AMITY UNIVERSITY NOIDA, UTTAR PRADESH

DISSERTATION ON AN ANALYSIS OF PERCEPTION AND SPENDING PATTERN OF CUSTOMERS AT SHOPPING MALLS

Submitted in partial fulfillment of B.Com (Hons) Session: 2009-12

AMITY COLLEGE OF COMMERCE & FINANCE

SECTOR-125, NOIDA, UTTAR PRADESH

CHAPTER 1
Introduction 5

CHAPTER 2

Review of Literature

CHAPTER 3
Research Methodology Research Design Sample Design Objective of study Limitations of Study

CHAPTER 4
Data Analysis And Interpretation

CHAPTER5 Findings & Suggestions CHAPTER 6

48 Conclusion

ANNEXURE

 Bibliography Questionnaire 72

CHAPTER-1
Introduction

INTRODUCTION

Definition of Shopping-: According to Dholakia (1999), the rationale for shopping is making physical visits to a shopping site. It is considered as a household task as well as a form of recreation, relaxation and entertainment and going out to shop is a conspicuous moment in consumption. Shopping malls-: The term shopping malls/shopping center has been evolving since 1950s. Shopping malls is a group of retail and other commercial establishments that is planned, developed, owned, and managed as a single property. The two main configurations of shopping centers are strip centers and enclosed malls. Strip centers are shopping centers that usually have parking directly in front of the store. Open canopies may connect the store front but the strip center does not have enclosed walkways linking the store. Enclosed malls are shopping centers in which customers park in outlying areas and walk to the stores. Shopping malls are providing many other facilities to customer so they can spend more in shopping.

Background of the Study

The real estate market in India continues to be on its buoyant growth trend. The entry of global players and international equity management firms into the sector points to the abundance of enthusiasm and confidence that the investors have towards the potential and prospects of the sector in the years to come. The demand for commercial space for organized retailing is expected to reach 200 million sq. ft. by 2010. The retail sector in India, which is dominated by small and unorganized entrepreneurs consisting of standalone stores, boutiques and kirana stores, is radically changing its face. There has been a massive development of new retail formats such as malls, hypermarkets, supermarkets and lifestyle stores. The organized sector represents a mere 2 per cent share of this market. It is very low as compared to other developed economies of the world. However, as the spending power in the economy is growing fast, this development has gained importance not only in the metropolitan cities but also in the Tier II and III towns. These upcoming formats are giving consumers a lot to spend on, especially with existing players such as Pantaloon, Shoppers Stop and the Tata and RPG Group Scaling up fast and the new players such as ITC, Sriram group, Birlas and Sunil Mittal investing a lot in the retail market. With this transition taking place the shopping behaviour of consumers is likely to change as these formats were not in existence in the country until recently.

In these circumstances, in which these new retail formats are growing at a rapid pace in India, there remains a need among Indian businesses to understand the changing behaviour of consumers towards shopping in these organized retail outlets. Also, due to the limited success of these outlets, it is necessary for retailers to be aware of shoppers motivations and to understand ways of attracting the consumers. Till date, there has been very limited research on the shopping habits of consumers in the less developed economies of the world, India being one of them.

Large format malls are increasingly getting prominent with adequate retail space allocated to leisure and entertainment. Some states like Punjab have lifted entertainment tax on multiplexes till 2009. This boosted the confidence of the mall developers to accommodate entertainment players like PVR, Waves, Ad lab and Fun Republic in large malls. A study conducted by Knight Frank India indicates that by 2007, approximately 75 million sq ft of mall space would be available in India. Of this, Mumbai, Pune, NCR (including Gurgaon, Noida, Greater Noida, Faridabad & Ghaziabad), Bangalore & Hyderabad will have a 74% share. The balance 26% will be made up by the cities like Kolkata, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Nagpur, Lucknow, Indore, Ludhiana & Chandigarh. With such quantum of new format retail space in the pipeline, innovation, striking the right tenant mix, effective mall management and provision of ample parking space are components that will decide the future success of mall developments.

In this research, I attempt to fill these gaps, thereby investigating the shopping behaviour of the Indian consumers, particularly with the new retail formats emerging. This study

would concentrate on the behaviour the consumer exhibits while visiting or making purchases in the newly opened malls. It would explore the purpose and motive behind the Indian consumers visit to these newly established shopping malls, the values they derive from the shopping trip and their shopping bahaviour in terms of impulse purchases, time and money spent at the shopping mall, etc. A final objective is to establish a baseline for examining changing behaviour in future as developments continue.

CHAPTER 2
Objective & Scope of study

OBJECTIVES:-

To find out the frequency of mall visits by customer.

To find out the average amount of money spent on purchases at malls.

To determine the types of products purchased by customers at sopping malls.

To determine the customers perception of product sold at sopping malls.

To determine the consumers shopping habits changing with upcoming retail formats, specifically malls.

To find out the determinants of consumers when choosing between a shopping mall and the unorganized market.

The scope of study:-

The most important activity for mall owners is to attract the maximum number of people and to convert them into buyers. A mix of attributes such as variety of stores in the mall, the location of the shopping mall, the shopping experience offered to the consumers in the shopping mall and the correct pricing of the available merchandise would make a shopping mall successful in the Indian retail environment. Apart from these, a seven point strategy for a successful mall in India are Location, product mix, right footfall, right pricing, strong infrastructural support, circulation and differential pricing are the factors which will be sought and appreciated by the customers and would lead to the success of the mall. If these attributes are present in the shopping malls of India, they would further push the consumers, who are already in the transitional phase of shifting their preferences from the unorganized markets, towards shopping in these malls. The study will provide insights about all these factors.