2. Why the shopping mall?
$84 billion in retail sales each year, employ nearly half a million people and have an
asset value of almost $69 billion
There are currently approximately 1,102 shopping centres in Australia comprised of
63 regional centres, 268 discount department store centres, 759 supermarket
centres, and 12 CBD based centres.
All up, around 475,000 people are employed in shopping centres. That‟s 5.5% or 1 in
20 of the Australian workforce.
Some of the larger centres attract well over 15 million shopper visits per year. Across
Australia, there are 1.75 billion shopper visits each year. That means, on average,
each Australian visits a shopping centre twice a week.
An estimated 9 million Australian have invested in retail property through their
superannuation savings and their investments in listed property trusts and property
backed life insurance policies.
The ownership of shopping centres is broadly held. The top 30 owners share 52% of
total shopping centre floorspace. Compared to other major industries – eg
telecommunications, airlines, banking – this is an unusually broad spread of
ownership.
5. Rest of world
No of shopping
centres
Gross leasable area
US 105,000 7.3 billion sq ft
Europe 5,700 111 million sq ft
Australia 1,102 17.8 million sq ft
6. Research objectives
1. Explore current and future consumer and
retailer issues in mall management.
2. Determine the most likely future trends
and consumer needs that will influence
the success of urban shopping malls.
3. Consider the ways in which mall
managers and associated stakeholders
can realistically implement measures to
meet these future trends and needs.
7. Literature review
1. The academic research on malls spans:
Sociology Marketing
Urban planning Consumer behaviour
Real estate/Property investment
2. History of the mall
• The first enclosed mall was built in 1956 in Edina, Minnesota,
by Victor Gruen & Associates (Salcedo, 2003)
3. Most of the research comes from the US
4. Mall literature is closely linked with the retailing
literature
• Many studies focus on the individual retailer. There is a need
to focus on the mall as the unit of analysis (Bellenger et al,
1977)
8. Literature review cont‟d
Mall managers are interested in what is going to attract people to the mall.
There are internal drivers (the consumer) and external drivers (the mall
itself).
The literature shows how shopper types and patronage models developed.
For example, as early as Stone (1954), four shopper types are identified:
economic, personalising, ethical, apathetic.
Gautschi (1981): But researchers cannot agree on the same set of
constructs with which to measure mall patronage. This creates a vast array
of differing results.
Howell and Rogers (1981): Mall patronage is the „ultimate dependent
variable‟. Found that patronage of a shopping mall depends on the
shopping situation (ie, the context of the shopping trip, whether it be
grocery-based, fashion-based, etc).
The rise of the experiential aspects of consumption (Holbrook and
Hirschman, 1982) led to an increase in research on the utilitarian and the
hedonic motives for shopping (Wakefield and Baker, 1998, Arnold and
Reynolds, 2003, Haytko and Baker, 2004).
9. Literature review cont‟d
Bloch et al (1994) looked at consumer activities within malls.
Mall inhabitants consume the mall itself as well as products
and services offered within the mall. Found: enthusiasts,
traditionalists, grazers and minimalists. These categories did
not show differences in relation to demographic variables.
Burns and Warren (1995): Shopping mall patronage is not so
much dependent on location as an individual‟s need for
uniqueness.
Ruiz et al (2004): Extends Bloch et al‟s model with measures
of perceptions, emotions and motivations. Unlike Bloch, they
found that the clusters did relate to demographics.
Other areas in the literature cover: Mall image/branding,
entertainment, tenant mix, and the importance of community.
10. Research design
Methodology
Qualitative, exploratory, semi-structured interviews
Interview questions based on five types of questions:
Background, experience, knowledge, opinions, and feelings
(Erlandson et al, 2005)
Sampling
Combination of convenience and „snowballing‟
Ethical considerations
Confidentiality of data
Data analysis
Open coding and axial coding (Corbin and Strauss, 2008)
Triangulation of data
11. Themes
Tangible aspects
Fashion, tenant mix,
entertainment, prestige retail,
store and mall design
Non-tangible
aspects
Sense of community, belonging,
the value offering (not just
price), ambient features
Very important in
Australia
Restaurant dining
and fresh food
Demand for higher
quality
1. The shopping centre
experience
2. Food
12. Themes cont‟d
„Sameness‟ of
shopping centres
Australians travelling more,
need for new retailers
Corporate greed vs
the community
Mixed-use
developments
Separate to
marketing
Multi-channelling
Online shopping, social
media, iPhone apps
Here whether we
like it or not
Attitude of retailers
3. Innovation and
development
4. Emerging technologies
13. Themes cont‟d
Point of difference
Branding
PR-led approach
Events, promotions,
celebrities
Engaging the
customer
Through emerging
technologies
Gay
Immigrant
Grey
5. Marketing 6. Demographics
14. Themes cont‟d
Lack of innovation
Competition
Ambiguity of consumer wants
and needs
Old-fashioned marketing
approaches
Lack of customer service
Certain product categories
harder hit by internet
shopping
Relationship
between the retailer
and mall
management
7. Problems and
opportunities
8. Minor theme
15. What can mall management
do?
“The
success of
our shopping
centres are,
if you look at
all the ones
that are
thriving, they
evolve.”
(Interviewee)
Determine the mall‟s strategic
point of difference
Where appropriate, define and
nurture the relationship with the
local community
Harness emerging technologies
Consider the food offering
16. Future research
Innovation and design
How retailers can make effective use
of new technologies
The impact of population growth on
Australian communities and retail
areas such as shopping centres
17. References
http://www.scca.org.au
http://www.propertyoz.com.au
Arnold, M. J., & Reynolds, K. E. (2003). Hedonic shopping motivations. Journal of Retailing, 79, 77-95.
Bellenger, D. N., Robertson, D. H., & Greenberg, B. A. (1977). Shopping center patronage motives. Journal of
Retailing, 53(2), 29.
Bloch, P. H., Ridgway, N. M., & Nelson, J. E. (1991). Leisure and the shopping mall. [Article]. Advances in
Consumer Research, 18(1), 445-452.
Burns, D. J., & Warren, Homer B. (1995). Need for uniqueness: Shopping mall preference and choice activity.
International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, 23(12), 4-12.
Gautschi, D. A. (1981). Specification of patronage models for retail center choice. Journal of Marketing Research
(JMR), 18(2), 162-174.
Haytko, D. L., & Baker, J. (2004). It‟s all at the mall: exploring adolescent girls‟ experiences. Journal of Retailing,
80(1), 67.
Holbrook, M. B., & Hirschman, E. C. (1982). The experiential aspects of consumption: Consumer fantasies,
feelings, and fun. The Journal of Consumer Research, 9(2), 132-140.
Howell, R. D., & Rogers, J. D. (1981). Research into shopping mall choice behavior. [Article]. Advances in
Consumer Research, 8(1), 671-676.
Ruiz, J.-P., Chebat, J.-C., & Hansen, P. (2004). Another trip to the mall: a segmentation study of customers based
on their activities. [Article]. Journal of Retailing & Consumer Services, 11(6), 333-350.
Salcedo, R. (2003). When the global meets the local at the mall. American Behavioral Scientist, 46(8), 1084.
Stone, G. P. (1954). City Shoppers and Urban Identification: Observations on the Social Psychology of City Life.
The American Journal of Sociology, 60(1), 36-45.
Wakefield, K. L., & Baker, J. (1998). Excitement at the Mall: Determinants and Effects on Shopping Response.
Journal of Retailing, 74(4), 515-539.
