You are on page 1of 32

CONSUMER TEDENCY TOWARDS SHOPPING

MALLS
VS
MARKET IN KARACHI

INTRODUCTION OF TOPIC

I have selected this topic. My name is summaiya abid I am studying BBA is


my first and final project in my course.

My topic is consumer tendency towards shopping malls vs market in


Karachi.

In this topic we do what the consumer perception about the shopping malls
and market.

And we want to know customers are satisfied in shopping malls or market or


not.

And we do this project mostly consumer were going for shopping


And we do all so this project we know about customers attitude and
behaviors.

We do in this project why mostly consumers are preferring shopping malls


for doing shopping.

We do also this project we know that in shopping malls are better quality
products by comparison to markets.
HYPOTHESIS

My own perceptions about my project is depends on my research about


shopping malls.

Consumer’s tendency towards shopping malls increasing day by day.

People believe we can buy better quality product in shopping malls.

The consumer are having problem with the cost of product in shopping
malls.

The mostly consumers are preferring shopping malls for shopping.


OBJECTIVE

I want to know why customers going shopping malls.

I want to know consumers are satisfied to shopping mall or not.

I want to know were consumers going for shopping.

I want to find out the complaints that customer having in shopping malls.

I want to know in shopping malls are better quality or product or not.

I want to find out the ways through which the customers can be satisfied
to shopping malls.
THEORICAL BACKGROUND

Theory of Consumer Choice


??????????? WHOSE THEORY
Consumers face trade-offs in their purchase decisions, since their income is limited and
choices are numerous. In order to make choices, consumers must combine budget
constraints (what they can afford), and preferences (what they would like to consume).

A budget contraint, means what a consumer can purchase is constrained by income. The
slope of the budget constraint measures the rate at which one consumer can trade off one
good for another, and the relative prices of the two goods. Budget constraints are
determined by both the income of the consumers, and the relative prices.

If a consumer equally prefers two product bundles, then the consumer is indifferent
between the two bundles. The consumer will get the same level of satisfaction (utility)
from either bundles. Graphically speaking, this is known as the indifference curve. This
curve shows that all bundles are equally preferred, or have the same utility or same level
of satisfaction. The slope of indifference curve is the rate at which a consumer is willing
to trade one good for another, which is also known as the marginal rate of substitution
(MRS).

Properties of Indifference Curves


1. Higher indifference curves are preferred to lower ones, since more is preferred to
less (non-satiation).
2. Indifference curves are downward sloping. If the quantity of one goods is
reduced, then you must have more of the other good to compensate for the loss.
3. Indifference curves do not cross (intersect), since this would imply a
contradiction.
4. Indifference curves are bowed inward (in most cases). The slope of indifference
curves represent the MRS (rate at which consumers are willing to substitute one
good for the other). People are usually willing to trade away more of one good
when they have a lot of it, and less willing to trade away goods which are in
scarce supply. This implies that MRS must increase as we get less of a good.

Not been that two extreme examples exist. Perfect substitutes have straight-line
indifference curves. As we get more of the good, we trade off with the substitute at a
constant rate because we are indifferent between them (i.e. Coke and Pepsi). Perfect
complements have right-angled indifference curves. If goods can only be used together,
there is no satisfaction in having more of A without additional amounts of B (i.e. left and
right shoe). In general, the better substitutes goods are, the straighter the indifference
curve.

Consumers' Optimal Choice


We must combine what a consumer can obtain (budget constraint) and the preferences
(indifference curve). The optimum is the highest point on the indifference curve that is
still within the budget constraint. This will usually occur where the indifference curve is
tangent to budget constraint. At the optimum point, MRS = relative prices of goods since
MRS = slope of indifference curve, and relative price = slope of budget constraint. The
marginal rate of substitution is the rate at which consumers are willing to trade-off, and is
equal to rate at which they can trade.

Changes in income will undoubtedly affect the optimal choice. The budget constraint will
shift parallel to the original - upwards for an increase in income, and downwards for a
decrease in income. The new equilibrium for a higher income will be on a higher
indifference curve, and since income is higher, more of both products could be
consumed. For normal goods, as income increases, more of the good will be preferred.
For inferior goods, as income increases, less of the good will be chosen.

Changes in Prices
A change in price will change the slope of the curve. A fall in price will rotate the budget
constraint outwards, and an increase in price will rotate the budget constraint inwards.
Thus a change in price will change both the relative prices of the two products and also
the amount that can be bought, ceteris paribus (income). Changes in price have two
effects:

1. Substitution Effect
o arises from the tendency to buy less of goods which are more expensive
o can be measured by keeping satisfaction constant (stay on same
indifference curve and finding where MRS = new relative prices
2. Income Effect
o arises from change in price effect on total amount that can be purchased
o change in consumption when we shift to a new indifference curve as a
result of the price change

When consumers demand too much this tells producers what goods and services to
produce and how much. Price is a signal to producer and consumers. Resources are
allocated efficiently in a market economy. Both consumers and producers exhibit
maximize behavior. Meaning consumers want to maximize satisfaction, and business
want to maximize profit. By evaluating at the margin they do this. Merrill Mathews
"Margin cost is defined at how much each unit costs to produce. The marginal
decision rule is when an employer tries to determine whether or not adding the
additional cost if needed."

According to Ashley Lassen, "The problem was not to find out about the date. But to
find the difference reverence to the date itself." Businesses turned to computer
businesses for help. Randall Horton "When companies addressed the Y2K scenario,
they had to ask how much they were willing to spend to fix the computer problem and
brought in the experts to address it." Companies did this because the marginal benefit
exceeded the marginal cost. "The cost was addresses a couple of ways. They took
people that were earmarked for new projects to have a passive role." Randall Lassen
"Parkland employees had not been taken off the job, but contributed in assisting in the
effort," says Ashley Lassen. Ashley Lassen "The y2k bug was going to cost about 600
billion dollars in preparation."

As the year 2000 approached some overseas companies became the ones to fix the
problem. No one could say what the changes of the new millennium might bring until
it came.

"The year 2000 became a successful event, nothing happened. I do no think the Y2K
bug was over blown and it needed to be addressed." States Ashley Lassen.
Economists assume consumers will continue to maximize utility. It is pleasure and
gratification. But the more we get the less it pleases us. In order to minimize losses
and ensure Y2K compliance, business turned to computer experts for help. “The main
question they now faced was the cost. When companies addressed the Y2K scenario,
they had to ask themselves the question: How much are we willing to spend in order
to address this issue? Most companies looked at this, tried to come up with a figure
they felt was reasonable to try to address the computer problem and brought in the
experts and the software to address it” says Matthews. Business allocated resources to
fix the Y2K problem because the marginal benefit exceeded the marginal cost.

Some overseas companies expected government to be responsible of fixing the


millennium bug. In the United States, most companies had a profit incentive to
correct Y2K computer problems without government intervention. Their choices were
clear, but nobody could predict what changes the first day to the new millennium
might bring until it finally dawned. When the new year of 2000 occur nothing really
happen, and that is good news. Economists assume consumers will attempt to
maximize utility.

But what is utility? It is a concept that is difficult to measure, but one which everyone
experiences. It was call pleasure, satisfaction or gratification; it is what we all want
more of. But the more we get, the less it please us. According to Harry Ellis, an
economist says that utility is another term for satisfaction, and total utility is just total
satisfaction. Utility is the total amount of satisfaction that a person receives from
consuming product, a good or a service.
As more and more of a product is consumed, utility, total utility rises but by smaller
and smaller amounts.
For the substitution effect, as the price of a good rises, the quantity demanded of that
good falls because it is relatively more expensive compared to other goods or
substitutes. This is known as “the substitution effect.”

“A market demand curve is derived by summing horizontally the individual demand


curves. That is, at each price the quantity demanded by each person in the market is
added together” says Ellis. Business determine what customers want by looking at the
taste and preferences of their customers, what is popular, what sells, past history,
market surveys.

Business must be very concerned with their cost structures and trying to minimize
their costs as far as production to earn greater profits. The minimization of costs
producing those items that desired by consumers at the least cost possible that
allocates resources most efficiently. This is done to try to satisfy everyone.
THE IMPORTANCE OF ASSESSING CUSTOMER
PERCEPTION

Why assessing customer Satisfaction is important

The Graphic Arts industry is not alone in suffering through incredible pricing pressure on its products and
services. The events of the last two years have placed significant stress on almost all business sectors. The
hue and cry about seriously thinning margins seems to carry more than average volume in this industry.
Whether the cause is an over capacity of web and sheet-fed equipment, or reduced advertising budgets, or
the migration of print communication to digital options, or a struggling American economy, almost all
Graphic Arts firms are feeling the strain. In discussing this issue with a broad sampling of almost 200
owners, sales managers, and sales people the overwhelming conclusion is that buyers only care about price
these days. The perception is that buyers expect acceptable levels of service and quality and consider most
suppliers on the same par leaving only price to negotiate.

I disagree that price is the only differentiator. Through all of our work with prepress houses, printers,
binders & finishers, letterpress shops, and fulfillment operations, I have never found two that were identical
in what they do, how they do it, and how well they do it. Theodore Levitt, the acclaimed Business
Professor at Harvard University once wrote,

“Of the many purposes of business, the most fundamental is that it exists to create and keep a customer.
Making a profit is a requisite for staying in business, not the purpose of a business.”

The art of marketing is the ability to differentiate products and services in a way that attracts and retains
customers. In order to do this well, “having a handle on” how the customer thinks and feels is essential.
There is no substitute for gauging how customers think and feel than by assessing customer perception
through intelligently designed and unbiased initiatives.

Perception Concepts

It is important to underscore the word perception. Perception “is the act of discerning, realizing, and
becoming aware of through the senses”. The customer’s perception is what counts, not what we think it is.
To understand this point it helps to consider perception categorized into (4) quadrants (Table 1):
1
How a Graphic Arts Company views itself
2
How the customer views the Graphic Arts Company

3
The “real view” of the Graphic Arts Company
4
How a Graphic Arts Company thinks the customer views the company

The first quadrant has value, but includes obvious blind-spots. Some of us score higher in self objectivity
than do others. The second quadrant is the one that counts most and the goal of assessing customer
perception is to develop as accurate a picture of the customer’s view as possible. The third quadrant is a
company’s perception of how its customers perceive it. Bias creeps into this quadrant as well. The fourth
quadrant is an amalgam of 1 – 3 and deals with a philosophical discussion similar to, “If a tree falls in the
forest ….”
In practice, our profile of customer perception resides in the third quadrant because our ability to vision,
listen, and interpret is in itself a perception which carries filters. A quick review of concepts related to
perception helps attain higher degrees of accuracy when assessing customer perception because it is wise to
remember that “beauty is in the eyes of the beholder” and in this case the beholder writes the check.

Methods for assessing customer perception

Before considering any methods for assessing customer perception, clear cut goals should be established.
The following question needs answering prior to conducting an assessment,

“When we have completed the assessment activity,


what information about how our customers perceive us
do we want to ensure that we obtain?”

One question or a variation thereof, which should be mandatory is,

“What would our company have to accomplish


in order for you to do more business with us
(presuming we do not do all of the work today)?”

KEY POINT: Assessing customer perception is useless unless the information leads to actionable
feedback. By this I mean that the information is not only relevant, but based on its presentation, it is clear
what action should be taken to improve overall customer satisfaction.

To this extent, assessing customer perception should be part of an overall systematic approach aimed at
improving customer satisfaction. Figure 1 is an example of such a system named the Customer Wellness
System© and is one such systematic approach aimed at acquiring and retaining customers.

There are too many methods for assessing customer perception to cover all of them in this article. Those
included are the most common forms used throughout the Graphic Arts Industry. There are five basic
categories of methods to gather customer perception information.
1. Surveys
2. Feedback Cards
3. Focus groups (e.g. “20 groups” derived from the auto industry)
4. Face to face interviews
5. Telephone interviews
6. Customer Complaint Process
Surveys

Our experience suggests that providing the customer with a survey is the most frequently used method to
obtain customer feedback. These vary in length and focus with the most common categories for questions
covering, 1) quality of product, 2), timeliness of delivery, 3) price,
4) responsiveness & flexibility, 5) service quality, 6) cooperativeness of Customer Service Representatives
and/or Sales Representatives, 7) innovation and creativity, 8) vastness of service offerings etc.

Potential Strengths:
· Relatively easy to coordinate the distribution.
· Relatively inexpensive.

Potential Weaknesses:
· Response rate is not usually stellar. We have not performed a formal study to define an
average response rate, but we are told that if you do really well, a company might
approach 50%.
· You can’t control who responds and who does not. So, you may not necessarily obtain
a representative perspective of the overall customer base.
· Poorly crafted questions may create a built-in bias by leading the respondent to answer
in a certain way. This is an issue with all methods of assessment, but with a survey there
is no opportunity for two-way communication that might resolve misunderstanding.

Feedback Cards

These are attached to the product, or to an invoice, and focus on the quality of a product shipment. Areas
of focus typically include; 1) product quality, 2) condition of the product when it arrived, 3) timeliness, and
4) packaging.

Potential Strengths:
• Inexpensive to execute. The cards are attached to something that is already going to be
shipped or mailed.
• Because it is smaller in size and therefore less burdensome to complete,
the recipient may be more inclined to return it.

Potential Weaknesses:

• The size of the card restricts the number of questions that can be listed.
• Although directions for distribution (who should complete it) are
included on the card, the card often does not hit its intended target.
• Sometimes the receiving department throws away the card.
• You can’t control who responds and who does not. So, it is unlikely
that you obtain a representative perspective of the overall customer base.

Focus Groups

A focus group session is a meeting conducted with a variety of customers to assess a product or service.
Meetings can also focus on service or process issues. The automobile industry conducts what it calls “20
Groups” where it brings a group of twenty customers together for the purpose of discussion. In a
traditional Market Research sense, the results generated in a focus group are not considered scientific and
are used to further hone other research instruments like a survey. We know of Graphic Arts firms that use
the concept with a twist by bringing buyers and prepress/customer service representatives together for the
purpose of improving file transfers and/or job related communication.

Potential Strengths:
• Sometimes a customer will think of an idea with others present that he/she
otherwise would not.
• Generates a good deal of input in a short span of time.
Potential Weaknesses:

· If not facilitated properly (focus on the outcomes and actionable items), the meeting can turn
messy. When this happens, it is worse than if nothing was attempted.
· Sometime individuals in a group are subjected to “group think” and support the viewpoints
of others rather than voice their own.

Face to Face Interviews


You may see these being executed at shopping mall. Shoppers are escorted into a room where a prepared
survey is completed which usually includes both open-ended questions and those that require a rating. In
the Graphics Arts world a company often relies on the sales force to obtain the customer’s perception by
sitting down and having “customer-supplier” meetings.
It is important to use interviewers that are independent of the process. It is not unusual for ownership to
say, “My sales force has a handle on the customer. After all, that’s what I pay them for and they don’t get
paid unless they keep the customer happy.” I’ll restate the point that interviewer independence is mission
critical.

Potential Strengths:
· The setting provides an opportunity to clarify questions and discussion topics because
communication is two-way. The interviewer can check-in for both nonverbal and vocal cues.
· The interviewee might be more attentive and thorough in answering questions when an
interviewer is involved.

Potential Weaknesses:
· The interviewer is constrained by geography. Either the interviewer visits the interviewee or
vice-versa. So to obtain wider coverage can be expensive.
· The interviewer may enter bias into the activity, by either saying too much (leading the
interviewee), not listening well, or by not accurately or comprehensively recording responses.
Telephone Interviews
These are not telephone solicitations. Rather these are contacts made with existing customers for the
purpose of assessing their perception of how well a company is meeting their needs. With intelligent
crafting of both questions and sequence (the “nesting” of questions), a tremendous amount of useful and
actionable information can be gleaned. As previously stated, it is critical to use interviewers who are
completely independent so as not to filter the information.

Potential Strengths:
· The setting provides an opportunity to clarify questions and discussion topics because
communication is two-way. The interviewer can check-in for vocal cues.
· The interviewer is not constrained by geography.
· The interviewee might be more attentive and thorough in answering questions when an
interviewer is involved.

Potential Weaknesses:
· The interviewer may enter bias into the activity, by either saying too much (leading the
interviewee), not listening well, or by not accurately or comprehensively recording responses.

Customer Complaint Process


By customer complaint process I mean a formal process. Generally a company implements a form or
electronic recording method for capturing a complaint. Responsibilities are assigned to individuals to
resolve the immediate issue. The log of complaints is analyzed to determine patterns and root causes of
customer perceptions for the purpose of permanently eliminating the condition causing the complaint.

Potential Strengths:
· If a company genuinely listens to the complaining customer, it is hearing an unsolicited cry
for help and there is no better substitute for that particular perception.
· Proper handling of the complaint can lead to a “save” which may improve the relationship.

Potential Weaknesses:
· Making this method the only source of customer perception. Often times customers do not
complain; they just never do business with you again.

Summary
Our clients have helped us conclude that a combination of methods is the optimal way to assess customer
perception. We recommend combining three methods; 1) an annual survey,
2) monthly telephone interviews that make contact with a representative sample of the customer base, and
3) a formal customer complaint handling and tracking process. This combination provides for an annual
checkup as well as monthly pulse checks to help achieve wellness in the customer base.
Articles related to "mall"

1 Information Shopping Mall


Information Shopping Mall is just what it says... a collection of "doorways" you can
go through to find information products that you buy. After all, shopping = buying,
doesn't it.

To start with you'll find it a bit rough and ready (actually, VERY rough and ready, but I
just wanted to get something up first...).

As time goes by it will start to look a bit prettier. But as you are only going to go through
the doorways to get to the other side, that shouldn't matter too much, should it?

The idea of a mall is really just convenience. Putting the entrances to a whole lot of
different shops all in one place, to make it easier for you to buy.

Because they're all in one place and you don't have to go all over town to find different
things. Or in this case, all over the internet. Sounds logical, doesn't it?

The "shops" here are grouped by category, so if you don't immediately see what you are
looking for, scrolls down the page and you might find it after all.

The categories include, but are not limited to: Marketing (online, offline), other Business,
Investment and Money-related topics, Health, Relationships, Personal development,
Lifestyle (e.g. House, Home and Garden; Hobbies and Pursuits; Sports; Travel;
Retirement; Consumer Products including Electronics, Photography, Computers and
Games; Entertainment; Technology, Food and Drink, Education, Beauty....).

I suggest you bookmark this page, and come back regularly to check out new "shops" in
the mall, just like you would in a regular mall.

And if you want to visit one of them again but can't remember the address to go there
directly, you realize you can always return to this page any time and go through the
"doorway" here.

So, feel free to browse around... have fun!


2Pennsylvania Franklin Mills Mall Shopping Deals
The Franklin Mills Mall is so large that shoppers can spend hours at the mall being
entertained while they catch superb shopping deals.

3 Minnesota Shopping Malls

If you're looking for a great destination for Christmas shopping or just a fun shopping
spree, the Minneapolis-St. Paul metro area is a great place to shop! Why? First of all,
there's no tax on clothing in Minnesota. Second, the Twin Cities have an overabundance
of places to shop, especially malls. Why? No, it's not because Minnesotans are especially
materialistic-- it's because indoor shopping malls make an awful lot of sense during those
awful Minnesota winters!

Here's a quick guide to shopping malls in the Twin Cities metro area.

4 Growth files for bankruptcy Mall giant General

Mall giant General Growth Properties (GGP, news, msgs) is not just the biggest
company to file for bankruptcy protection this year, it's one of the biggest companies to
go bust in history. (See a list of the top 15 here). But General Growth, which has $30
billion in assets and filed for Chapter 11 today, may not remain at the top of this year's
list for long.

The aggressiveness with which many companies took on debt and made risky
investments heading into this downturn, coupled with the unwillingness of many banks to
refinance loans, is forcing more companies into bankruptcy than ever before. In March,
there were 7,843 corporate bankruptcies, according to bankruptcy data management
company AACER, Automated Access to Court Electronic Records. That's a whopping
65% increase from the prior year.

"Given all the debt that companies took on in recent years, coupled with the weak
economy, I would expect bankruptcy filings to continue at the current pace throughout
the remainder of 2009 and probably well into 2010," says George Putnam III, founder of
New Generation Research, the firm behind BankruptcyData.com.
Chicago-based General Growth has a stake in more than 200 shopping malls in 44 states,
including such upscale landing spots as South Street Seaport in New York and Faneuil
Hall Marketplace in Boston.

The rise and fall of the shopping mall

The Louvre or New York's Woolworth Building. But it is. “Ohmigod!” chimes a group of
teenage girls, on learning that they are standing in the world's first true shopping mall.
“That is the coolest thing anybody has said to us all day.”

In the past half century Southdale and its many imitators have transformed shopping
habits, urban economies and teenage speech. America now has some 1,100 enclosed
shopping malls, according to the International Council of Shopping Centers. Clones have
appeared from Chennai to Martinique. Yet the mall's story is far from triumphal. Invented
by a European socialist who hated cars and came to deride his own creation, it has a
murky future. While malls continue to multiply outside America, they are gradually
dying in the country that pioneered them.

South dale’s creator arrived in America as a refugee from Nazi-occupied Vienna. Victor
Gruen was a Jewish bohemian who began to design shops for fellow immigrants in New
York after failing in cabaret theatre. His work was admired partly for its uncluttered,
modernist look, which seemed revolutionary in 1930s America. But Gruen's secret was
the way he used arcades and eye-level display cases to lure customers into stores almost
against their will. As a critic complained, his shops were like mousetraps. A few years
later the same would be said of his shopping malls.
Factors that influence consumer buying behavior

Consumer Buying Behavior

What influences consumers to purchase products or services? The consumer buying


process is a complex matter as many internal and external factors have an impact on the
buying decisions of the consumer.

When purchasing a product there several processes, which consumers go through. These
will be discussed below.

Consumer Buying Process


1. Problem/Need Recognition

How do you decide you want to buy a particular product or service? It could be that your
DVD player stops working and you now have to look for a new one, all those DVD films
you purchased you can no longer play! So you have a problem or a new need. For high
value items like a DVD player or a car or other low frequency purchased products this is
the process we would take. However, for impulse low frequency purchases e.g.
confectionery the process is different.

2. Information search

So we have a problem, our DVD player no longer works and we need to buy a new one.
What’s the solution? Yes go out and purchase a new one, but which brand? Shall we buy
the same brand as the one that blew up? Or stay clear of that? Consumer often go on
some form of information search to help them through their purchase decision. Sources of
information could be family, friends, neighbours who may have the product you have in
mind, alternatively you may ask the sales people, or dealers, or read specialist magazines
like What DVD? to help with their purchase decision. You may even actually examine
the product before you decide to purchase it.
3. Evaluation of different purchase options.

So what DVD player do we purchase? Shall it be Sony, Toshiba or Bush? Consumers


allocate attribute factors to certain products, almost like a point scoring system which
they work out in their mind over which brand to purchase. This means that consumers
know what features from the rivals will benefit them and they attach different degrees of
importance to each attribute. For example sound maybe better on the Sony product and
picture on the Toshiba , but picture clarity is more important to you then sound.
Consumers usually have some sort of brand preference with companies as they may have
had a good history with a particular brand or their friends may have had a reliable history
with one, but if the decision falls between the Sony DVD or Toshiba then which one shall
it be? It could be that the a review the consumer reads on the particular Toshiba product
may have tipped the balance and that they will purchase that brand.

4. Purchase decision
Through the evaluation process discussed above consumers will reach their final
purchase decision and they reach the final process of going through the purchase action
e.g. The process of going to the shop to buy the product, which for some consumers can
be as just as rewarding as actually purchasing the product. Purchase of the product can
either be through the store, the web, or over the phone.

5 Post Purchase Behavior

Ever have doubts about the product after you purchased it? This simply is post purchase
behaviour and research shows that it is a common trait amongst purchasers of products.
Manufacturers of products clearly want recent consumers to feel proud of their purchase,
it is therefore just as important for manufacturers to advertise for the sake of their recent
purchaser so consumers feel comfortable that they own a product from a strong and
reputable organisation. This limits post purchase behaviour. i.e. You feel reassured that
you own the latest advertised product.

Factors influencing the behaviour of buyers.

Consumer behaviour is affected by many uncontrollable factors. Just think, what


influences you before you buy a product or service? Your friends, your upbringing, your
culture, the media, a role model or influences from certain groups?

Culture is one factor that influences behaviour. Simply culture is defined as our attitudes
and beliefs. But how are these attitudes and beliefs developed? As an individual growing
up, a child is influenced by their parents, brothers, sister and other family member who
may teach them what is wrong or right. They learn about their religion and culture, which
helps them develop these opinions, attitudes and beliefs (AIO) . These factors will
influence their purchase behaviour however other factors like groups of friends, or people
they look up to may influence their choices of purchasing a particular product or service.
Reference groups are particular groups of people some people may look up towards to
that have an impact on consumer behaviour. So they can be simply a band like the Spice
Girls or your immediate family members. Opinion leaders are those people that you look
up to because your respect their views and judgements and these views may influence
consumer decisions. So it maybe a friend who works with the IT trade who may influence
your decision on what computer to buy. The economical environment also has an impact
on consumer behaviour; do consumers have a secure job and a regular income to spend
on goods? Marketing and advertising obviously influence consumers in trying to evoke
them to purchase a particular product or service.

Peoples social status will also impact their behaviour. What is their role within society?
Are they Actors? Doctors? Office worker? and mothers and fathers also? Clearly being
parents affects your buying habits depending on the age of the children, the type of job
may mean you need to purchase formal clothes, the income which is earned has an
impact. The lifestyle of someone who earns £250000 would clearly be different from
someone who earns £25000. Also characters have an influence on buying decision.
Whether the person is extrovert (out going and spends on entertainment) or introvert
(keeps to themselves and purchases via online or mail order) again has an impact on the
types of purchases made.

Masllow’s Hierarchy of Needs

Abraham Maslow hierarchy of needs theory sets out to explain what motivated
individuals in life to achieve. He set out his answer in a form of a hierarchy. He suggests
individuals aim to meet basic psychological needs of hunger and thirst. When this has
been met they then move up to the next stage of the hierarchy, safety needs, where the
priority lay with job security and the knowing that an income will be available to them
regularly. Social needs come in the next level of the hierarchy, the need to belong or be
loved is a natural human desire and people do strive for this belonging. Esteem need is
the need for status and recognition within society, status sometimes drives people, the
need to have a good job title and be recognised or the need to wear branded clothes as a
symbol of status.
Self-actualisation the realisation that an individual has reached their potential in life. The
point of self-actualisation is down to the individual, when do you know you have reached
your point of self-fulfilment?

But how does this concept help an organisation trying to market a product or service?
Well as we have established earlier within this website, marketing is about meeting needs
and providing benefits, Maslows concept suggests that needs change as we go along our
path of striving for self-actualisation. Supermarket firms develop value brands to meet
the psychological needs of hunger and thirst. Harrods develops products and services for
those who want have met their esteem needs. So Maslows concept is useful for marketers
as it can help them understand and develop consumer needs and wants.
Types of buying behavior .
There are four typical types of buying behaviour based on the type of products that
intends to be purchased. Complex buying behaviour is where the individual purchases a
high value brand and seeks a lot of information before the purchase is made. Habitual
buying behaviour is where the individual buys a product out of habit e.g. a daily
newspaper, sugar or salt. Variety seeking buying behaviour is where the individual likes
to shop around and experiment with different products. So an individual may shop around
for different breakfast cereals because he/she wants variety in the mornings! Dissonance
reducing buying behaviour is when buyer are highly involved with the purchase of the
product, because the purchase is expensive or infrequent. There is little difference
between existing brands an example would be buying a diamond ring, there is perceived
little difference between existing diamond brand manufacturers.

To summarise:

• There are five stages of consumer purchase behavior


• Problem/Need Recognition
• Information search.
• Evaluation of purchases.
• Purchase decision.
• Post purchase behavior.
• Culture has an impact on the company.
• Marketers should take into account Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.
INTRODUCTION

Shopping malls

The latest trend in the corporate universe is of the emergence of the shopping malls.
Shopping malls are an emerging trend in the global arena. The first thing that
comes

in our mind about the shopping malls is that it is a big enclosed building housing a variety

of shops or products. According to historical evidences shopping malls came into

existence in the middle ages, though it was not called so. The concept of departmental

stores came up in the 19th century with the Industrial Revolution.


Consumers wanted a better shopping experience and this demand gave rise to
the
Emergence of shopping malls in India.

Originally the first of the shopping malls was opened in Paris. Then the trend followed in

the other metros over the world, and there was a spree of shopping malls coming up at

various places. In this age of mass production and mass consumption, the concepts of

shopping malls is most modern method of attracting consumers. The concept of shopping

was altered completely with the emergence of these shopping malls.

Shopping was no longer limited to a mere buying activity - it has become synonymous

with splurging time and money. People simply go about roaming through the shopping

mall in order to peep through the window of the shop and often ending up buying

something they like. The consumers desire a combination of comfort and suitability which

the shopping malls cater to, and so this format of shopping has become so popular all
over the world, and especially so in India. The inclusion of amenities like restaurants,

multiplexes, and car parks attract more and more crowds to shopping malls, that are

considered family hangout zones.

Advantages of shopping malls:

• Increase in the growth of the organized retail sector


• Monumental increment in economic growth
• Employment generation by the organized retail sector
• Good competition means better products & services

Disadvantages of shopping malls:

 The companies with superior resources would muscle out the ones inferior to them.
 Monopolization of the organized retail sector

In India, the emergence of shopping malls has mostly altered the lifestyle of the consumers. With

the growth in income, changing attitudes, and also the demographic patterns favor the emergence

of shopping malls.

The trends to follow in the future:

• The shopping malls favor a growth in the Indian organized retail sector
By 10% within 2010
• There would be different formats of shopping malls depending on the region

Brief history
In the United States, people began moving to the suburbs during the 20th century. Shopping malls
were built to serve consumers living in areas outside of the cities. By 1916, a shopping mall called
The Market Square opened for business in Chicago, IL. The facility was comprised of 28 stores,
apartments, and offices. The Market Square was located in the expensive Lake Forest suburb and
is thought to be one of the first planned shopping centers in the U.S.

In 1950, the Northgate Shopping Center was built in Seattle, Washington. This shopping mall
boasted two rows of stores on each side of an open-air section where shoppers could walk. Two
department stores anchored each end of the shopping center. The first enclosed shopping mall was
Southdale Center in Edina, Minnesota which opened its doors in 1956.

Up until the mid 1990s, most modern-day developers built enclosed shopping malls in order to
create a climate-controlled shopping environment. Today, developers are returning to the creation
of open-air shopping malls. Outlet malls, shopping centers featuring name brand retailers selling
their products at discounted prices, are often built in an open-air format.

Types of Shopping Malls


In general, you will find only regional centers, superregional centers, and fashion/specialty centers
on this Web site. Relatively few community centers were chosen, but appear here because the
center may have, at one time, been considered a regional center. Only a few theme/festival centers
were listed in heavily urbanized areas, such as San Francisco, because of their particular
attractiveness or size. Finally, the new designation, lifestyle center, displays because of their
classic-mall type appearance even though they are without a classic-mall anchor store.
Fashion/Specialty Centers

Characterized as higher end, fashion oriented centers between 80,000 and 250,000 sq. ft.

Community Centers
Characterized as having between 100,000 and 350,000 sq. ft. Usually two types of
anchors, such as a discount department store or large specialty/discount apparel store.

Lifestyle Centers
A new designation that has a loose definition. Generally, it's a center that does not have
an anchor tenant in the classic sense (that is, a department store). However, lifestyle
centers increasingly have a cinema as a major tenant. Others have just a small collection
of exclusive shops.

Outlet Centers
Characterized as manufacturers' outlet centers between 50,000 and 400,000 sq. ft.

Regional Centers
Characterized as having between 400,000 and 800,000 sq. ft. Usually two or more
anchors, such as a conventional department store, junior department store, mass
merchant, discount department store, or fashion apparel store.

Superregional Centers
Characterized as having over 800,000 sq. ft. Usually three or more anchors, such as a
conventional department store, junior department store, mass merchant, or fashion
apparel store.

Theme/Festival Centers
Characterized as tourist-oriented, retail and service centers between 80,000 and 250,000
sq. ft.

Components of shopping mall


Food court

A shopping mall food court consists of food vendors offering a selection of food. At
a typical food court, food is ordered at one of the vendors and then consumed at a
seating area, which is normally a plaza surrounded by the counters of the multiple
food vendors .

Department stores
A department store is a retail establishment which specializes in selling a
wide range of products without a single predominant merchandise line.
Department stores usually sell products including apparel, furniture,
appliances, electronics, and additionally select other lines of products such
as paint, hardware, toiletries, cosmetics, photographic equipment, jewelry,
toys, and sporting goods. Certain department stores are further classified as
discount department stores. Discount department stores commonly have
central customer checkout areas, generally in the front area of the store.
Department stores are usually part of a retail chain of many stores situated
around a country or several countries
OBJECTIVE
The purpose of doing the project is to find out:

1. What are the key factors which is making shopping mall hugely
successful

2. Effect of these shopping malls on the small retailers

1. WHAT ARE THE FACTORS THAT IS MAKING SHOPPING MALL


HUGELY SUCCESSFUL ?

“The success of modern shopping centers relies on a number of critical success factors.
These factors include attainability, effortless business, service variety, ambience, price,
active marketing and cleanliness,” says Arto Lindblom, Professor of Retail and Channel
Management at the Helsinki School of Economics.

The atmosphere of shopping center created by sound registration, color scores and
illumination, alongside with the professional concept create additional comfort for
visitors which influences loyalty of buyers and their desire to pass more time in the
shopping center.

Honestly speaking, the competition is amplifying, and factors on which we did not reflect
earlier (color, light, a sound and even smells) now act as an advantage in fighting for the
buyer.
2. FFECT OF SHOPPING MALLS ON THE SMALL RETAILERS ?

Retail trade contributes around 10-11% of India’s GDP and currently employs
over 4 crore people. Within this, unorganized retailing accounts for 97% of the
total retail trade. Traditional forms of low-cost retail trade, from the owner
operated local shops and general stores to the handcart and pavement vendors
together form the bulk of this sector. In the absence of any significant growth in
organized sector employment in India in the manufacturing or services sector,
millions are forced to seek their livelihood in the informal sector. Retail trade,
which has been a relatively easy business to enter with low capital and
infrastructure needs, has acted as a refuge source of income for the unemployed.
Organized retailing has witnessed considerable growth in India in the last few
years and is currently growing at a very fast pace. A recent KPMG survey report
prepared for the FICCI states that organized retail, estimated as a $ 6.4 billion
industry in 2006, is projected to reach $ 23 billion by 2010. The share of
organized retail in overall retail sales is projected to jump from around 3%
currently to around 9-10% in the next three years. A number of large domestic
business groups have entered the retail trade sector and are expanding their
operations aggressively. Several formats of organized retailing

like hypermarkets, supermarkets and discount stores are being set up by big
business groups besides the ongoing proliferation of shopping malls in the metros
and other large cities. This has serious implications for the livelihood of millions
of small and unorganized retailers across the country.
Need to Regulate Organized Retail

Large format retailing is controlled and regulated across the world. The
experiences of Western European as well as South East Asian countries are
particularly relevant in this regard. However, an appropriate regulatory
framework for the organized retail sector in India has to be framed keeping in
mind the Indian specificities. India has the highest shop density in the world with
11 shops per 1000 persons, much higher than the European or Asian countries.
The potential social costs of the growth and consolidation of organized retail, in
terms of displacement of unorganized retailers and loss of livelihoods is
enormous. Regulation in India therefore needs to be more stringent and
restrictive. There are broadly three ways in which the adverse impact of the rapid
and unbridled expansion of organized retail can be felt:

1. Around 95% of the 12 million shops in India have a floor area of less than 500
square feet. The impact of the growing market share for organized retailers is
being manifested in the falling sales for the unorganized retailers in several
places. The NSSO surveys already indicate a significant decline of more than
12.5 lakhs in the number of self- employed retailers in urban India (by current
weekly status) between 1999-2000 and 2004-05. Further acceleration in the
growth of organized retail would eventually result in making business unviable
for a large number of unorganized retailers, particularly in the event of a
slowdown in consumption growth and retail sales. In the backdrop of huge
unemployment and underemployment persisting in India, small-scale retailing
still provides livelihood security to around 20 million urban workers and 12
million rural workers. Their displacement would further worsen the
unemployment scenario.

2. Giant organized retailers use their monopoly buying power to squeeze small
producers of agricultural as well as manufactured products. The experience of the
farmers of

developing countries with the giant food retailers has been particularly
bad. The farmers become dependent upon the inputs, credit and
technology supplied by the food retailers and end up being at their mercy
in terms of prices for their produce and quality standards. Contract
farming, which is the preferred mode of operations as far as the
agribusiness corporations and food retailers are concerned, has led to
agrarian distress in many places. Moreover, uncontrolled diversification
in agriculture away from foodgrains can imperil food security. In the
backdrop of the crisis being already faced in Indian agriculture, the entry
of large retailers with monopsonistic control can aggravate the situation.

3. The proliferation of large format retail outlets reshapes the urban


landscape in myriad ways. Land use patterns change drastically, often in
violation of city plans. Given the unplanned and chaotic path of urban
development witnessed in India over the past decade and a half, and the
pathetic state of urban infrastructure, the proliferation of large format
retailers will only accelerate the undesirable trends of predatory real
estate development and unsustainable pressures on urban infrastructure
and the environment. Rather than enhancing choices for the consumers,
especially the lower income groups, proliferation of large format retail
stores would kill competition, lead to closure of neighbourhood markets
and make consumers solely dependent upon the organized retailers. This
would also increase the propensity to use private vehicles for shopping
thus leading to more pollution.
Regulation of the organized retail sector has to address all these areas of
concern mentioned above. Organized retail cannot be allowed to grow in
a way, which displaces existing unorganized retailers, jeopardizing
livelihoods in the absence of other employment opportunities. The
interests of the small producers, especially farmers, also have to be
protected by preventing the emergence of local
monopolies/monopsonies. It has to be ensured that competition is not
stifled and potentially monopolistic practices in credit, input and output
markets are not encouraged by the entry of large corporate retailers.
Moreover, undue pressure on urban infrastructure and the environment
arising out of the proliferation of large format retailers has to be
prevented.

METHODOLOGY

For finding out various details of our project we have to find the various factors which is

making the shopping malls so attractive to the customer. is it the huge variety attainability,

effortless business, service variety ambience, active marketing and cleanliness . we have to

also find out the what is the impact of these malls on the small retail shops.

We have to visit various shopping malls and by observation method we have to find out the

various factors which is making these malls so attractive to the customer, we also need to

interview the customer and ask them about their choice and preferences like what are the

thing they like about the shopping malls that includes (variety, price shopping environment,

service, cleanliness, attainability) etc.

And for finding out the impact of these malls on the small retailers we need to
interview some small retailer and know their opinion and position.
In addition, on most customer satisfaction projects we look to:

• Define customer service

• Measure customer expectations

• Measure customer perceptions

• Identify gaps between expectations and perceptions

• Identify priorities for improvement

• SWOT analysis of retail


Questionnaire

For finding out the objective, a small survey has been done by me. 30
customers of different age, sex and economic class from 5 shopping malls (big
bazaar, Spencer, city center, south city mall and subiksha) that I have visited
based on their response this is what I have found.

1. what according to them are the factors which influence their behavior ,while
going for shopping?

2. When asked what are the things they liked about shopping malls?

3. When asked, Where do they do their regular monthly shopping?

4. When asked whether they are aware of the condition of the small retailer due to
these shopping malls?

5. When people from the young age group were asked where they prefer shopping
and why, this is what we found?
After interviewing 10 small retail shop owner from various parts of the city
this is what I found.

1. shop owners when asked about the effects on their business when ever there is
a shopping mall around the area

2. When asked, who according to them are the customers who are still loyal to
them

3. When asked about the strategies they are adopting to fight with the situation?

4. When asked should the government interfere in between and give them
protection?

You might also like