SOURCES OF SHOPPING SATISFACTION IN SHOPPING MALLS: YOUTHS' PERSPECTIVE

Abstract

Youths’ shopping experience is influenced by a myriad set of mall attributes and their attitudes towards each attribute vary by generational cohort. Hence, mall developers and managers capitalising on the Singapore’s youth market need to identify the specific mall attributes which engender shopping satisfaction among the youths. This is because shopping satisfaction leads to retail patronage. Given the growing interest in youth market, this paper examines the positive externality youths aged 13 to 24 bring to malls, and the relevance of different mall attributes in contributing to youths’ shopping satisfaction. The youths are divided into three groups and the findings suggest that youths in all the three groups patronise malls frequently. Furthermore, the differences in shopping frequency among the youths of different age groups are not statistically significant. Conversely, the differences in shopping duration are statistically significant, with youths aged 13 to 16 staying the longest in shopping malls. Among 14 mall attributes, 11 of them are deemed important in stimulating satisfactory shopping experience among youths. The three most important attributes are ‘Cleanliness of shopping mall’, ‘Wide variety of stores’ and ‘Availability of eating outlets’. Furthermore, the differences in mean scores amongst the groups are statistically significant for some mall attributes. Such differences connote the importance of adopting a differentiation strategy. With a string of new malls firing up the shopping scene, Singapore’s retail landscape inevitably becomes more competitive. Differentiation ensures mall developers and managers stay ahead of competition and continue savouring a slice of the retail pie.