyond reopening doors—by focusing on trust-building and visible support to restore normalcy and stability in the wake of tragedy.
