The Big Bazaar: an examination of Indian shopping mall behaviour and demographic differences

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the extent to which Indian consumers of different demographic groups vary in terms of shopping mall visits (frequency of visit, hours spent in the mall, and number of shops visited) and purchase behaviour (total money spent, number of shops purchased from and number of items purchased).

Design/methodology/approach

The study used a self-administered survey of 400 Indian mall shoppers to examine Indian shoppers’ behaviour with respect to visiting and buying behaviour. Descriptive analyses and χ² tests were conducted to identify patterns and capture the significant relationships in shopping behaviour across different demographic segments.

Findings

The results show that shoppers of different age cohorts and from different household sizes behave differently from one another in a significant manner. In terms of gender, however, men and women tend to behave in a similar manner in terms of visit frequency, time and money spent per visit. The study also provides insight into where the differences occur and between which specific groups.

Research limitations/implications

Data comes from one major city of India which limits the generalizability of the results.

Practical implications

For mall managers and retailers, the study findings indicate that the stores that serve recreational needs should focus more on younger segments, where men and women share similar buying patterns. Findings from this study could also be used for segmentation exercises and to build strategies to convert footfall into actual purchase, especially within the rapidly growing Indian mall market.

Originality/value

The study adds value to the body of retail literature and provides empirical evidence from the rapidly developing Indian market. The study also provides insight into where differences occur and between which specific groups. By highlighting the differences in greater detail, the study benefits retailers in general and specifically, mall managers.

Citation

Pare, V. and Pourazad, N. (2017), "The Big Bazaar: an examination of Indian shopping mall behaviour and demographic differences", Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics, Vol. 29 No. 5, pp. 1160-1177. https://doi.org/10.1108/APJML-09-2016-0184