Image transfer from malls to stores and its influence on shopping values and mall patronage: The role of self-congruity

Little research attention has been paid to the image transference from a shopping mall to its stores. The study reported in this article proposes an integrative model dealing with the image transference phenomenon from malls to stores and its implications in terms of creating value for shoppers and enticing mall patronage. Structural equation modeling is applied to data collected from shoppers in two urban North-Amercian shopping malls. The findings are broadly supportive of the proposed model. Mall image spills over the image of the stores located in the mall, and this occurs through a shopper's self-congruity mechanism. Furthermore, the mall's image dimensions influence hedonic shopping value through self-congruity. The stores’ image dimensions differentially influence utilitarian and hedonic shopping values assessments. Both types of shopping values are strong drivers of mall patronage. The study also discusses the implications of the findings as well as its limitations and directions for future research.     

The relationships among family and social interaction,loneliness, mall shopping motivation,and mall spending of older consumers

The study implemented 419 mall‐intercept interviews with people who are 55 or older in large malls in three metropolitan cities in the United States. The five subdimensions of mall‐shopping motivation of older consumers were identified under two dimensions: Consumption‐oriented mall‐shopping motivation (service consumption, value consumption, and eating) and experiential mall‐shopping motivation (diversion and aesthetic appreciation). The structural model revealed significant effects of social interaction, loneliness, and mall‐shopping motivations on mall spending. Outcomes suggest that a mall can be a place to reduce older consumers' loneliness and that retailers in the mall can attract and make older consumers spend more by emphasizing value consumption and service consumption. Results also provide the implication for mall developers that providing more experiential features and events in malls may attract more older consumers. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

The impact of perceived similarity to other customers on shopping mall satisfaction

This study highlights the role of social presence with other consumers in influencing consumers' satisfaction evaluations by exploring a question: can non-interactive social presence of other people affect satisfaction with shopping mall experience? Based on Latané's (1981) social impact theory and Byrne's (1971) similarity-attraction paradigm, this study posits that a mere presence of other shoppers can be influential when there is perceived similarity between a customer and others. Further, the similarity perception is hypothesized to influence customer's mall satisfaction through affective and cognitive processes. The findings from a large-scale online survey with consumer panel subjects in the U.S. support all study hypotheses.     

The effects of mall renovation on shopping values,satisfaction and spending behaviour

Managers renovate malls to keep up with newer shopping centres and retail formats that erode traffic. This paper investigates shoppers׳ psychological processes that trigger changes in spending behaviour in the renovated mall. Renovation has a direct impact on the perception of the mall atmosphere and an indirect one on shoppers׳ hedonic and utilitarian values, satisfaction, and spending. Renovation affects shoppers׳ spending through the perception of utilitarian shopping benefits.This study is the first of its kind to explore the effects of mall renovation on shoppers׳ spending. It focuses on the effect of renovations on shoppers׳ holistic perception of the mall atmosphere. The hedonic benefit contributes more to shoppers׳ satisfaction than does the utilitarian value. However, the utilitarian value affects shoppers׳ spending while the hedonic value does not.     

Shopping mall retailing: A bibliometric analysis and systematic assessment of Chebat's contributions

Shopping malls are unique retail environments offering individual consumption experiences within a holistic retail ecosystem. Drawing on a bibliometric analysis and a systematic review of 31 articles, this research synthetizes Jean-Charles Chebat's contributions to the shopping mall literature. Findings highlight four core clusters of the shopping mall literature, namely spatial wayfinding, atmospherics, consumer differences across shopping mall experiences, and shopping mall consequences. The newly developed Shopping Mall Experience Framework extends Chebat's research proposing additional elements of interest for current mall retailing research. Managerial implications offer practical guidance on successfully designing and maneuvering shopping malls of the future.     

Effects of store loyalty on shopping mall loyalty

The key purpose of this paper is to bridge a research gap in shopping mall literature by investigating the relationship between store loyalty and shopping mall loyalty. The paper also examines the effects of perceived store value and store relationship commitment on store loyalty en-route to loyalty towards the shopping mall hosting the stores. The study shows that store loyalty influences shopping mall loyalty under certain conditions and that such an influence is moderated by the geographic distance between the consumer and the shopping mall. Further, the study found that distance has a moderating effect on the relationship between perceived store value and store loyalty, but not on the association between relationship commitment and store loyalty. The insights provided by this study offer academics, retailers and shopping mall managers a richer understanding of the relationships between store loyalty and its antecedents, customers' distance from the mall, and shopping mall loyalty.     

Experiencing atmospherics: The moderating effect of mall experiences on the impact of individual store atmospherics on spending behavior and mall loyalty

Retailers invest in atmospherics to create effective environments that engage shoppers in their shopping journey and promote business success. However, the link between store-level atmospherics and mall-level experiences remains opaque. In a quasi-experimental field study, we confirm that the quality of in-store atmospherics positively impacts in-store spending and reveal for the first time that it also positively influences loyalty intentions toward the mall as a whole. Both effects are mediated by perceived store atmosphere and moderated by mall experiences. The effects on spending are stronger for shoppers who are seeking hedonic experiences (seductive, recreational, and social) and are less interested in the functional experience. However, the impact on mall loyalty is stronger for shoppers pursuing material (functional) and avoiding social experiences. For retailers and mall owners, these findings underscore the importance of matching store atmospherics with mall experiences. Similarities and differences in the effects of atmospherics between and within the store and mall levels are discussed.     

It’s all at the mall: exploring adolescent girls’ experiences

While overall mall patronage in the United States has been declining for several years, patronage among U.S. adolescents (especially girls) has risen sharply. We describe a qualitative study that examines in-depth the young girl’s mall experience. A theoretical model was developed from the findings that includes some factors that have been examined in previous research, such as mall atmosphere and utilitarian and hedonic shopping motives. In addition, several new factors specifically relevant to girl shoppers, aged 12-19, also emerged, including education cohort, trend consciousness, comfort, safety, mall companion, freedom as a mall-patronage motivation, and accessibility issues. This insight into young girls’ patronage behaviors and motivations will provide academics, mall developers and retailers a richer understanding of the various components that contribute to the female adolescent mall experience, and allow them to more effectively study and market to this segment.     

Online shopping among Chinese consumers: an exploratory investigation of demographics and value orientation

The current study examined the relationship between Chinese consumers' personal value orientations and their Internet usage and online shopping behaviour. The study was based on responses from a sample of 1620 respondents in five cities in China. Based on Schwartz's value structure, four value orientations were identified and named as ‘openness to change orientation’, ‘self‐enhancement orientation’, ‘conservation orientation’ and ‘self‐transcendence orientation.’ Logistic regression analysis was used to investigate the relationship between respondents' demographics, socio‐economic characteristics, value orientations and their Internet usage and online shopping behaviour. Also, a structural equation modelling analysis was employed. ‘Openness to change orientation’ and ‘self‐enhancement orientation’ were found to have direct or indirect positive effect on respondents' online shopping behaviour; whereas ‘conservation orientation’ and ‘self‐transcendence orientation’ were not significant in the equation estimation.     

Mall experiences are not universal: The moderating roles of national culture and mall industry age

Faced with rising competition from innovative retail channels, the primary competitive advantage of shopping malls lies in the unique set of experiences they can provide. A widely accepted assumption in the mall literature is that the contribution of mall experiences to equity and loyalty is stable, positive, and universal. Here shoppers from four countries (England, France, Israel, and Morocco) reported their mall experiences (seductive, social, and recreational). These experiences impact loyalty through mall equity differentially in each country. National culture and mall industry age moderate positive mall outcomes, challenging previous assumptions about standardization across countries as the best approach to mall management.     

Developing and validating a psychometric shopper-based mall equity measure

This paper introduces a new retailing concept called shopper-based mall equity (SBME). SBME is the differential effect of mall knowledge on shoppers' responses to a mall's marketing activities. The results of a study in two Canadian shopping malls consisting of 905 shoppers who were administered a questionnaire suggest that SBME is a bi-dimensional construct, composing two sub-scales, namely mall awareness and mall image. Further psychometric tests show a parsimonious SBME measure with support for convergent, discriminant and predictive validities. Multi-group latent mean structures show that the SBME measure is able to discriminate shoppers that globally attribute high-mall scores from those who globally attribute low-mall scores. The article includes theoretical and managerial implications.     

The mall as bazaar: How kiosks influence consumer shopping behaviour

Abstract

The addition of kiosks (e.g. pushcarts, stalls, etc.) to malls has changed the mall environment. However, no research to our knowledge has been conducted to determine if that change has been received positively or negatively by shoppers. Our study investigates how kiosks and kiosk salespeople affect consumers' emotional responses and shopping behaviours towards the mall. Using a between-subjects design, we found that the very presence of kiosks negatively affects shoppers' perceptions of the mall environment. Whether a kiosk salesperson was aggressive or passive had virtually the same effect upon shoppers. Similarly, passive kiosk salespeople and the absence of kiosks resulted in relatively the same level of arousal on shoppers, while aggressive salespeople caused a higher level of arousal than either of the other two conditions. This contributes to the extant literature on retail atmospherics and perceptions of retail salesperson behaviours.     

Consumer emotions: Determinants and outcomes in a shopping mall

The present study aims to provide a deeper understanding of consumers’ emotions in a shopping mall by taking into account its two dimensions i.e. pleasure and arousal. The conceptual model is developed by considering a few unexamined determinants (namely perceived human and spatial mall crowding, promotional events, and co-visitors) and outcomes (namely repatronage and positive word-of-mouth) of arousal and pleasure. The responses (n=346) are collected by using a mall-intercept technique. Results of structural equation modeling reveal positive linkages between determinants and outcomes of pleasure and arousal. Overall, the work extends and complements the extant literature by delineating the role of various social cues and promotional cues on consumers’ pleasure and arousal in a shopping mall setting. Theoretical and managerial implications are further discussed.     

How does shopper-based mall equity generate mall loyalty? A conceptual model and empirical evidence

Understanding the antecedents of shopper mall loyalty remains one of the crucial issues for both mall managers and retailing researchers. We propose a conceptual model that explains the psychological process by which shopper-based mall equity (e.g., the perceived mall value) generates mall loyalty. We collected data from shoppers in two urban North-American shopping malls (N=905). The empirical results were generally supportive of the model: Mall loyalty was significantly predicted by the commitment that shoppers held toward the mall; and that commitment, in turn, was significantly predicted by shopper's positive awareness of the mall's characteristics, and shopper's self-congruity. The latter construct, in turn, was significantly predicted by mall image dimensions such as the mall's environment and the quality of the products and services found in the mall. We also found the model to be invariant between female and male shoppers. Theoretical and managerial implications of the model and the findings were also discussed.     

Why shopping pals make malls different?

The present study examines the effects of the specific type of ompanion a shopper shops with (i.e., friend versus family member) on the emotional attachment to malls. The study aims to explain this influence through two potential mediators, that is, shopping arousal, and shopping apprehension, the relevance of which has been shown in the extant reviewed psychosocial literature. The emotional attachment of shoppers to their mall depends on whom they are shopping with: shopping with friends affects both shoppers' arousal and apprehension. Only arousal mediates the relationship between shopping pal and mall attachment. Our findings provide new insight on the psychological processes explaining the relation shoppers develop with their shopping environment and give retail managers guidelines for increasing shoppers' attachment to their malls.     

The importance of importance: Its impact on decision-making in mall retail categories during an economic downturn

The study examines how, during an economic downturn, the perceived importance of the value offering of retail store categories, as identified by a major international mall operator based in Australia, influences the relationship between consumers’ shopping attitudes and likelihood of purchasing in those categories. The findings show variance in the importance pertaining to retail store categories between those that have and those that have not altered their shopping behaviour. Different mediating effects were found in the major, mini-major, leisure, apparel, and mobile phone categories, suggestive of each group having differing levels of self-interest in the value offerings of each category, thus, symptomatic of dissimilar decision-making strategies for each group. Contributions to theory and practice are discussed.     

Four generations of mall visitors in Israel: A study of mall activities,visiting patterns,and products purchased

The goal of the present project is to establish a division between generations as a basis for segmentation of mall visitors. Data were collected through a phone survey of 1120 respondents comprising a representative sample of the Israeli population. The study participants were asked about their mall visiting patterns, activities, and products purchased. Among the 1120 respondents, 725 reported having visited a shopping mall at least once during the last month. The study sample was divided into four generations: Veterans, Baby Boomers, Xers and Millennials. Significant differences were found between the four age cohorts: The Veterans appear to be the least-engaged mall shoppers, while the Millennials are the most enthusiastic about shopping malls, with Baby Boomers and Xers falling somewhere between these two cohorts. It is suggested that these differences derive from differences among members of these generations, born in different eras, and not only from their chronological ages. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.     

Examining shopping mall consumer decision-making styles,satisfaction and purchase intention

Understanding consumer decision-making (CDM) styles is essential for market segmentation, positioning and crafting marketing strategies within a market. Few studies have examined the structural relationship among decision-making styles that consumers exhibit during mall shopping, level of satisfaction and purchase intention. The purpose of this study was to examine CDM styles as the antecedents and predictors of level of satisfaction and purchase intention. Based on the Consumer Styles Inventory, eight CDM styles that individual exhibit during shopping mall activities are proposed in terms of utilitarian and hedonic perspectives. We hypothesize these eight CDM styles as a set of predictors of customer satisfaction and purchase intention. A total of 327 valid paper-and-pencil questionnaires were collected from several shopping malls in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Partial least squares (PLS) path modelling approach, a structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) technique was performed to test the proposed structural relationships. The empirical assessment supports that hedonic shopping styles consumers that exhibit high level of habitual, brand consciousness, fashion consciosness, recreational conscious style have lower levels of satisfaction and purchase intention during mall shopping while novelty and fashion conscious style consumers have lower level of satisfaction but do not unveil lower purchase intention. Utilitarian shopping styles consumers that exhibit high level of price conscious, confused by overchoice and high-quality conscious style have higher levels of satisfaction while impulsive/careless shoppers do not; and while price conscious, impulsive/careless, confused by overchoice consumers have higher levels of purchase intention but the high-quality conscious consumers do not unveil higher purchase intention. Further, there is a positive relationship between satisfaction and purchase intention. The practical and managerial implications are discussed.     

Influence of demographics,psychographics, shopping orientation,mall shopping attitude and purchase patterns on mall patronage in India

Retail boom in India is generating considerable interest from within the country as well as abroad. This growth in retail has been fueled by the mushrooming of shopping malls across the country. Despite this very little is known about the characteristics of the Indian mall shoppers. Also of special interest is the behavior of heavy shoppers because regardless of the footfalls at the mall, if the money spent is low, the mall does not benefit. The purpose of this study, therefore, was to profile Indian mall consumers, identify characteristics differentiating the high rupee volume purchasers at the mall and to evolve a model that can help predict heavy rupee volume purchasers in a catchment.The results of this study, spanning eight cities of India and 3026 mall consumers, indicate that the heavy shoppers are significantly different from the other groups along multiple demographic and socio-economic variables, behavioral variables, attitude and shopping orientation. Additionally, the study contributes to literature by evolving a typology of shoppers. The model evolved using Discriminant Analysis was used to predict potential heavy and low rupee volume purchasers for a city of interest, where currently there are no malls.     

Gender,fashion consumer group,need for touch and Korean apparel consumers' shopping channel preference

Shopping preferences are affected by the culture in which an individual grows up as well as by individual differences in consumers such as differences in gender, fashion leadership and need for touch. The current study examined the influence of consumers' need for touch and fashion leadership on preference for shopping outlets (e.g. touch and non‐touch shopping channels) between genders and within a particular culture. The purpose of this study was to examine gender, fashion consumer group, need for touch and Korean apparel consumers' shopping channel preference. Participants were a convenience sample of 262 Korean college students who were recruited in Changwon, South Korea. A questionnaire was compiled that included a request for demographic information, the Need For Touch scale, the Measure of Fashion Innovativeness and Opinion Leadership, and items assessing preference for touch and non‐touch shopping channels for clothing. Women and men did not differ in overall need for touch or instrumental need for touch. Fashion change agents and fashion followers did not differ in their preference for touch and non‐touch shopping channels. Preference for touch shopping channels was more greatly affected by variables such as need for touch, gender, and fashion innovativeness and opinion leadership than preference for non‐touch shopping channels. Preference for non‐touch shopping channels was virtually unaffected by the variables examined in the current study. Implications for theory and research are provided.