THE ATTRACTIVENESS OF SUCCESSFUL TOWN AND SUBURBAN SHOPPING MALLS IN SINGAPORE

Abstract

The retail scene has seen shopping malls evolved significantly over the years in Singapore. Established shopping malls are first located in the central area of Singapore, congregated in Orchard Road area. Coupled with government plans for Singapore urban landscape, modern shopping malls termed suburban malls have sprouted in various parts of Singapore.

The objective of this study is to evaluate the attractiveness of successful town and suburban shopping malls in Singapore, and propose ways for them to achieve successful patronage by leveraging further on their successful attributes. A survey was conducted for this study, comprising of 180 respondents located at six successful town and suburban malls. The six shopping malls are Plaza Singapura, The Centrepoint, ION Orchard, Tampines Mall, Jurong Point, and Causeway Point.

The research singled out the reasons that influence the respondents’ choice of town or suburban malls. The presence of buzz is deemed an essential reason to choose town over suburban malls. Proximity and to catch a movie are two prominent reasons to visit suburban malls. Both categories of shopping malls can continue to be relevant in Singapore’s retail scene by leveraging on their attributes further to remain competitive. Having identified whether town or suburban malls is more preferred given the considerations of each reason, there are still much work to be done to analyse in-depth how the factors actually influence the choice of malls and identify ways to leverage on the factors.