INFLUENCE OF MALL IN KERALA

“Influence of mall” – Changing consumer
shopping habits of Kerala

A Project submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirement for the degree
Bachelor of Commerce (Honours) in Marketing of St. Xavier’s College,
Kolkata

Submitted By:
Peter. J
Roll No.: 417
Under the Guidance of:
Prof.Dr.Shivaji Banerjee

DECLARATION

STUDENT DECLARATION
I hereby declare that the Project work with the title “Influence of mall –

changing consumer shopping habits of Kerala” submitted by me for the
partial fulfilment for the Degree of Bachelor of Commerce (Honours) in
Marketing under St. Xavier‘s College is my original work and has not been
submitted earlier to any other University or Institution for the fulfilment of
requirement for any course of study.
I also declare that no chapter of this manuscript in whole or in part has been
incorporated in this Report from any other work done earlier by others or me.
However extracts of any literature which has been used for this Report has
been duly acknowledged providing details of such literature in the references.

Peter. J

Registration No.:
Roll No.:
Kolkata
10 - 04 - 2013

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I deeply thank God and my family for showing me the way, no matter how
difficult the time was.
For his aspiring and invaluable guidance, I wish to express my heartfelt
gratitude to my Guide, Prof.Dr. Shivaji Banerjee, without whose support this
project could not have been successfully realized.
I thank Mr. N.P Dinta for his kindness and brotherly support towards me
throughout the term of internship in Lowe Lintas, Cochin.
Even thank Mr. Vinay Raj who held my hand during the period of internship
in Lowe Lintas, Cochin
My sincere gratitude to the interviewees and all respondents for their
invaluable time, acknowledging that, this study would not have been possible
without their assistance and support.
Finally, special thanks to all my friends for their constant support and
encouragement, and making these years in St. Xavier‘s memorable.

CONTENTS

Contents
Abstract

Page 01

Chapter One

Introduction

Page0 2

Chapter Two

Research Objectives

Page 14

Chapter Three

Literature Review

Page 15

3.2 Definition of Shopping ............................................................15
3.3 Types of Shoppers..................................................................... 20
3.4 Consumer Buying Behaviour ..................................................22
3.5 Organization of the Retail Industry ......................................25
3.6 Types of Retail Formats ...........................................................25
3.7 Shopping Malls .........................................................................28
3.8 Determinants for Choice of Shopping Malls...…................29
3.8.1 Number of Stores and the Tenant Mix……...........31
3.8.2 Location of the Shopping Mall ...............................32
3.8.3 Shopping Experience…………….............................33
3.8.4 Shopping Mall Image................................................34

Chapter Four

Research Methodology

Page 35

4.2 Research Objectives..................................................................35
4.3 Qualitative vs. Quantitative Research ..................................36
4.4 Data Collection…………...........................................................36
4.5 Research Instrument.................................................................37
4.5.1 Interviews/Surveys.....................................................37
4.6 Research Procedure ...................................................................38

CONTENTS

Chapter Five Findings and Conclusions

Page 39

5.2 Consumers Perspective……………………………………....39
5.3 Retailers Perspective………………………………………....46
5.4 Findings………………………………………………………..51
5.4.1 Choice Variables for Shopping Malls……..51
5.4.1.1 Anchor Stores………………………....51
5.4.1.2 Location………………………………..51
5.4.1.3 Shopping Experience………………...52
5.4.1.4 Image……………………….………….52
5.4.1.5 Price Sensitivity……………………....53
5.5 Conclusion………………………………………………...…...53

Chapter Six

Suggestions

Page 55

Chapter Seven Conclusions

Page 57

7.2 Limitations……………………………………………………58

Appendices

Page 60

ABSTRACT

Abstract
Kerala,‘ The God’s own country‘. Where India‘s largest mall has opened, Lulu
mall, as retail giants are raring to go in Kerala.
How did the state become a shopper’s paradise?
The retailing sector of Kerala is gradually marching its way towards becoming
the next boom industry. The whole concept of shopping has altered in terms
of format and consumer buying behaviour, ushering a revolution of shopping.
The growth of integrated shopping malls, retail chains and multi-brand
outlets is evidence of consumer behaviour being favourable to the growing
organized segment of the business. Modern retail has entered Kerala as seen
in sprawling shopping centres, multi stored malls and huge complexes offer,
shopping, entertainment and food courts. Due to these factors, the meaning of
shopping has changed. It is not just a mere necessity, as it was earlier, but
much more than that. The factors that affect store choice and draw customers
to the shopping centre include space, ambience, and convenience and
moreover an array of choice under same roof. Space, ambience and
convenience are beginning to play an important role in drawing customers.
Malls, which are new to the state, are anchored by large outlets of Reliance
group, Spencers, Big Bazaar and are also resided by a lot of Indian and
international brands, are also being seen as image benchmarks for
communities.
Thus, this project aims at studying the change in shopping trends of
consumers in Kerala with sprouting of malls in the state. For the completion
of the project, the data collected from local retailers as well as consumers have
been used as a tool. Various factors on which Keralites base their choice of
going to the shopping mall or the unorganized markets have been analyzed in
this research.

1

INTRODUCTION

Introduction
Kerala is a state located in the south-west region of India on the Malabar
Coast. Spread over 38,863 km2 (15,005 sq mi) with a population of 33,387,677,
it is bordered by Karnataka to the north and north east, Tamil Nadu to the
east and south, and the Laccadive Sea to the west. Thiruvanthapuram the state
capital among the 14 districts; other major cities include Kochi, Kozhikode,
Kollam and Thrissur. Kerala leads many other Indian states and territories in
terms of per capita GDP (74,620 INR States of India by size of economy)
and economic productivity and Kerala's Human Development Index is the
best in India. The 2011 census shows Kerala's HDI to be 0.920, which is higher
than that of most developed countries.1
―The Kerala Real Estate market remains buoyant despite many a setbacks and
slowdowns it has faced in the last two years. Some cities have witnessed
significant real estate activity especially Trivandrum, due to the influx of
Information Technology industry and software professionals. They bring with
themselves higher aspirations in terms of quality of life and higher disposable
incomes which accelerates real estate growth. Cities like Kochi on the other
hand are in the recovery mode after quite a large drop in prices over the last
year. We expect prices to start accelerating in Kochi and Kerala as a whole
towards 2014, once the recessionary trends reduce post elections in United
States and economic developments kick in into the Euro zone.‖ K
Ramachandran, CEO Nandanam Consultants.2

The Kerala model of development is famous for the achievements it has made
in the field of social infrastructure development like health care education.
Things have changed dramatically in the past few years especially the
quantum leap in the IT sector.
1
2

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kerala
http://www.slideshare.net/nandanamconsultants/kerala-real-estate-market-report-january-june-2012

Chapter:1

The real estate sector of the state's economy is really on an upswing. The entry
of global players and international equity management firms into the sector
points to the abundance of enthusiasm and confidence that the investors have
towards the potential and prospects of the sector in the years to come.

2

INTRODUCTION

The architecture of shops in all the cities and town in the state has changed
beyond recognition. Organized retail chains are mushrooming all over Kerala.
The first signs of their interest were 'supermarkets' such as IT super shops,
white goods retail chains and gold souks. Then came the malls. Nearly 50
malls are said to be built in the state in three years. The state government
announced the launch of agri-malls in all districts. At least three districts
would have fisheries malls. The launch of Lulu Mall, in Kerala, being the
largest mall in the country will only hasten the trend.
In Lulu's case, though these are early days, consumer response has been
"overwhelming", according to Shibu Philips, business head of Lulu Mall. The
mall is attracting footfalls of around 1 lakh even during working days, he
says. Established players in retail are not unduly worried. ―Several malls are
already operating in the state. But our business grew by 20% last year,‖ says
PP Jose, chief operating officer of jewellery chain Joyalukkas Group.
Unsurprisingly, leading jewellers are present in most malls. Yet, they are just
as focused on standalone stores. Joyalukkas Group, for instance, has said it
will launch mid-size malls in district headquarters under the brand 'Mall of
Joy'. In jewellery, says Jose, the bulk of the demand comes from families
shopping for weddings.‖They want privacy and more comfortable in an
exclusive standalone shop.‖3
The competition is also driving innovations. White goods retailer LanMark
Shops introduced a cluster approach in retailing, after it was unable to
compete with big players. "We have organized 200 smaller players under one
brand name called White Mart," says Jerry Mathew, managing director at
LanMark Shops. Buoyed by the success in Kerala, the company has expanded
into Tamil Nadu.

3

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/slideshows/infrastructure/indias-largest-mall-in-kochi-lulumall/slideshow/18923992.cms

Chapter:1

It is not hard to understand Kerala's shopping frenzy. Despite the relative
industrial backwardness, the state's per capita consumption expenditure is
one of the highest in the country thanks to remittances — largely from West
Asia — of nearly Rs 50,000 crore a year.

3

INTRODUCTION

Kerala is also home to cash crops like rubber, pepper, cardamom etc. If that's
not enough, there are easy loans — estimated to be over Rs 1 lakh crore
provided by gold loan companies.
The organized retailing in Kerala is going through a transformation and this
upcoming potential market is witnessing a significant change in its growth
and investment pattern. Both the unorganized as well as the existing
organized domestic players are experimenting with new retail formats.
These upcoming formats are giving consumers a lot to spend on.
With this transition taking place, the shopping behaviour of consumers is
likely to change as these formats were not in Kerala until recently or to be
precise before 2009.
A strong trend in favour of organized retail format is being witnessed in
Kerala. Retailing has been considered as a sunrise industry. The Kerala retail
sector is undergoing through a transition phase. It is one of the biggest
contributors to the Kerala GDP. More and more players are venturing into the
retail business in Kerala to introduce new attractive retail formats like malls,
supermarkets, discount stores, departmental stores and even changing the
traditional look of the bookstores, chemist shops and furnishing stores.4
Hence, retailing in Kerala has emerged as one of the most dynamic and fast
paced industries with several players like:

4

http://www.kochukeralam.in/life-style/shopping-malls-in-kerala

Chapter:1

Lulu Cochin Mall
Abad Nucleus Mall
Oberon Mall
Focus Mall
Bay Pride Mall
Gold Souk Grande

4

INTRODUCTION

Image 1: Lulu mall, Kochi

The Lulu Shopping Mall is the largest shopping mall in India, located in
Edapally area of Kochi, Kerala. It is built on an area of 3,900,000 sq ft, with
total area for mall alone at 230,000 square meters (3,900,000 sq ft) and the
remaining portion for a premium five-star hotel managed by JW Marriott
Hotels. Opened on 10 March 2013, the mall consist of more than 360 outlets
including food courts, restaurants, family entertainment zones and a nine-

Image 1 source: http://www.kochivibe.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/lulu-mall-kochi.jpg

Chapter:1

screen multiplex, ice skating ring and bowling alley.

5

INTRODUCTION

Image 2: Nucleus Mall, Maradu, Kochi.

Nucleus Mall is a recently opened mall in Maradu, an upcoming suburb of
Kochi, Kerala. The Mall has 13,000 square meters (140,000 sq ft) of retail space
spread over 4 floors and 12,400 square meters (133,000 sq ft) of office space
spread over 6 floors. The Mall is located in the developing suburban of
Maradu, near to Thripunithura. The Mall was opened with much gala on
November 12, 2010. The Mall is India‘s first LEED certified gold rated green

Image 2 source: http://www.nucleusmall.in/images/map.jpg

Chapter:1

mall.

6

INTRODUCTION

Image 3: Oberon Mall, Kochi

Oberon Mall is a shopping mall located in the Indian city of Kochi and the
current largest lifestyle mall in Kerala in operation. The mall is also the first
full format mall in Kerala, opened formally on March 2, 2009, though the mall
was launched in 2008. The cost of construction of the mall is about Rs. 1
billion. It is built on an area of 39,600 square meters (426,000 sq ft) across five
floors of shops and office spaces and covering grounds of up to 6 acres (2.4
ha). Oberon Mall was developed and promoted by the Oberon Group of
Companies, India. The mall is one of the busiest shopping avenues for the city
Chapter:1

of Cochin.

Image 3 source:http://www.google.co.in/imgres?imgurl=http://www.oberonmall.com/photogallery/1315041338.jpg

7

INTRODUCTION

Image 4: Focus Mall, Calicut

Image 4 source: http://www.keralafind.com/advertisement_banners/calicut_thefocusmall_pic.jpg

Chapter:1

Focus mall is a Shopping mall located in the heart of Calicut city. The mall is
having six floors having a total area of 2.5 lakh square feet. The parking
facility of Focus mall is also excellent. The vehicles can be parked in two floors
on underground and top floor having a total capacity of 300 cars. The
shopping mall contains all the leading brand products. Self service food court
and restaurant in top floor is another specialty. Lifts and escalators are
available for customers who make shopping friendly and healthy. Focus mall
is also a centralized air-conditioned mall. View point is also available in top
floor where visitors have a chance to see the entire Calicut city. Focus mall is
the first ISO 9001:2008 certified mall in Kerala.

8

INTRODUCTION

Image 5 Bay Pride mall, Kochi

Image 5 source: http://kochipattanam.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/ob2-1346068914.jpg

Chapter:1

Bay Pride mall is one of the top most shopping mall in Kerala. About 21000
square feet with two floors constructed on 9,000 square meters (97,000 sq ft). Bay
Pride Mall is the prestigious product of Abad builders. This shopping mall in
Kerala is situating face to Arabian Sea, is a plus point of this shopping mall.
There have arranged showrooms of local and international leading branded
items which facilitate shopping more easily. Bay Pride Mall is prestigious
headstone to the Cochin business history. Every day a lot of peoples visited here
and received Bay Pride Mall‘s services and are saying that they are satisfied in
the services of Bay Pride Mall. To satisfying their customers they are giving lot of
offers with their products.

9

INTRODUCTION

Image 6: Gold Souke Grande, Kochi

Gold Souk Grandé Kochi,is a shopping mall, in the city of Kochi, Kerala which
was formally opened in March 2011. With retail space of 57,600 square meters
(620,000 sq ft), this is the largest mall in the state of Kerala. The Mall is part of the
Gold Souk chain of Malls located all over the country and a brand of Gurgaon
based retail and property developer The Gold Souk Grande‘ Kochi is Aeren

Chapter:1

Group‘s first venture in Kerala.

Image 6 source: http://kochipattanam.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/1336887947_78890525_9-GoldSouk-Mall-Kochi-Retail-Space-with-rent-for-Sale--1349509961.jpg

1
0

INTRODUCTION

Image 7 Big-I-Mall, Thiruvnanthapuram

Big-I-Mall

is

an

upcoming

shopping

mall

under

construction

in

Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India. It will have a built up area of 15,300 square
meters (165,000 sq ft). It is also the first Green Mall to be built in Kerala as per the
guidelines of the Indian Green Building Council. This mall features High speed
Schindler elevators from Switzerland and for the first time in Kerala.. The Big I
Mall is located on the NH bypass opposite Technopark, close to the international
Chapter:1

airport.

Image 7 source: http://thetrivandrumblog.blogspot.com/2012/09/upcoming-shopping-malls-in-trivandrum.html

11

INTRODUCTION

Naaz Lifestyle Mall
Naaz Lifestyle Shopping Mall
is a recently opened mini mall in
Pulimoodu, Thiruvananthapuram. The mall has 9 floors. It includes clothing
centre of various brands like Wrangler, Levis etc , a crockery store , cosmetics
store, food court and a gaming zone.
Sobha City Mall
Sobha City Mall is a shopping mall under construction in ThrissurCity,
Kerala, India. The Mall is also the first shopping mall in South India to be
themed with the concept of Wedding, catering to wedding shoppers. The Mall
will have predominately a gold souk offering leading jewellery brands from
all over India and the world, four major wedding apparels stores and other
regular branded store.
Forum Thomsun Mall
Forum Thomsun Mall is an upcoming mall under construction in the city of
Kochi, Kerala, India. The Mall is promoted by one of the India‘s largest realty
firm, the Prestige Group as a joint venture with Thomsun Realtors. Prestige
Group pioneered in retail sector by starting South India‘s first Mall ‗The
Forum‘ in Bangalore. Forum Kochi Mall is debut venture of Prestige Group
into Kerala.5
Nearly 50 malls are said to be built in the state in three years. The state
government announced the launch of agri-malls in all districts. At least three
districts would have fisheries malls. The launch of Lulu Mall, in Kerala, being
the largest mall in the country will only hasten the trend.

Chapter:1

In these circumstances, in which these new retail formats are sprouting at a
rapid pace in Kerala, there remains a need among Kerala businesses to
understand the pulse and pace of the state. There remains need among Kerala
businesses to understand the changing behaviour of consumers towards
shopping in these organized retail outlets or malls.

5

http://www.kochukeralam.in/life-style/shopping-malls-in-kerala

1
2

INTRODUCTION

Also, due to the limited success of these outlets, it is necessary for retailers to
be aware of shoppers‘ motivations and to understand ways of attracting the
consumers. Till date, there has been very limited research on the shopping
habits of consumers in Kerala has been done.6
Through this Project ―Influence of Mall – Changing Consumer Shopping
Habits in Kerala‖, I attempt to fill these gaps, thereby investigating the
shopping behaviour of the Kerala consumers, particularly with the new retail
formats emerging.

Chapter:1

This study would concentrate on the consumer response towards the large
retail outlets, behaviour the consumer exhibits while visiting or making
purchases in the newly opened malls. It would explore the purpose and
motive behind the Kerala consumers‘ visit to these newly established
shopping malls, the values they derive from the shopping trip and their
shopping behaviour in terms of impulse purchases, time and money spent at
the shopping mall, etc.

6

http://www.scribd.com/doc/53922188/Organized-Retailing-in-Kerala-%E2%80%93Key-Issues-and-Challenges

1
3

RESEARCH OBJECTIVE

Research objectives
There have been many motivations for me to pursue with this topic for my
project. Firstly, there have been massive changes in the demographic factors
of the Kerala consumer. Some of the factors include income and consumption
growth (foreign remittance), high literacy levels, changes in family structure
and women‘s role in the family, growing role of children as influencers,
gradual acceptance of frozen goods as a viable alternative to fresh produce
and the growing influence of media. These factors have been a driving force of
organized retailing in Kerala which has further driven the growth of the real
estate industry with more and more demand for retail space within malls.
The second motivator behind my choice of topic was that, I‘m a Keralite who
wonders regarding the twists and turns happening in my home state, social
wise and economy wise. Being a marketing student I believe knowing the
consumer behaviour of people from my land will be the first step I could lay
in my career. Therefore, this research would be helpful for me as it would give
a clear idea about the consumers in malls.

How are the consumers‘ shopping habits changing with upcoming
retail formats, specifically malls?
What are the determinants of consumers when choosing between a
shopping mall and the unorganized market?

Chapter:2

What is the impact of the development in real estate industry on the
organization of the retail industry in Kerala?

14

LITERATURE REVIEW

Literature review
Rowley and Slack (2004) describe literature review as ―a summary of a subject
field that supports the identification of specific research questions”. McCraken (1998)
specifies that a literature review offers ―deconstruction‖ of the existing
literature by establishing a survey of the ground and assessing the categories
and relationships that must be investigated, an approach I would attempt to
undertake in this research. The aim of this chapter is to examine and present a
comprehensive analysis of existing literature on the project topic.
An entire culture has taken root in Kerala and a sub culture emerged round
shopping malls. Shopping mall culture hits Kerala and malayali minds. Kerala
has the ability to adapt fast to every new changes without losing its identity.
Kerala‘s modern, multi-storey stylish shopping malls are a shopaholic
paradise. Shopping malls in Kerala accommodate every taste, pocket and
style. The latest addition to Kerala‘s ‗malls cape‘ is the new and fabulous Lulu
International Shopping Mall, the largest mall in India. Shopping mall culture
is growing in Kerala and a prominent feature of retail development here.
Shopping malls with its fashion stores, multiplexes, hang outs, game zones
bring new dimension and identity to cities of Kerala.7

3.2 Definition of Shopping:
According to Dholakia, the rationale for shopping is making physical visits to
a shopping site. It is considered as a household task as well as a form of
recreation, relaxation and entertainment.
7

http://tumkuruniversity.in/blog/?p=152

Chapter:3

Malls are more than just shopping destinations. Shopping mall is a place for
social gets together – to meet, eat and mingle and to be a one-stop
entertainment destination with exceptional leisure opportunities. Extensive
Shopping Malls in Kerala have changed the way people window shop and
buy in Kerala. It promises an internationally accepted standard of shopping to
every prospective customer and altogether a different and overwhelming
shopping experience. The premier malls showcase of international lifestyle
trends in relation to fashion, cuisine, urban leisure and more.

15

LITERATURE REVIEW

As per the definition of Lunt and Livingstone, going out to shop is a
conspicuous moment in consumption. Most researchers, who have studied
shopping behaviour, changing consumer shopping habits consider shopping a
gendered activity. It has been revealed that shopping is a women‘s activity
and they were the ones responsible for household shopping. Many other
consumer research studies about shopping have also had a greater part their
respondents as women.8
Shopping is also considered by Oakley, to having the most positive attribute
of being a leisure activity along with work. Howard (2007) also believes
shopping to be a leisure pursuit and with the rapid development of shopping
centres, both retailers and developers are trying to make it more of a pleasure
activity. Of the many studies done in an attempt to identify motives of
shopping, the one by Tauber (1972) is a prime one. He identified eleven
motives of shopping in a market based economy apart from the acquirement
of products and services and classified them as role playing and social
experience outside home (Howard, 2007).

Chapter:3

Diversion:

1. Shopping is a good excuse to get out of
the house
2. Shopping is a hassle
3. Going to the mall picks up my spirit
4. Sometimes I go shopping just to kill time
5. You don't have to buy anything to
have fun shopping
6. I only shop when I have to buy
something
7. I can go shopping every hour of the
day
8. I go to the mall to eat

8

South and Spitze (1994) and Flam and Axelrod (1990)

1
6

LITERATURE REVIEW

Self-gratification:

Learning about new trends:

1. I rarely buy things just as a special treat
2. Sometimes I go shopping just to pamper
myself
3. I often buy something I don't really need
to pick up my spirit
4. It's especially fun to buy "impulse" items
5. I enjoy anonymity
6. I can mind my business
7. There is no pressure to buy

1. Shopping is how I find out what's new
2. I often browse just to keep up with new
products on the market
3. I often shop to keep up with the latest
trends
4. I like to visit new stores to see what they
have to offer
5. I enjoy window shopping and browsing
through stores
6. I feel modern

Chapter:3

Sensory stimulation:

1. I enjoy looking at store displays
2. I enjoy the hustle and bustle of stores
and shopping malls
3. Stores and shopping malls are exciting
places to visit
4. At the shopping mall you can find anything
5. I can give a glance
6. It's a source of inspiration

1
7

LITERATURE REVIEW

Social experiences outside the home:

Communication with others
having similar interests:

Status and authority:

1. Store crowds get on my
nerves
2. Sometimes I shop just to be around
other people
3. Shopping is an opportunity for social
interaction
4. I like meeting people while shopping
5. I do not suffer from loneliness

1. I enjoy talking to other shoppers
2. I enjoy talking with other
customers and salespeople
3. Salespeople are kind
4. I can talk with salespeople who advise me

1. It's fun to be waited on in stores
2. I enjoy the personal attention I get
at better stores
3. I like being "pampered" by attentive
salespeople
4. I wish salespeople would just leave me
alone
5. I wish salespeople were more
attentive and respectful

Chapter:3

Physical activity:

1. Sometimes I shop just to get some exercise
2. Sometimes I go to the mall just to stretch
out and walk
3. Shopping gets me up and doing
something physically active

1
8

LITERATURE REVIEW

Pleasure in bargaining (Processes):

Pleasure in bargains (Outcomes):

External reasons:

1. I like to dicker with salespeople
2. I hate to negotiate over prices
3. When I think I can bargain, I offer a lower price
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

I don't worry much about getting the best deal
I'm always looking for sales
I love to hunt for bargains
It's important to me to be a smart shopper
I constantly have my eyes open for good deals
You can save money by shopping in malls

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

The parking lot is wide
The shopping mall is near my house
The salesgirls are pretty
Entry is free
The environment is inviting
I go to the shopping mall because it's new

Table 1: Shopping motives and items according to Tauber (1972)

Social reasons are important, as Lunt and Livingstone (1992) describe
shopping as a spectacle in which the person who is shopping is both a
spectator and a performer (Dholakia, 1999). However, most of these motives
that have been mentioned in the table can be described as pleasure or leisure
related. Many studies that have followed Tauber‘s (1972) study have made an
attempt to generate some evidence from reality to confirm these motives. A lot
of consumer Behaviour researches have investigated and found insights into
the personal and Situational experiences of shopping and its emotional and
behavioural effects (Howard, 2007).

Interactions With Family
Utilitarian
Shopping As Pleasure

Table 1 source: Shopping motives and items according to Tauber (1972) from Sinha (2004)

Chapter:3

Another research on the key determinants and motivations of shopping
behaviour by Dholakia (1999) has explored and empirically tested three
reasons behind going for shopping as:

1
9

LITERATURE REVIEW

3.3

Types of Shoppers:

CWHB‟s (2002) survey on Where People Shop covering 12 countries of
Europe has identified six types of shoppers on the basis of demographic,
attitude and behavioural characteristics.
Apart from considering food shopping as essential, these can be segmented
as:
Pleasure Seeking Shoppers: Enjoy the leisure oriented side of shopping
and mostly shop for designer clothes or stop by at a coffee shop or
snack bar.
Principled Shoppers: who are mostly older women, are governed by
strong moral principles where shopping is concerned. In terms of food,
they buy organic, natural and non factory framed food and in terms of
clothes, they prefer to shop for fashion brands.
Discerning Food Shoppers: constitutes of the population which buys
food in markets and local shops around the neighbourhood instead of
going to the supermarkets.
Independent Shoppers: The younger population with children, a part
of this category, shop for clothes more often than food and they do not
prefer to be assisted while shopping, especially for clothes.
Enthusiastic Shoppers: They are most likely to shop in streets rather
than going to shopping centres and are influenced by the offers that are
given in the various retail outlets.

9

CWHB (2002), Where People Shop, Cushman Wakefield Healey & Baker, London in Millan E.S. & Howard E.
(2007), Shopping for Pleasure? Shopping Experiences for Hungarian Consumers, International Journal of Retail
and
Distribution Management, Vol. 35 No. 6, pp 474-487

Chapter:3

Negative Shoppers: This category has the highest ratio of males who
have a negative perception of shopping and they cannot spend good
time in a shopping area.9

2
0

LITERATURE REVIEW

Consumer Centre (2007) also classifies shoppers into seven kinds of shopping
personalities:
Window shopper: they visits the shopping mall for leisure, usually
walks around in the mall with a friend enjoying the whole atmosphere,
without an intention to buy.
Bargain hunter: they prefer to shop at discount stores and mostly buy
when the retail outlets offer sales.
Power shopper: they do not visit the shopping centres that often, but
are very organized when they are shopping. They carry a shopping list
with them, buy only what they need and know where to get it.
Shopaholics: they have been further divided into two segments,
(1) The consumers who enjoy the whole shopping experience, and
the other being the compulsive spenders.
(2) These are people with low self esteem and get pleasure out of
spending money, which is not a healthy thing to happen. Their
urge to shop returns back every few days.
Shopping phobic: these people are the ones who just hate the
experience of shopping in a shopping centre and cannot find anything
positive out of going out to shop. They would rather sit at home and
shop online.

Shopping misers: these are somewhat similar to the shopping
phobic‘s, who just have to take out faults from everything they see in
the shopping centres including the parking lots, prices of the
merchandise, the return policy of the outlets, etc.10

10

Consumer centre (2007), http://www.superpages.com/consumercenter/clothing/personality.html

Chapter:3

Indecisive shoppers: this category finds it very difficult to decide what
to buy. They run around each store just to evaluate the price and
quality of one product, which they don‘t end up buying at all.

2
1

LITERATURE REVIEW

3.4

Consumer Buying Behaviour:

The traditional shopping choice behaviour of consumers was related to need
recognition, when the consumer comes to know that he wants to purchase a
product. Once the need has been recognized, then he moves on to search for
information about the product and evaluates the alternatives available to him
before finally makes a decision to purchase the product. He might visit certain
outlets stocking that product, consult his friends, buying guides or store
employees about it. Even after making the purchase, he might re-evaluate it
(Taylor and Cosenza, 2002).
Shopping behaviour of consumers is different in different countries. The
reasons of this varying shopping behaviour are the diverse cultures and the
changing economies of the various countries (Millan and Howard, 2007). A
study of the various kinds of shopping behaviours therefore needs to be done,
covering the various shopping contexts. Dholakia (1999) has provided a
framework to understand the shopping behaviour of consumers.

Chapter:3

Figure 1 : Framework to understand shopping behaviour

Figure 1 source: Dholakia R.R. (1999), Going Shopping: Key Determinants of Shopping Behaviours and
Motivations, International Journal of Retail and Distribution Management, Vol. 27 No. 4, pp 154-165

2
2

LITERATURE REVIEW

Solomon (2002) and Stern (1962) have recognized four types of purchase
behaviours namely:
Planned: it involves information search about the product to be bought,
evaluation of alternatives and then rational decision making. This is
time consuming.
Unplanned: it does not involve this kind of an initial planning. It arises
when the consumer is unfamiliar with the store layout, has a shortage
of time or just remembers to buy the product when he sees it on the
store shelf (Shoham and Brencic, 2003; Hausman, 2000).
Impulse: occurs when a consumer finds a product on the store shelf
and is unable to resist the urge of buying it. It accounts for a large
quantity of products sold that are bought every year and also covers a
wide range of product categories. It has been portrayed by many
researchers as a signal of immaturity, irrationality and risk and an
absence of behavioural control (Levy, 1976 and Solnick et al., 1980)
(Hausman, 2000).

11

Solomon M.R. (2002), “Consumer Behaviour”, Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ in Shoham A. & Brencic
M.M. (2003), “Compulsive Buying Behaviour”, Journal of Consumer Marketing, Vol. 20 No. 2, pp 127-138

Chapter:3

Compulsive: it is repetitive and excessive shopping by consumers due
to anxiety, boredom and tension (Solomon, 2002). According to
O‘Guinn and Faber (1991), compulsive buying has been defined as a
‗chronic, repetitive purchasing that becomes a primary response to
negative events or feelings‘. Such consumers are characterized by
depression, obsession, tend to fantasize and have lower levels of self
esteem (Shoham and Brencic, 2003).11

2
3

LITERATURE REVIEW

Wilson (1998) represented consumer buying for social, recreational and
therapeutic reasons in the form of a matrix:

Figure 2 – A Two Dimensional Matrix of Consumer Buying

12

& Figure 2 source: Wilson D.F. (1998), “Why Divide Consumer and Organizational Buyer
Behaviour?”, European Journal of Marketing, Vol. 34 No. 7, pp 780-793

Chapter:3

Many other factors may also affect purchase decisions. A person is likely to be
influenced in making his/ her purchase decisions if he/ she are accompanied
by another individual while making a shopping trip. A study by Nicholls et
al. (1994) also found that a person will tend to shop more and spend more
money when going out with someone. Other situational factors can also have
an impact on shopping behaviour and purchase decisions. They include task
definition, antecedent states, social and physical surroundings and temporal
perspectives. For example, scarcity of time, any pre-existing affects, choice of
the retail outlet and store attribute salience, variety of merchandise available
in the store and even store fragrance have an effect on buying behaviour
(Nichols et al., 2002). Shopping frequency is also a significant concept while
studying consumer shopping behaviour. It is defined as the number of
incidences when a product is purchased by someone in person. The shopping
frequency is subjective to the time and effort that is put by a person and his/
her gender and shopping responsibility for the household. It is also
determined by the shopping context.12

2
4

LITERATURE REVIEW

3.5 Organization of the Retail Industry:
According to Dixon (2005), for the development of cities and towns, the retail
industry has a very important contribution to make (Howard, 2007). The retail
industry these days is not just about selling products in the shops. With a lot
of development taking place in the retail industry, the retailer, along with that,
needs to survey the consumers in the markets, identify and understand their
needs, provide them with more choice and experience offering competitive
prices. Apart from that, he is also required to maintain a relationship with the
consumers in order to retain them for long unorganized retailing is defined as
having outlets or stores run locally by the owner or caretaker of a shop that
lacks enough technical and accounting standardization. Both the supply chain
and sourcing are done locally to meet local needs.13

3.6

Types of Retail Formats:

Reynolds et al. (2007) defined a retail format as a physical representation in
the form of firm‘s activities which relates to the business model developed by
the retailers and their business strategy. It is a kind of a retail mix followed by
a group of retailers, which they can present to the customers and where an
interaction with the shoppers can be made. It is an assortment of variables
such as the merchandise, price, ease of payment and the whole, shopping
experience that is offered to the customers, through which the business
context and strategy can be conveyed. To convince the target audiences and to
compete with other players in the market, the retailer needs to represent
himself with an appropriate retail format. While deciding on the retail
formats, the retailers ought to assess certain factors such as drivers of growth,
the customers‘ profile and their expectations, the competitors and the
challenges faced from them.14

13

Sathyaraj , “Definition of Unorganized Retailing”, http://retail-industry.blogspot.com/
& Figure 3 source: Reynolds et al. (2005), “Assessing the productivity of the UK retail sector”, International
Review of Retail, Distribution and Consumer Research 14 (2005) (3), pp. 337–349
14

Chapter:3

As the researchers classify the types of retail format it can also be observed the
method or the thought process of people to go to these stores and purchase
vary. Therefore it is better to understand the objectives of shoppers, retailers
and competitors for this purpose.

2
5

LITERATURE REVIEW

The process of format selection by the retailer is represented in the figure
below:

With continued development of the retail industry, newer retail formats are
emerging every day. Many researchers have tried to explain as to why this
occurrence of new retail formats takes place. These explanations have given
credit to demanding consumers, competitive retailers and manufacturers.
Some studies have proposed the idea that value oriented consumers demand
for new formats and in a response to these demands; the retailers are driven to
develop these. The retailers‘ perspective suggests that as a result of expense
control and operational efficiencies, the competitive retailers are pushed
towards bringing new formats. Other researchers explain this phenomenon
with the help of globalization of the manufacturing base. Rousey and
Morgansky (1996) has suggested that whoever may be responsible for the
emergence of newer retail formats, but in the end the consumer is gaining as
he is being provided with a variety to chose from15
15

Rousey S.P. & Morganosky M.A. (1996), “Retail Format Change in US Markets”, International Journal of
Retail and Distribution Management, Vol. 24 No. 3, pp 8-16

Chapter:3

Figure 3 – Process of Format Selection

2
6

LITERATURE REVIEW

TYPE

LOCATION

ASSORTMENT

SERVICES

PRICE AND
PROMOTION

Business district
shopping centre or
isolated store

Extensive width and
depth of assortment:
average to good
quality

Good to
excellent

Average to high
prices heavy and
catalogue use,
direct mail;
personal selling

Full – line
discount store

Business district
shopping centre or
isolated store
power strip
centres

Extensive width and
depth of assortment;
average to good
quality

Slightly
below
average–toaverage

Low prices;
heavy use of
newspapers, price
oriented,
moderate sales
force

Specialty store

Business district
or shopping centre
regional malls

Very narrow width of
assortment; extensive
depth of assortment;
average to good
quality

Average to
high
excellent

High prices,
heavy use of
displays;
extensive sales
force

Hypermarkets

Stand - alone

Average

Low

Low

Variety store

Business district
shopping centre or
isolated store

Good width and depth
of assortment; below
average to average
quality

Below
average

Heavy use of
newspapers, self
service

Off-price
chain

Business district,
suburban
shopping strip or
isolated store

Moderate width, but
poor depth of
assortment; average
to good quality, low
continuity

Below
average

Use of
newspapers,
brands not
advertised;
limited sales
force

Factory outlet

Out-of-the way
site or discount
mall

Moderate width but
poor depth of
assortment; some
irregular
merchandise; low
continuity

Very low

Little; self service

Drug store

Stand-alone, strip Very deep
centres

Average

Average to high

Home
improvement
centres

Stand-alone,
Very deep
power
strip
centres

Low to high

low

Table 2: Most common types of retail formats

Chapter:3

Traditional
department
store

2
7

LITERATURE REVIEW

With a diverse range of retail formats available, consumers tend to get
confused. Consumer try to stick to certain retail formats, however, their
preferences change with the development of newer retail formats. Although
patronage patterns occur, they are specific to certain product categories like
food and clothing. Shifts are bound to take place in other product categories.
With the increase in the number of retail formats from which the consumers
can make choices, the retailer should try to understand the market and
consumer shopping habits from a dynamic rather than a static perspective.16

3.7

Shopping Malls:

A shopping mall is typically, a shopping complex connected by walkways. It
provides shopping as well as entertainment options to the target consumers. It
generally, contains one anchor store, which consumes twenty five percent of
its retail space. In addition a mall contains specialty stores for (Sankar, 2005):
Clothes
Accessories
Home needs
Books
Food court
Multiplexes
Entertainment zones

16

& Table 2 source: Rousey S.P. & Morganosky M.A. (1996), “Retail Format Change in US Markets”,
International Journal of Retail and Distribution Management, Vol. 24 No. 3, pp 8-16

Chapter:3

According to Nicholls et al. (2002), a shopping mall is a place where a wide
mix of retail outlets are situated under one roof, and is usually anchored by
one or more stores like departmental stores, which also helps to attract
consumer traffic to that place. They are advertised as both shopping and
recreation centres. An added advantage of the shopping mall is that all
merchandise, entertainment such as a theatre or amusement park, food,
services and atmosphere in the mall are all available under one roof and it is
environmentally protected. This advantage also acts as a crowd puller.
Moreover, the consumer can shop without the tensions of any traffic
congestions or parking problems, security issues or crime districts.

2
8

LITERATURE REVIEW

3.8

Determinants for Choice of Shopping Mall:

In the views of Sinha and Banerjee (2004), store choice behaviour of a
consumer is considered a cognitive procedure. It is believed to be a process of
information processing as the brand choice or any purchase decision is
considered. It is very similar to the decision of making a brand choice except
the fact that store choice is influenced by the location factor, which does not
need to be considered when making a selection of brands.17
According to a study conducted by Kenhove et al. (1999), the choice of store
by the consumer was differentiated by the nature of the task that had to be
executed by him. The different tasks that were described by the respondents
included:

Figure 4 – Store Choice Model for Evolving Markets
17

Fotheringham, A.S. (1988), “Consumer store choice and choice set definition”, Marketing Science, Vol. 7 No.
3, pp. 299-310 in Sinha P.K. & Banerjee A. (2004), Store Choice Behaviour in an Evolving Market, International
Journal of Retail and Distribution Management, Vol. 32 No. 10, pp 482-494

Chapter:3

Urgent purchases
Large quantity purchases
Difficult job
Regular purchases
Getting ideas

2
9

LITERATURE REVIEW

Store choice decision is also driven by other tangible and intangible
characteristics provided by the store. They include the store size, format,
distance from home and environment of the store. Mattson (1982) found that
store choice can also be influenced by situational factors such as time
constraints and gift versus self shopping, further which can be classified as the
competitive setting, the individual‘s situational set and the shopping occasion.
However, if store choice is evaluated by the nature of situational factors, then
these factors need to be studied for each shopping visit of the consumers to
the various stores, also looking into the costs incurred and the benefits made
by them during the shopping task.
Many other researchers are also based on the store choice behaviour of
consumers and have given various different viewpoints about the factors on
which it depends. Oppewal and Timmermans (1997) consider the major
determinants of store choice behaviour to be external factors such as retail
floor space, distance, parking facilities, etc. Malhotra (1983) suggests that
shoppers choose a particular store if the perceived value of visiting that store
is the same as the threshold value attached to it by the shopper. The threshold
value is also allotted on the basis of the image associated with that store.
Dodge and Summer (1986) found that store choice is a function of variables
like socio economic background, the personality and the past purchase
experiences of the consumers. Lumpkin et al. (1985) who conducted a study to
compare the behaviour of young and elderly shoppers found that instead of
basing their store choice on price and distance from residence, the elderly
shoppers chose a store which was high on entertainment value.18

18

& Figure 4 source : Sinha P.K. & Banerjee A. (2004), “Store Choice Behaviour in an Evolving Market”,

Chapter:3

Although a lot of differences have been noticed among the different age
groups while studying their preferences of the shopping malls (Anderson et
al., 2003), general shoppers of all age groups are attracted to innovation and
uniqueness. Attractiveness of the shopping mall also determines the rent that
the various retailers have to pay in order to open an outlet in the mall. The
major factors which affect the attractiveness of a shopping mall have been
discussed further.

3
0

LITERATURE REVIEW

3.8.1

Number of Stores and the Tenant Mix:

Wilhelm and Mottner (2005) have considered the number of retail outlets in a
shopping mall as one of the factors that helps shoppers decide which mall to
choose. While studying mall preferences of teenagers, Baker and Haytko
(2000) have said that not only the number but the variety of different stores is
also a decisive aspect for them. The assortment of stores and services, known
as the retail mix, as well as less repetition of stores are also key factors for a
number of shoppers. Therefore, the tenant mix is also an important construct.
The range of tenants in the shopping mall can include:
Departmental stores
Supermarkets
Apparel stores
Entertainment and leisure facilities

19

Miceli, T.J., Sirmans, C.F. and Stake, D. (1998), “Optimal competition and allocation of space in shopping
centres”, Journal of Real Estate Research, Vol. 16 No. 1, pp. 113-26 in Ooi J.T.L. & Sim L.L. (2007), The
Magnetism of Suburban Shopping Centers: Do Size and Cineplex Matter? , Journal of Property Investment and
Finance, Vol. 25 No. 2, pp 111-135

Chapter:3

The anchor tenants are also a major part of the tenant mix as they help to
generate a lot of shopper traffic to the mall. Miceli et al. (1998) said that apart
from considering the profit of a store, the mall management should also take
into consideration its consumer drawing power to the mall, as more
consumers would also lead to the profit generation for other stores in the mall
as well. To ensure the success of a shopping mall, one or more anchor tenants
should be selected by the management so that they initially attract customers,
which can be charged lower rent. According to Brown (1994), the anchor store
for a shopping mall in the central city is more likely to be a departmental
store, whereas for a mall in the suburbs, the anchor store would be a
supermarket. He also suggested that the layout of the mall should be such
that the anchor stores should be placed at the both ends of the mall, service
outlets on the side malls closer to the exits and entrances of the mall and
outlets like pet shops and dry cleaners should be positioned away from the
food stores. Moreover, if a large number of similar stores are clustered
together, this would bring agglomeration benefits and thus more customers
would be drawn towards the shopping mall. 19

31

LITERATURE REVIEW

Also, with smaller shopping malls coming up, tenants like restaurants and
fast food outlets, clothing stores, retail service providers and institutional
tenants such as banks and post officers are gaining more importance. As the
tenant mix is a very important factor, the decision of correct assortment of
tenants should be the starting point for any shopping mall. Apart from being
a crowd puller, it also affects the image of the shopping mall, its patronage
and rentals. It also influences the length of stay of customers in the mall and
their level of excitement. However, the definition of what should be called the
ideal tenant mix would keep developing over time. It has also become difficult
for the mall management to find the appropriate tenants for the malls, reasons
being large number and competition between shopping malls, upcoming
newer retailing formats and the downturn in economies.20

3.8.2

Location of the Shopping Mall:

“Some researchers have even shown that, while good business practices may not
compensate for poor location, good location may compensate for poor business
practices”
The Law of Retail Gravitation Model by Reilly (1931) and Huff (1964), tested
that the magnetism of a shopping mall decreases with distance and increases
with increase in its physical size The gravity and potential models also
recommend that while choosing between shopping malls, the customers try to
find a balance between the utility, which is measured by the size of the
shopping mall, and the cost, which is measured by distance. Shoppers
patronize a shopping mall by finding out the correct balance between these
two attributes.21

20

Kirkup, M. and Rafiq, M. (1994), “Managing tenant mix in shopping centres”, International Journal of Retail
& Distribution Management, Vol. 22 No. 6, pp. 29-37 in Ooi J.T.L. & Sim L.L. (2007), The Magnetism of
Suburban Shopping Centres: Do Size and Cineplex Matter? , Journal of Property Investment and Finance, Vol.
25 No. 2, pp 111-135
21
Ooi J.T.L. & Sim L.L. (2007), “The Magnetism of Suburban Shopping Centers: Do Size and Cineplex Matter?”,
Journal of Property Investment and Finance, Vol. 25 No.2, pp 111-135

Chapter:3

In relation to the location of the shopping mall, accessibility and visibility are
the two determinants which need to be noted. The size, quality and design
characteristics should also be favourable as these impact the accessibility and
visibility factors.

3
2

LITERATURE REVIEW

3.8.3

Shopping Experience:

The prime advantage of an experience product is the experience that the
shopper goes through by purchasing that product or service. Consumers
derive value from purchasing these goods or services because of their unique
qualities and are ready to pay a little extra for them. Mall developers have also
tried to cope up in the experience economy by providing the consumers with
good store ambience as well as entertaining and amusing experiences apart
from shopping. They have added movie theatres or keep organizing live
performances for the consumers in which they can get engaged and enjoy
their experience while shopping in the mall. An example is the various
entertainment activities, like theme park and an ice skating rink along with a
huge variety of stores that are provided in the Mall of America.22
According to the findings of Wilhelm and Mottner (2005), the age group of
teenagers also preferred going to a shopping mall whose atmosphere was
friendly and made them feel welcomed. They wanted a mall which provided
cool stores, entertainment options, attractive designing and a good place to
spend time with friends, on the whole a good shopping experience.

22

& Figure 4 source: Wilhelm W.B. & Mottner S. (2005), “Teens And Shopping Mall Preferences: A Conjoint
Analysis Approach To Understanding The Generational Shift Toward An Experiential Economy”, Journal Of
Shopping Centre Research, Vol. 12 No. 1

Chapter:3

Figure 4: Experience Realms and Shopper Preferences

3
3

LITERATURE REVIEW

3.8.4

Shopping Mall Image:

The authors of ―Shopping and the Fear of Others‖ have found out
that shopping malls have an important role to play in the formation of
the social identity of the shoppers as they are connected to particular
societal groups. Shopping mall image has been defined by Houston and
Nevin (1980) as the total of consumers‘ perceptions of a shopping mall
based on functional and emotional attributes.23
The image of the shopping mall is also related to the frequency of
customer visits to that mall and is important for customers when choosing
between different shopping malls. Shopping mall developers should
expend resources towards the communication of the right image of the
shopping mall and this communication should be driven towards
improving its image and thus frequency of visits. The image is also subject
to the presence of anchor stores and other physical characteristics.

23

Arnould E. (2000), Reviewed Work(s): A Theory of Shopping by Daniel Miller and Shopping, Place, and
Identity by Daniel Miller; Peter Jackson; Nigel Thrift; Beverly Holbrook; Michael Rowlands, Journal of
Marketing, Vol. 64 No. 1, pp 104- 106
24
Millan E.S. & Howard E. (2007), Shopping for Pleasure? Shopping Experiences for Hungarian Consumers,

Chapter:3

After discussion of the factors influencing choice of shopping malls, it is
worth mentioning that the effect of some of these factors like retail floor
space, number of shops and distance weaken over time, whereas the effects
of other factors like anchor stores, tourism site strengthen over time. A
healthy assortment of all these factors increases the attractiveness of the
shopping mall. However, studying individual choice decisions would not
help us to understand the behaviour of the market as a whole.24

3
4

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Research Methodology
Neuman defines research as:
―Research is a collection of methods people use systematically to produce
knowledge‖25.
Research has also been defined as an organized and deliberate effort to collect
new information or to utilize existing knowledge for a new purpose, seeking
to answer worthwhile and fundamental questions, by employing valid and
reliable techniques. In addition, research involves the use of more appropriate
tests to justify the methods employed, and provides logical and objective data
collection where conclusions can be drawn. Ultimately, it contributes to the
gaining of new knowledge and a better appreciation for the issues involved by
the researcher.26

4.2

Research Objectives:
How are the consumers‘ shopping habits changing with upcoming
retail formats, specifically malls?
What are the determinants of consumers when choosing between a
shopping mall and the unorganized market?
What is the impact of the development in real estate industry on the
organization of the retail industry in Kerala?

25

Neuman W.L. (2000), Social Research Methods: Qualitative and Quantitative Approach, 4th Edition, London:
Allyn and Bacon in Kapur, R. (2006)
26
Gill J. and Johnson P. (1997), “Research Methods for Managers”, 2nd Edition, Paul Chapman Publishing
Limited, London in Kapur, R. (2006) “Globalization of high street UK brands in the Indian retail market and its
impact on the culture and buying behavior of Indians”, The University of Nottingham.

Chapter:4

To answer these research questions I would look into the past trends in the
Kerala retail industries and Kerala real estate. With the help of the data that I
have collected, I would compare the past trend with the present trends with
respect the gradual movement in the consumer shopping habits in the state
and the factors leading to it. With the continuing drift in their shopping
habits, the future prospects of organized retailing in Kerala would also been
discussed.

35


4.3

Qualitative vs. Quantitative Research:

These research methods are two major approaches employed by researchers.
These two methods are distinct from each other.
Qualitative research: It seeks to describe and decode the meaning of
naturally occurring phenomena in the social world through
interpretative approaches and thereby provides ―well-substantiated
conceptual insights that reveal how broad concepts and theories operate
in particular cases‖. Due to the direct access to the social behaviours of
humans, qualitative researchers are able to collect information ―in a
detailed and complete form‖, and are allowed to examine social
phenomena in depth and offer insightful depictions.
Quantitative research: Emphasizes measurement and analysis of causal
relations among variables and tests general propositions using the
hypothetical deductive model. Quantitative research ―imposes scientific
meanings on members to explain a singular, presumed-to-be true
reality‖.
Here, I have used qualitative research which can provide ‗in-depth‘
understandings of research subjects in comparison with quantitative research.
Quantitative research methods were also analyzed while choosing a method
of research for this study, however the behaviour of consumers cannot be
quantified and thus it would be difficult to analyze. Thus qualitative research
methods have been used.27

Data Collection:

Both primary and secondary data were used in order to conduct this research.
The three main types of primary research that I have used here are
observation, interviews and surveys. The secondary research was carried out
by using news paper articles, internet reports, and academic journals from
sites such as Jstore, Wikipedia, textbooks, industry reports, etc. Data from
academic journals and textbooks was particularly useful in reviewing the
existing literature on consumer buying behaviour and their choice
determinants for shopping malls.
27

Neuman W.L. (2000), Social Research Methods: Qualitative and Quantitative Approach, 4th Edition, London:
Allyn and Bacon in Kapur, R. (2006)

Chapter:4

4.4

3
6


4.5

Research Instrument:

In marketing research the main research instrument used in collecting
primary data is the Questionnaire. For this research, a questionnaire was
structured for both consumer buying behaviour and the for the consumer
perception on malls. The questionnaire was having close ended and very few
descriptive questions. Questionnaire was put to the customers. It had a set of
option and the respondent made a choice among them.

4.5.1 Interview/Survey Sample:

2. Retailers: the ones who had already opened their outlets in the
shopping malls of Cochin, Kerala. For conducting these interviews,
purposeful sampling was used. Purposeful sampling selects
information rich cases for in depth study. This could be a help as most
of these retailers already had their outlets in the unorganized markets
before opening shop in the shopping malls. Thus, they could give their
views on the consumers‘ shopping habits in the malls and how was it
different from the outlets in the markets. Qualitative research typically
uses a relatively small sample yet focuses in depth on it. Therefore, a
sample size of 15 respondents was chosen for taking the interviews of
retailers.

Chapter:4

For conducting the interviews/survey, two different sample populations were
chosen:
1. Customers: a simple random sampling technique was used. A simple
random sample is obtained by choosing elementary units in search
away that each unit in the population has an equal chance of being
selected. A simple random sample is free from sampling bias (Mugo,
2007). This sample consisted of consumers living in Kerala (mainly
Ernakulum district) who have seen a drastic change in the organization
of the retail scenario in Kerala and are familiar with it. Random people
were chosen from family, friends and employees who are a part of the
consumer group and are a witness to this transition. To get a wider
view, the respondents that were chosen belonged to diverse age groups
and income levels. The sample size for this was 80.

3
7


4.6 Research Procedure:
To start this research I first went to the malls and spent time observing the
gradual shift which occurred during the past few years. Then I gathered few
articles relevant to my area of study. Reading that, I formulated the literature
review which consisted mostly of consumer buying behaviour and their
choice determinants for choosing a shopping mall. After a careful examination
of the literature, questionnaire was formulated for conducting the
interviews/surveys from the customers/retailers who had opened their
outlets in the malls and the Kerala consumers.
For conducting the research, 3 major malls in Cochin were visited. Conducting
the interviews from the retailers was not a very easy task to do. Even though I
approached them in their non peak sale time of the day, they seemed to be
busy and disagreed to give the interviews. However, I got hold of 15 retailers
from different malls and conducted their interviews and writing down their
responses side by side. For the interviews of the consumers, approaching
them was quite easy as most of them were familiar with my area of study.
Face to face interviews with some and telephonic interviews and online
survey with the others helped me complete my field research.
The data was collected and compiled using Google docs which made the
analysis easy.

Chapter:4

The purpose of the interview and the study was explained clearly to each
interviewee before taking the interview. The data that was collected was then
analyzed and results were evaluated. Some recommendations for the future
were then suggested for the retailers and the mall management from the side
of customers.

3
8

FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS

Findings and Conclusion
All the data has been collected through opinion survey conducted by me.

5.2 Consumer perspective
1. Is malls a blessing to „God‟s own country‟?

When this question has been popped to the public majority of them supported
it as a blessing to the society. They even pointed out that malls make them feel
good about their state in race of being par with the other states in the country
whereas the minor group even criticized malls as an unwanted luxury and a
curse to the morality of the society.

Majority of the sample makes a visit to the mall between 1- 2 times in a month,
followed by 3-5 time visits and more than 5 time visits. While a small portion
of the sample doesn‘t visit a mall quite often. It has also been observed that no
one visits a mall on a daily basis. That shows that people visits malls with a
reason.

Chapter:5

2. How often do you visit a mall (in a month)?

39


3. With whom do you go to a mall?

Considering the high ratio of youth in the survey sample it has been noticed
that majority goes to a mall with their friends, whereas middle aged or
married individuals visit mall with their family or colleagues and very less
part of the group prefer to visit the mall alone. It has been also found that
people even switch over the group accordingly with the purpose of visit to the
mall.

It can be observed that people prefer visiting mall on weekends than any
other day. But it is also visible that other majority of people are those who
don‘t mind to make a visit on any random day. Other group can be termed as
offer seekers who visit mall during offers or seasonal.

Chapter:5

4. When do you generally go to malls?

40


5. What is the average time you spent in a mall?

It has been found that maximum number of people usually prefers to spend their
time between 1-3 hours in a mall. Interestingly it is also noticed that the number
of people who spend less than 1-hour in a mall and the number of people who
spend more than 3-hour in a mall, in the sample size, are same.

6. What does the word „mall‟ signify in your life?

Chapter:5

Here, it is seen that majority consider mall as a hangout destination more than a
shopping destination. Since, Kerala has quite number of local movie halls I
personally feel that people doesn‘t consider mall for movies. Whereas, people
even commented that mall signifies all the above mentioned features to them and
it is also observed that for some mall even signify as luxury of life.

41


7. Which factor of a mall makes you come back again?

The research has been made it even clear that shopping centres in a mall pulls
the people back. The ambience of the mall also plays a key role as a pull
factor. Come back factor provided through movie halls has been noted
limited. Eating joints and vicinity factors keeps the same amount of interest in
people. It has been noted that the presence of crowd also attracts people to be
there in a mall.

Majority among the sample believe malls as an enlarged family shop
considering the malls serving capability to every member in the family. The
next major group consider malls to an extent as enlarged family shop.
Whereas for 20% people it is not a family shop, even people responded that
stores like Big Bazaar can be considered as an enlarged family shop but not a
mall.

Chapter:5

8. Do you think mall is an enlarged family shop?

42


9. Do you purchase retail goods from the mall?
(Retail goods here I mean fast moving consumer goods like food, personal
products, clothing and footwear)

As we can see from the data collected, it was a positive response from the
crowd regarding the purchase of retail goods from a mall. Majority purchases
from mall whereas 25% of the sample responded ‗No‘ towards this query.

Offers attract people – this point has been further concreted with this result. It
can be noticed majority among the group visit the mall without a plan for
purchasing but when they see an offer/product product attractive they end
up purchasing. Festive seasons all pull the crowd considering the promotional
offers during that season. People have even responded that money also
matters them while it come to purchase.

Chapter:5

10. How often you purchase from a mall?

43


11. Scale your preference for shopping from a mall to a local retail store?
(1 - From Malls; 5 - from Local retail store)

It can be observed that people choose to be in the average mark when it comes
to their preference for shopping from a mall to a local retail store. Keeping ‗3‘
as the average mark we can notice that people tend to have more affinity to
purchase from mall than from a local retail store. Although the affinity ratio is
lead by a small proportion we can presume it in the long run that people will
be more likely to purchase from malls.
12. Do you think malls lacks the personal touch which local retail store
offer?

Chapter:5

It is widely felt among the people that malls lack the personal touch provided
by a local retail store. We can see that 57% people feel it lacks the personal
touch where other 47% doesn‘t feel so.

44


13. Do you believe in the promotional programs offered by the malls?

50% of the people have responded that they believe in the promotional
programs offered by the malls to an extent. Whereas it has been found that
another 34% believe in the promotional programs. Therefore we can see
people generally get attracted towards the promotional programs and it can
be used by the malls to increase their foot fall.

According to the data collected we can see that people widely claim malls not
as a part of their daily life. The other closer group prefer considering it to an
extent as a part of their daily life. Whereas 21% people like to think malls as a
part of their daily life while others were unable to fix an opinion.

Chapter:5

14. Do you think malls have become a part of your daily life?

45


Considering the age wise distribution of people in the sample we can find
the average amount of spending in a mall:
Spend per visit in shopping mall in the age BETWEEN group 20-25 yrs.

Up to Rs.200

Rs.200-500

Rs.500-2500

Rs.2500 & Above

6 (7%)

52 (65%)

18 (22%)

4 (13%)

Spend per visit in shopping mall age group BETWEEN 25 – 35 yrs.

Up to Rs.200

Rs.200-500

Rs.500-2500

Rs.2500 & Above

0 (0%)

34 (43%)

40 (50%)

6 (7%)

The main purpose of visiting the mall is fun & entertainment, family outing
and shopping at the last. The average amount spend by the consumers varies
in different age groups. Consumers in malls were mostly in the age group of
20 – 25 yrs and 25 - 35. They came to the mall mainly for the entertainment.

5.3 Retailers‟ Perspective

Chapter:5

The interviews that had been taken from the retailers who had already
opened their retail outlets in the malls have been analyzed in the following
section. The responses by the retailers have been listed in a table format
question by question and then analyzed later using points that have been
listed in the literature about choice determinants of mall. The analysis and
the observation have been further followed after the research conducted
among the retailers. All the retailers who were interviewed had opened their
outlets in the malls since a period of less than 2 years.

46


Q1. Why did you choose
to open your outlet in the
mall other than
the
unorganized market?

Different retailers gave different responses to this
question. The most common reasoning that was
given by them was the upcoming trend of mall
shopping and the changing customer preferences. As
all their needs get fulfilled under one roof and they
get the required quality, price and environment,
they are attracted more towards the malls. Another
reason for the customers getting fascinated to the
malls is the hot and rainy weather conditions
in
Kerala. Other responses included bigger retail
space which is not available in the congested
unorganized markets, and also for the separation of
the commercial establishments from the residential
areas.

Q3. Do you reach
There was a mixed response of this question. Seven of
the targeted sales the interviewed retailers were happy with the
level in this outlet or as amount of sales level that they were getting in their
much as the other outlets?
mall outlet as their target was being achieved. Out of
them, one women‘s ethnic wear retailer was achieving
the best sales level in that outlet out of all others.
The reasoning that was given by them was that the
customers were attracted by their brand name.
However, the other retailers were not achieving as
much sales as they did in the unorganized market
outlets. Different explanations were given for it. They
said that the outlets in the markets were very old
and well known to the customers. Other reasons were
mall specific such as not much foot fall in the mall
and absence of a cinema due to which fewer
customers are attracted towards the mall.

Chapter:5

Q2. Do you have another All retailers who were interviewed had their
retail outlet other than in outlets in unorganized markets of different areas as
this mall?
well as other malls except two retailers who only had
outlets in malls and one who only had another outlet
in the unorganized market area.

47


A variety of promotional tools were being used by
the retailers to get the customers‘ attention towards
their outlets in the malls. End of season sales was
the most common form of the promotional schemes
being used. Customer databases were maintained
by most of the retailers and different schemes were
provided to them by
different retailers. These
included informing the clients regularly about
change of stock and in store promotions, coupon
schemes, etc. Some of the bigger country wide
known brands were also advertised in magazines,
newspapers as well as television. Word of mouth
and brand loyalty were also used as other modes of
promotions.

Q5. What do you think can
be done to attract customers
to a mall? What do
you
think of anchor stores?

Attraction of customers is the most important for
the success of malls. According to the responses
provided by various retailers, location, having a
good mix of brands within the mall, having an
ambassador for promoting the mall or the various
branded outlets present in it, timely promotions
using banners and posters, economical prices of
merchandise, provision of regular weekend and
monthly schemes to keep the customers loyal,
organization of events and programs within the
mall, positive behaviour of the staff, cleanliness,
promotion of the mall as a whole instead of the
different retail outlets present in the mall are the
various methods of pulling the customers towards
the mall. One of the retailers also held a fashion
show within the mall to promote their outlet.
Positive responses were also provided by majority
of the interviewees about having an anchor store in
the mall as it is a positive point to have such an
outlet in the mall and has advantages like “it is a
great help in attracting customers” and they visit the
other shops as well, it increases “walk – ins” into a
mall. One of the retailers also believed that “the
crème customers”, who have the buying capacity are
attracted towards the anchor stores. However, one
of the retailers differed in his views about having
the anchor store in the mall. According to him,
“although the anchor store attracts customers towards
the mall, but the other brands suffer due to it”.

Chapter:5

Q4. What do you do to
attract customers to your
outlet?

48


Q6. What do you think of Majority of the retailers say that a major part of the
consumers‘ perception of customer base still perceives that the merchandise
mall shopping?
in the mall is highly priced. According to one of the
retailers, “50 percent of the consumers think that
products in the malls are expensive and so they just
hang out in the mall and go. For shopping they go to the
markets which they perceive to be cheaper”. However,
some of them also believe that the mindset of the
consumers is changing and they are getting more
convinced about the prices. Also, the prices of
branded products are found to be similar in the
malls as well as the unorganized markets. The
customers also tend to receive many benefits if they
come to the malls for shopping which compensates
for the high price factor. These include better
infrastructure, comfort of one stop shopping, good
experience and
ambience, protection from the
harsh Indian weather conditions, etc.
Several facilities are made available to the
consumers when they visit a mall. Firstly, ―they can
shop for so many things at one place, they can eat
and hang out and get entertained, all this can be
done along with shopping‖. Other than this,
comfort, security, parking facilities, air conditioned
environment, neat and clean atmosphere and
easier commuting are the other benefits that a
customer can get when he/ she comes to a mall.
Unlike the markets, this also saves time and the
customers also get rid of traffic jams. All these
factors affect sales because “this is why people come
to malls” and “any mall having all this attracts
customers”. “If people don’t have to shop then also they
can come to just hang around with friends. This
sometimes affects sales as some people end up
purchasing goods.” According to another retailer,
“When people come to a mall, they are
mentally
prepared to spend money.”
Chapter:5

Q7. What benefits do
consumers obtain from
coming to a mall rather than
the unorganized market?
What effect do these
benefits have on sales?

49


Few of the respondents have
mentioned various criteria for this
decision, the major being location of
the mall or the market, foot fall
of the mall, consumer preferences for
the mall and government policy.
However, a good number of the
retailers would prefer to open their
next outlet in the upcoming malls of
the country as “markets are doing better
currently but in the future malls would
be the only thing” and “the coming time
will see an end of the markets”. “It will
take time for the malls to develop and
grow; patience is required to get sales
in
the
malls however the future
prospects are bright”. Two of the
retailers also had tie ups with two of
the biggest mall developers of the
country; this was one of the reasons
that they opened their outlets in the
mall, and would plan any further
expansions within the malls developed
by those companies.

Chapter:5

Q8. If you have to open a new outlet,
would you choose to open it in the
upcoming malls?

50


5.4

Findings
5.4.1 Choice Variables for Shopping Malls
5.4.1.1 Anchor Stores:

The anchor tenants are an important part of the tenant mix as they help to
generate a lot of shopper traffic to the mall. It has also been said that the mall
management should also take into consideration its consumer drawing power
to the mall, as more consumers would also lead to the profit generation for
other stores in the mall as well. All retailers have agreed to this fact that
anchor stores are major factor responsible for pulling crowd towards a mall.
There are a variety of anchor retailers in Kerala. They include US and
European chains like McDonald's, Lacoste, Pizza Hut, Benetton, Subway etc.
This has also led to the emergence of Indian chains such as Shoppers Stop,
Reliance fresh and Big Bazaar that can act as anchor stores in a mall. However,
one of the retailers also contradicted this fact from his personal experience of
having an outlet in the mall, with a very valid point. The departmental stores,
which act as anchor outlets, carry a variety of branded merchandise other
than non branded ones. If the same brands also have their exclusive outlets in
the mall, the anchor stores tend to cannibalize the sales of the individual
outlets as most of the crowd is attracted towards them. Although this is a
convincing argument, but majority of the retailers have supported the
literature that successful anchor stores are a key to increasing foot fall in a
mall.

It has been said that "Only the ones in favourable locations and having the
right format and suitable strategies are likely to remain long-term players".
However, in the Kerala context, the factor of location of a shopping mall does
not seem to affecting the consumers‘ visits to these malls. As it has been
discussed above that there are only a few shopping malls that have come up
in the country and the consumers are finding it to be a very novel experience
to visit a shopping mall for shopping. They are still overawed by this new
method of shopping, therefore they even travel long distances to capture the
advantage of getting everything under one roof.

Chapter:5

5.4.1.2 Location

51


However, their daily needs are still fulfilled by the unorganized markets that
are situated close to their homes. With the speedy development in the number
of shopping malls in the state, soon there would be a shopping mall in every
area. The consumers would then prefer to visit the malls that are closer to
their homes, for their daily needs as well. Thus, location has still been
considered a significant factor while choosing a shopping mall.
5.4.1.3

Shopping experience

Mall developers have tried to cope up in the experience economy by
providing the consumers with good store ambience as well as entertaining
and amusing experiences apart from shopping. They have added movie
theatres or keep organizing live performances for the consumers in which
they can get engaged and enjoy their experience while shopping in the mall.
Consumers these days are becoming very variety seeking and searching for
novel and unique experiences. The shoppers in the Kerala market also tend to
look at visits to stores and malls as an enjoyable experience, an outing for the
family, receiving value for money while shopping and also as an
entertainment available there. The players in the retail industry who are
competing with one another, are trying to come up to the expectations of
shoppers giving the shoppers a great international shopping experience, a
wonderful ambience and something or the other, for everyone in the family.
Thus the overall shopping experience which includes shopping, leisure as
well as entertainment is a key determinant of mall attractiveness.
Image

The authors of ―Shopping and the Fear of Others‖ have found out that
shopping malls have an important role to play in the formation of the social
identity of the shoppers28. Self image is also exceptionally important for
Keralites, however, they do not tend to attach self image with shopping in a
shopping mall though. This factor has been falsified in the findings because
Kerala has not yet reached that stage of development that it tends to associate
image with a shopping mall. The unorganized market in Kerala still has a
very significant proportion; therefore, all consumers have to visit the
unorganized markets for the fulfilment of some or the other needs they face.
28

Arnould E. (2000), Reviewed Work(s): A Theory of Shopping by Daniel Miller and Shopping, Place, and
Identity by Daniel Miller; Peter Jackson; Nigel Thrift; Beverly Holbrook; Michael Rowlands, Journal of
Marketing, Vol. 64 No. 1, pp 104-106

Chapter:5

5.4.1.4

52


It does not affect his/ her personality or status. Thus image has not been
considered a substantial factor in the Kerala context, when the consumer
chooses between a shopping mall and the unorganized market for making
purchases.
5.4.1.5

Price Sensitivity

While looking at the Kerala context large part of the population belongs to the
middle income group who cannot afford these luxurious brands. Therefore,
this was one of the additional major aspects that came up in the research.
Although, from secondary data it has been found that the income level and
the purchasing power of the Kerala consumers is increasing, majority of the
retailers are still in the perception that the most of the consumer population is
still price sensitive.
Even though a market for high end luxurious brands exists in the state, a
major chunk of the population does not buy these brands. However with
globalization taking place throughout the world, the consumers are getting
the hang of the branded products and their demands are changing with
growing income levels. From the consumers‘ perspective, it has also been seen
that a high price level in the malls does not stop them from purchasing what
they want. On the whole, there has been seen a slight positive change in the
consumer spending habits with respect to the price. Thus, it can be concluded
that the consumers shopping habits are changing slowly but surely.

Conclusion

From the analysis above, it can be inferred that there is a slow and steady
change that is taking place and the preferences of the Kerala consumers are
shifting from shopping in the unorganized markets to shopping in the newly
developed malls. The Kerala consumers‘ population is varied among diverse
income segments. According to secondary data, there exists a significant
difference in the shopping patterns of consumers across these income
segments and there are no uniform trends in their buying behaviour.
Researchers who have done their research on the organized retailing sector of
Kerala have also said that organized retailing has made headway in the upper
class. However, even in this segment, items such as milk, fruits, vegetables
and a significant portion of ‗through-the month‘ purchases seem to be done at
traditional outlets.

Chapter:5

5.5

53


The middle income class prefers shopping for processed food and personal
care in supermarkets and fall back on traditional outlets for bulk shopping.
For them, organized retail outlets seem to be associated with branded
items/special purchases. Organized retailing does not seem to have made an
impact on the lower class, except for ‗curiosity‘ shopping 29. This fact can also
be supported by the findings of my study as it was conducted on consumers
who belonged to varied income groups.
On the whole this study has found out that a large number of consumers have
started choosing the malls over the unorganized markets for the purpose of
shopping which is also associated with leisure. The attributes of the malls,
which attract the consumers towards it and are responsible for this change of
choice of the consumers, have been represented in the form of a decision tree.
In this chapter, the analysis has been done by comparing the findings with
what has been said in the literature. A few extra points that came up in the
findings have also been analyzed and this fills the gap in the studies that have
been conducted.
With consumer demographics becoming more and more favourable to the
organized segment of the retail industry and the increase in the availability of
retail space and a skilled workforce, there has been a complimenting growth
in retail chains, multi brand outlets and integrated shopping malls. A variety
of newer retail formats are being introduced. Enormous networks of stores are
getting scattered on the Indian landscape, starting with larger cities and then
moving on to smaller towns as well.

29

Chandrasekhar P (2001), “Retailing in India: Trends and opportunities”, Business Line: Catalyst, in
http://www.afferguson.com/bulletin/ret-pri.htm accessed on 19 August 2007

Chapter:5

The infrastructure and supply chain mechanisms of malls are getting
organized and spreading across the state. This brought about a revolution in
shopping in terms of the consumer buying behaviour. The introduction of
these larger and more diverse formats is providing the consumers with more
options to shop from and novel experiences for the Kerala population.

54

SUGGESTIONS

Suggestions
The organized retailers can be suggested to target the untapped middle
income group population of Kerala. Although, it may not be so easy to change
the mindsets of these consumers might not be an easy task, it can be a means
of attracting the global retail giants that want to enter into the Kerala
economy. Another recommendation for the retailers would be that they
should build relationships with their existing customer segments. The retailers
should be well versed with the consumer preferences and they should also
offer them additional services apart from the products. For developing loyal
customers, the employees of the retail organizations would play an important
role. Therefore, the must hire the right kind of employees and train them.

2. Long term advertising: I have seen Mall owners, waiting for the
completion of their malls to start its space marketing. This is not just a
sheer waste of time, but also a suicide for the mall! Tenants don‘t come
together; they come, when they are looking for a space or expansion.
My observation is that, the mall marketing should begin, right from
when the Mall 3D drawing is ready. The construction of the mall might
take, 1-2 years. And if the marketing starts at this time, the prospective
tenants of the mall gets 2 years to prepare and plan their new shop in
that mall. This will allow the mall to open itself, with all the shops
ready for business. 2 years is a good time, to select and choose the best
tenants

Chapter:6

1. The Facilities at the mall: The mall should be a place, where one should
spend a good amount of time. For that there should be facilities to eat
food, sit, rest, pray, entertainment, clean toilets, breast feeding, smoking
areas etc. Why is this important? Because any customer who goes out
for meeting these needs may not come back again! You have to retain as
many people as possible in the mall, so that they get exposed to all the
shops in the mall, which might translate to business.

55

SUGGESTIONS

3. Tenant Mix: Many mall owners don‘t know what a tenant mix is! And
those who got their strategies wrong, and are desperate to fill the spaces
will not think of a mix either. What is tenant mix? It is the right mix of
shops catering different services to the same defined customer category.
So if it‘s a ladies mall, it will have shops like ladies dresses, ladies shoes,
beauty parlours, purdah shops, kids wear bridal boutiques etc. And not
car accessories shop, or a whole sale outlet for hardwares etc. A poor
tenant mix can really kill the shops in a mall, and the mall itself! A good
tenant mix is possible only if you start marketing your mall, during its
construction phase itself.
4. Mall Branding: Malls have to be branded well. So what‘s branding?
Branding is creating the right impression in the minds of the people, as
to how we like people to think of us. So you should do all that it takes
to brand the mall effectively, so that your target customers sees you the
way you wish them to see you. This will help the mall survive when
better and bigger malls come up in future; or survive when the market
is slow and customers become scarce.

Chapter:6

5. Mall Events: Customers basically shop at the mall for two main
reasons, one is the experience or ―good feeling‖ and other is the
‗variety‘ of goods they can purchase. We can do this by structuring the
mall to include elements that is continuously changing. For example, it
can range from what malls do now (like organizing shows and
programs) to having commercial spaces that is let out to modern
business gypsies or a traditional ‗chanda or mandi‘ version of a mall
range, where you have one theme for a specific day of the week, and
people who sell that visits the mall to get access to these 100s of
temporary outlets. Since these themes change every day, there is a
reason for people to come and visit it every day! This is in no way an
easy task, it needs a strong visionary team, and strong management
team from the mall mgt side, it also needs the cooperation of the retail
shops.

56

CONCLUSION

Conclusion
The changes in the consumer behaviour, is bringing about change in retail
industry, as Kerala migrates from the unorganized to organized retail. The
past 3-4 years have seen increasing activity in retailing. And, various business
houses have already made investments in this sector years. Though the
retailers will have to face increasingly demanding customers, and intensely
competitive rivals, more investments will keep flow in. The share of organized
sector will grow rapidly. Retailing in Kerala is surely poised for a takeoff and
will provide many opportunities both to existing players as well as new
entrants. The state is witnessing a period of boom in retail trade, mainly on
account of a gradual increase in the disposable incomes of the middle and
upper-middle class households. More and more corporate houses including
large real estate companies are coming into the retail business, directly or
indirectly, in the form of mall and shopping centre builders and managers.
New formats like super markets and large discount and department stores
have started influencing the traditional looks of bookstores, furnishing stores
and chemist shops.
The retail revolution, apart from bringing in sweeping, positive changes in the
quality of life, and is also bringing in slow changes in lifestyle in the smaller
towns of Kerala. Increase in literacy, exposure to media, greater availability
and penetration of a variety of consumer goods into the interiors of the
country, have all resulted in narrowing down the spending differences
between the consumers of larger metros or states and those of smaller states
like Kerala. Lastly I want to conclude my project in some points:
The customers are attracting towards shopping malls & retail outlets.

The young generation is fashion & show-off conscious so retail outlets
are mainly focused on them.

Chapter:7

The shopping malls & retail outlets are targeting to middle class
customers because the purchasing power of this class is rapidly
growing as well as the class is also growing.

57

CONCLUSION

Most of the family wants to purchase from big showrooms and malls
because there are no bargaining system so they have a trust that there is
no cheating.
The main strength of most of the retail outlets are providing attractive
offers to attract customers.
Big retail stores are running customer loyalty programmes which has
increased profits and no. of customers, and increase their switching
costs.
It can be concluded from the research that the consumer markets in Kerala
have potential for the future development of the retail industry as the market
is growing, government policies are becoming liberal and the technological
developments in the state are favourable for operations in Kerala. Due to these
promising factors, more and more retail investors have been encouraged to
invest into the Kerala market which has further impelled investments in the
real estate industry.
However, the success of malls in the long run in the Kerala market would
involve attraction of diverse consumer segments towards the malls which
includes diverse income groups, nuclear families, working women, etc. The
provision of wide choice and the comfort of being able to shop everything
under one roof would attract all these groups of buyers.

6.2

Limitations

30

Penaloza, L., (1994) “Atravesando Fronteras/Border Crossings: A Critical Ethnographic Exploration of The
Consumer Acculturation of Mexican Immigrants”, Journal of Consumer Research, Vol 21, pg 32-54 in Kapur, R.
(2006) “Globalization of high street UK brands in the Indian retail market and its impact on the culture and
buying behavior of Indians”, The University of Nottingham.

Chapter:7

Every piece of research has its own set of limitations which can arise during
the course of conducting it. Penaloza suggests that the researcher should be
careful enough to avoid any kind of bias with the research subjectivity. This is
mainly because of the reason that researchers working in their own culture
tend to avoid keeping a critical distance from their work as they may hold a
set of assumptions about their own culture hence influence the interpretation
of data analysis30.

58

CONCLUSION

This research faced the following limitations:
This research is based on analyzing a Kerala perspective and I, being a
Keralite, had awareness of a lot of facts which might have influenced
the results at some point of time.
•

Kerala is possessing limited number of malls in the state and most of
the malls has been concentrated or built in the Cochin area, which
emerging business hub, of the state. Therefore the study has been
conducted among the people who live in Cochin area, so the study
may not provide an entire overview of Kerala.

•

The sample size of the population being tested should be large enough
to increase its validity. However, the findings and analysis are based
on semi-structured interviews taken from fifteen retailers and eighty
consumers which can be unrepresentative of the population.

Chapter:7

This research mainly relies on secondary sources such as the research done by
other people; hence it was difficult to come to strong recommendations.

59

CONCLUSION

Appendices
Appendix – I
Questionnaire for the consumers from mall
1. Is malls a blessing to ‗God‘s own country‘?
Yes
No
2. How often do you visit a mall (in a month)?
1-2 times
More than 5
3-5 times
Almost daily
Never
3. With whom do you go to a mall?
Alone
Colleagues
Friends
Others:
Family
4. When do you generally go to malls?
Almost every day
Public holidays
Weekends
Week days

Seasonal (during
Onam, Christmas etc)
When there is an
offer/program

6. What does the word ‗mall‘ signify in your life?
Hangout destination
Eating joints
Shopping
Others:
Movies

Chapter:7

5. What is the average time you spent in a mall?
Less than 1 hour
1-3 hour
More than 3 hour

60

CONCLUSION

7. Which factor of a mall makes you come back again?
Shopping centres
Ambience
Movie halls
Vicinity
Eating joints
Other
8. Do you think mall is an enlarged family shop?
Yes
9. Do you purchase retail goods from the mall?
Yes
10. How often you purchase from a mall?
Whenever I go
When there is
particular offer
Festive season (Onam,
Christmas, etc)

No

No

I go, when I see a
offer/product
attractive I buy
Other

11. Scale your preference for shopping from a mall to a local retail store?
(1 for mall and 5 for local retail store)
12. Do you think malls lacks the personal touch which local retail store
offer?
Yes
No
13. Do you believe in the promotional programs offered by the malls?
Yes
No

Chapter:7

14. Do you think malls have become a part of your daily life?
Yes
No

61

INFLUENCE OF MALL IN KERALA

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