Emerging Mall Culture and Shopping Behavior of Young Consumers

Abstract

Malls are attracting the young shoppers and mall culture is new to the society. Mall retailers are making efforts to satisfy the young consumers. However, the younger segment is growing in terms of population and wealth. It has become increasingly important and necessary to understand and meet their demands. The study employed 160 in-depth interviews to understand the young consumers’ mall experiences. Overall, the respondents in the study have favourable perception of the mall in terms of convenience, variety offered by malls, awareness of brands, aesthetics and hedonic factors. The researcher found eight elements that are important for young consumers to form impression of the shopping malls: convenience, choice, awareness, crowded/congested, ambience, parking, hedonic shopping and mall culture. Further the respondent studied the total number of hours on shopping, preference of shopping day and shopping time by young consumers. It was found that maximum number that respondents spend is up to 3 hrs on shopping, however weekends were preferred in comparison to weekdays. Maximum respondents preferred shopping at any suitable timing. The researcher also investigated specific mall attributes. Respondents also suggested that various attributes are considered important by the respondents. They highlighted various attributes—sitting arrangement, water dispensers, E-mapping, plain ramps, book browsing section and further expressed their concern regarding parking, security and customer service. The results can help mall retailers in capitalizing the consumers by meeting their needs.