EVALUATION OF THE IMPORTANCE OF FOOD COURT AS PART OF A SHOPPING CENTRE

Abstract

Food court concept was introduced to Singapore in late 1985, alter more than 2 decades of establishments in US. The concept was adopted by Scotts Shopping Centre whose success has prompted other large retail developments to incorporate the food court concept either as part of their refurbishment project, or in their new retail buildings. Often, the performance of a shopping centre depends on a number of factors, namely location, tenant mix, management, maintenance, promotion, architectural design and layout However, the growth of food courts in recent years seems to indicate that food courts have joined the above factors in influencing die performance of a food court in a shopping centre. Besides understanding its importance, it is also necessary to assess the important attributes of a food court from the customers' perception. Recommendations will then be made to improve die food court to meet die needs of die customers. A case study on Point Food Court in Orchard Point Shopping Centre was made. The results indicated that Point Food Court is not only an attraction by itself but is also capable of pulling crowds to Orchard Point. An overall evaluation of the case study shows that the presence of a food court in a shopping centre could help to generate more traffic and prolong shoppers' trip in die shopping centre.