Consumer Buying Behavior at Shopping Malls: Does Gender Matter?

Ankit Katrodia,M J Naude,S Soni

doi:10.22610/jebs.v10i1.2095

Abstract

The development of shopping malls is a major social and global phenomenon that has unearthed a novel facet for customer satisfaction and their consequent or relative buying behavior. The aim of his paper was to explore the gender differences in consumer buying behavior at selected Durban shopping malls. It is an observational cross-sectional study carried out on 700 randomly selected respondents to study buying capacity, buying behavior and shopping experience of male and female consumers at shopping malls in the city of Durban, South Africa. Data was collected through pre-tested semi-structured questionnaire with closed ended questions. The study revealed that there are notable gender differences, which shape shopping behavior among men and women. Time and money spent at the mall was significantly high among female as compared to male consumers. Consequently, the results attributed that personal attributes and shopping mall attractiveness factors played a crucial role in influencing customer shopping behavior amongst the mall shoppers. The study concludes that gender differences are prevalent in the buying behavior of customers at the select shopping malls in Durban, South Africa. Average time spent by female is high as compared to male which also affect their average money spent at shopping mall. Psychological, Social and Cultural factors are highly influencing customers’ buying behavior at shopping malls.

Highlights

Over the last few decades, the retailing sector in South Africa has witnessed tremendous growth with the country’s GNI per capita hitting US$ 6,100 (Piotrowicz & Cuthbertson, 2015).The entry of the country into the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) coupled with a population of over 50 million has provided a platform for the rise and flourishing of economic mercantile activities ranging from multinational corporations to shopping malls in its major cities (Ushakov, 2017)
Given the diverse implications attributed to gender differences, it is inexcusable to disregard the significance of shopping malls in retail research
This study evidences the existence of significant gender differences of customer shopping behavior amongst the mall shoppers

Summary

Introduction

Over the last few decades, the retailing sector in South Africa has witnessed tremendous growth with the country’s GNI (gross national income) per capita hitting US$ 6,100 (Piotrowicz & Cuthbertson, 2015).The entry of the country into the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) coupled with a population of over 50 million has provided a platform for the rise and flourishing of economic mercantile activities ranging from multinational corporations to shopping malls in its major cities (Ushakov, 2017). South Africa’s retailing sector’s context is characterised by the escalation in the number of shopping malls to meet the needs of the population segmented with high disposable income, high rates of urbanization, and trends of rapid economic growth patterns (Human Sciences Research Council., 2003). According to Ozturk (2014), the business environment is continuously becoming more competitive, an aspect that is forcing shopping malls to adopt strategies to meet the diverse needs of their respective consumers. Durban City provides consumers with the exciting experience of shopping with diverse products ranging from domestic appliances, foodstuffs, and other variety of services (Turner, 2017). Given the diverse implications attributed to gender differences, it is inexcusable to disregard the significance of shopping malls in retail research. The increase in the number of shopping malls has aggravated competition in respective contexts purposely to retain and attract new consumers (Ozturk, 2014)

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Results

Conclusion