Richard Michon

Cross-cultural mall shopping values and habitats: A comparison between English- and French-speaking Canadians

Immigrants gaining economic security tend to reinforce—not relinquish—their ethnic identification [Halter M. Shopping for identity: the marketing of ethnicity. New York: Schoken Books, 2000. p. 256.]. Shopping is one avenue where people affirm themselves. Mall shopping has become an expression of personal values. In this research, the authors investigate shopping values [J. Consum. Res. 20 (1994) 644.] and mall activities [J. Retailing 70 (1994) 20.] in a bicultural environment. The study focuses on English- and French Canadian mall shoppers. The two constructs are first subjected to invariant factorial analyses for measurement equivalence. Subsequently, English- and French Canadian shoppers are tested for invariant latent means on the shopping value and the mall habitat scales. As hypothesized, French Canadian mall shoppers are more hedonistic than English Canadians. In this specific setting, English- and French Canadians have similar shopping mall behaviors.

Fashion orientation, shopping mall environment, and patronage intentions

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore female fashion shoppers’ perception and response to the mall environment. Specific objectives include a conceptual model of female fashion shoppers’ experience in a mall environment incorporating fashion orientation, store personality, shopping mall perception, shopping value, and patronage intentions. Design/methodology/approach – Empirical testing is done with a latent path structural equation model. Data collection was carried out in a firmly controlled mall intercept survey which produced 312 usable questionnaires. Findings – Results show that shoppers’ fashion orientation hypothesized to be a personality trait is not an antecedent to the perception of the mall environment. Instead, fashion orientation moderates the perception of product and service quality, hedonic shoppers’ response, and patronage intentions. The perceived mall personality has a focussed impact on the perception of product and service quality. The mall’s sophistication image influenc...

New Kid on the Block: The Impact of Digital Signage as a Retail Atmospheric Tool

Digital signage is a recent addition to the interactive retail atmospheric toolbox. Retailers want to keep contact with shoppers in-store where more than 70 percent of purchase decisions are made. Digital signage is also part of the store atmosphere, contributing to the well-being of shoppers (Wilson, 2005). Digital signage has been neglected by researchers (for an exception, see Newman and Dennis, 2006). This study evaluates the impact of digital signage, sometimes known as captive audience network (CAN) on shoppers’ perception of the retail environment, positive affect, and approach behavior.

Fashion Shoppers’ Response to the Mall Retail Environment

Fashion, the traditional mainstay of enclosed shopping centers, typically occupies more than 50 percent of non-anchor tenant space in regional malls. Facing aggressive competition from power centers, outlets and lifestyle centers, regional and superregional malls rely more than ever on branded fashion merchandise. Some mall operators are courting luxury retailers such as Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Ferragamo or even Hermes. The pursuit of upscale fashion implies an understanding of the fashion-oriented consumer. Apart from selecting and matching tenants, mall developers can also offer fashion shoppers a retail environment that will have a positive impact on shopping behavior. This study investigates how female fashion-oriented shoppers perceive and respond to the mall environment.