Black consumers’ shopping patronage and perceptions of the Riverside Mall’s attractiveness

Abstract

The shopping centre industry is booming and shopping centres are built and planned in areas where previously there were no formal shopping opportunities. The profile of the typical South African shopper or consumer has changed from the traditional white affluent consumer to a diverse mix of heterogeneous cultures and nationalities and saw exponential growth in the spending power of the black middle class consumer. The focus of the study was to investigate consumers’ shopping centre behaviours, with specific reference to the attractiveness of the shopping centre, travel distance, patronage frequency and transportation used. The primary objective of this study was to determine the perceptions of black consumers regarding the attractiveness of the Riverside Mall, a shopping centre in Nelspruit, the capital city in the Mpumalanga province of South Africa. Various secondary objectives investigating possible differences relating to demographic profiles and other shopping centre behaviours and the perceptions of the consumers regarding the attractiveness factors were also investigated. The secondary objectives also included grouping the individual attractiveness attributes into factors as well as assessing the ability of the attractiveness factors to predict the overall shopping centre attractiveness. A two-stage research design, also called pluralistic design, was used for this study. Phase one was a qualitative design consisting of focus groups and personal interviews; and stage two a quantitative design. A total of 400 black shoppers were interviewed using a selfadministered questionnaire that was distributed within the shopping centre during the intercept survey. The descriptive statistics are reported as well as regression analysis, factor analysis, ANOVA, Mann-Whitney U tests and Kruskal-Wallis tests results. Findings from the research indicated that respondents visit shopping centres on a regular basis for shopping, browsing and socialising. The respondents indicated that the shopping centre was overall attractive and the individual shopping centre attractiveness attributes were grouped into four factors after the factor analysis: entertainment and facilities, quality and atmospherics, convenience and way-finding and decor. No differences on the perceptions of attractiveness factors between male and female consumers could be found. The traditional view of male and females differing in their enjoyment of shopping or time spent in a shopping centre seem not be substantiated in this research but the results however confirm that due to several possible reasons, such as duel income families, men are more exposed to shopping and visiting shopping centres and as such display similar behaviour than females. The age group 25 - 40 years, indicated differences in their perception of the attractiveness factors. These shoppers are a distinctive and discerning group and their perceptions of shopping centre attractiveness are different from shoppers in other age groups. The regression analysis revealed that Factor 1 ‘Entertainment and Facilities’ had the biggest effect on the overall attractiveness of the shopping mall. The constant changes in consumer preferences and needs necessitate a constant reevaluation and updating of the retail offerings. The challenge will be to provide a unique and novel destination, where consumers can meet to satisfy their need for social interaction, whilst engaging in their shopping. It is recommended that shopping centre managers should conduct regular climate studies in their environments to enable them to identify problems and suggestions from the respondents. Various strategies to improve marketing, infrastructure, entertainment, providing variety as well as creating a sustainable competitive advantage was suggested. Recommendations for further research include the need to explore the possibility that the cultural influence might cause both male and female shoppers to experience shopping in a similar way.