To read this content please select one of the options below:

Where did all the benches go? The effects of mall kiosks on perceived retail crowding

Jung‐Hwan Kim (Department of Retailing, University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina, USA)
Rodney Runyan (Department of Retailing, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee, USA)

International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management

ISSN: 0959-0552

Article publication date: 15 February 2011

2186

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to investigate how density conditions caused by multiple kiosks in shopping mall walkways affect shoppers' shopping outcomes based on psychological reactance theory and behavioural constraint theory.

Design/methodology/approach

The experiment uses a one‐factor between‐subjects design with two levels of density conditions (high vs low). A total of 382 respondents participated.

Findings

The findings of this paper indicate that respondents perceive the environment with kiosks as crowded and this perception of crowdedness negatively affects their approach behaviour, leading to lower intentions to patronise.

Practical implications

Findings provide practical information to mall managers by indicating that kiosks within a shopping mall negatively affect shopper patronage and approach intentions. Thus, mall managers need to pay more attention to the environmental atmospherics of the mall itself.

Originality/value

The paper is the first empirical research which examines how kiosks within a mall affect shopper shopping responses. The findings of this study add to the existing literature by examining how kiosks within a mall impact shoppers' psychological states and subsequently their approach/avoidance behaviours towards the shopping mall and patronage intention.

Keywords

Citation

Kim, J. and Runyan, R. (2011), "Where did all the benches go? The effects of mall kiosks on perceived retail crowding", International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, Vol. 39 No. 2, pp. 130-143. https://doi.org/10.1108/09590551111109085

Publisher

:

Emerald Group Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2011, Emerald Group Publishing Limited

Related articles