Are lifestyle centres unique? Consumers' perceptions across locations
International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management
ISSN: 0959-0552
Article publication date: 30 January 2009
Abstract
Purpose
Lifestyle centres are emerging retail locations and yet have not been included in past studies of shopping centres. The purpose of this paper is to explore whether and how individual and retail characteristics impact consumers' patronage behaviours at three popular retail locations (i.e. central business districts, lifestyle centres, and traditional enclosed shopping malls) in the USA and understand consumers' perceptions of the three different retail locations.
Design/methodology/approach
A mail survey was conducted and 410 surveys were returned. Multiple regression analyses and t‐test were conducted to test proposed hypotheses.
Findings
This study revealed that shopping orientation, importance of retail attributes, and beliefs about retail attributes influence patronage behaviour (i.e. shopping frequency) at the three retail locations. Additionally, consumers' responses suggest that they did regard lifestyle centres differently from the central business district and the traditional enclosed shopping mall on many aspects of the retail attributes examined in this research.
Research limitations/implications
This study is limited in that respondents were consumers of a specific geographic area with certain retail locations. Findings may not be generalizeable.
Practical implications
Understanding how consumers evaluate the three retail locations enables practitioners to develop and/or revise their retail strategies in order to be competitive in the current market.
Originality/value
This is the first study investigating consumers' perceptions of three major retail locations by including the newly emerging lifestyle centres in the USA.
Keywords
Citation
Yan, R. and Eckman, M. (2009), "Are lifestyle centres unique? Consumers' perceptions across locations", International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, Vol. 37 No. 1, pp. 24-42. https://doi.org/10.1108/09590550910927144
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2009, Emerald Group Publishing Limited