FOOD CENTRES IN PLANNED SHOPPING CENTRES

Abstract

Over the past few years in Singapore, food centres have become new tenants of many planned shopping centres. They have created a new scene in shopping centres. Apart from their shift in location, these food centres have also upgraded their mode of operations. Shopping and eating-out have become the common pastimes of many Singaporeans. As such, planned shopping centres would appear to be an ideal location for food centres. This will enable a shopper to enjoy the benefits of shopping and eating within one centre. This dissertation attempts to examine the trend of food centres moving into shopping centres and the relationship between the two. Food centres and shopping centres appear to have a symbiotic relationship — the crowd from the food centre can be funnelled through the shopping centre, and vice versa. A case study of two food centres based on customer surveys and observation, reveals that while a symbiotic relationship between food centres and shopping centres exists, the two are not always related in this way. In addition, the factors for the trend of food centres setting up in shopping centres are analyzed by way of observation and interviews with the managers of various shopping centres.