Determinants of Shopping Mall Attractiveness: The Indian Context

Abstract

This paper identifies the main attributes that lead to shoppers’ patronage of a shopping mall in the Indian context. The review of literature identifies sixteen salient attributes which converge into the following four main dimensions that can be considered as determinants of shopping mall attractiveness: (1) merchandising (2) variety & selection (3) milieu & facilities, and (4) convenience. The study is important to both practitioners and academics who have an interest and a stake in shopping centres and their patronage. The new found spending power of Indian consumers coupled with the heavy investments in shopping centres makes this study critical for retail practitioners, academics and researchers. This research has shown a fair degree of convergence between the preferences of shoppers in India and shoppers in other parts of the world in the context of shopping mall attribute evaluating criteria. This has important implications for future research.