IMPACT OF SENSORY FEATURES ON MALL PATRONAGE
GOH XIN YI
GOH XIN YI
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Abstract
Atmospherics refer to the tailoring of shopping environment quality to arouse shoppers’
emotions and excitement levels. The incorporation of sensory features into the
atmosphere of the mall increases desirability and builds a sensory, emotional and
cognitive linkage between the mall and consumers, conferring a sustainable competitive
advantage. Past research focused primarily on the use of atmospherics in stores or the
impact of individual atmospheric variables. This study aims to investigate how
atmospherics encompassing visual, tactile, olfactory and aural dimensions, interact and
contribute to increase chances of mall success, in terms of enhancing the image of a mall,
duration of shopping time and patronage. Additionally, the study explores the popularity of
city and suburban malls and determines whether suburban malls with better atmospherics
would be a preferred choice for consumers compared to city malls with worse
atmospherics.
Shoppers from eight malls were surveyed and results showed that presence of better
sensory features enhances shoppers’ perception of the mall and increase their duration of
stay. Among the atmospheric factors, the 3 most essential ones are comfort, sight and
touch. Furthermore, malls with better sensory features attract a higher mall patronage than
those with worse sensory features. Even though city malls generally attract higher
patronage than suburban malls, suburban malls with better sensory features are capable
of attracting higher mall patronage than city malls with worse sensory features.
The valuable insights on the use and importance of sensory features can be used for
branding or maximizing the attractiveness of malls to stand out amongst keen competition.
Keywords
Real Estate, RE, Lim Lan Yuan, 2014/2015 RE, Mall Patronage, Sensory Features
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Date
2015-05-14
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Dissertation