The Shopping Mall culture is here to stay and grow. People flock to the malls for convenience, merchandise, and for enjoying the shopping and entertainment experience. This article illustrates the results of a survey that was conducted in two shopping malls of ChennaiSpencer Plaza and Ispahani Centreto study the consumers' perception of shopping malls.
First
there was the shop, then the store, then the supermarket and now the mall and
the hypermarket. Malls have become urban India's homage to `progress', communicating
a great sense of reassurance that if the mall is large and has enough brands,
all is well in the world. The concept of `traditional shopping areas' is changing,
and more and more central locations, including those in suburbs, are playing host
to mega malls, turning shopping a pleasurable experience.
Chennai's
most popular daily, The Hindu carried stories on how Chennai-the Mecca
for Retailing-is in a state of flux with respect to the growing mall culture of
the city. In a very theatrical way, this article begins with the shopping experience
of two fictional characters Ajay and Vijay who decide to go for shopping. The
former goes to T Nagar, the hub of Chennai shopping, and the latter goes to the
newly-opened neighborhood mall. A very predictable picture is of Ajay being caught
in traffic, harassed by parking shortage, and hustled around in a large shopping
multitude. Contrasting this is Vijay smiling away, who parked his car in a secure
enclosed place, enjoyed shopping in the air-conditioned comfort and had a range
of shops to choose from. The key aspect of this article is that shopping in Chennai
is shifting from traditional T Nagar to new locations such as Anna Salai, Nungambakkam
High Road and Adyar. The objective of the survey was to find out who these Ajays
or Vijays are, i.e., to find those people who consider a mall as a shopping destination
along with entertainment/recreational options.
The
Shopping Mall culture is here to stay and grow. People flock to the malls for
convenience, merchandise, and for enjoying the shopping and entertainment experience.
Most often, studies on malls have been about how the retail industry is growing,
how a city landscape is changing, how real estate is playing a role or how different
brands are faring in these malls. This article details the mall survey conducted
in Chennai's two most prominent Malls - Spencer Plaza and Ispahani Centre - and
focuses on the consumers. Who are they? What is their demographic profile? What
do they expect from a mall and how do they perceive the mall with respect to parameters
like facilities, pricing, brand choices, etc? |
