Well, the one shop I go to all the time in town is owned by my friend's mom, so that's a factor :). Convenience is an issue. There's a shop slightly closer to me but it's off of a really busy street, tiny parking lot, really congested, hard to get back onto the street (almost get hit every other time I'm there). So I drive a few extra miles to a different shop that costs a little more but has an easy parking lot with tons of parking.
And then obviously fabric selection. There are 3 main shops by me: a bright, a brights and browns, and a brown shop. I like brights, hence I go to the bright shop most, brights and browns less often, and brown during a shop hop :mrgreen:
Oh, and then also free stuff. The shop I love likes giveaways and a free strippers club (a new quilt every month using 2.5" strips. Show up, you get a free pattern), 2nd Sunday bees, etc. It's kinda like... if they're willing to give me some free stuff, I'm happier to be there, and willing to spend money there. It feels more like they're doing this because they all love fabric and quilting rather then focusing on nickeling and diming everyone. Does that make sense?