Integration of materialism with shopping motivations: motivations based profile of Indian mall shoppers

Abstract

PurposeThe paper aims to investigate materialism as one of the retail shopping motives along with utilitarian/hedonic motivations in the Indian context. It aims to identify the key shopping motivations, which explain the shopping value in the context of malls. Furthermore, it intends to develop a shopping motivations-based typology of Indian mall shoppers, and to profile the motivational and demographic characteristics of the discerned segments.Design/methodology/approachThe data were collected through a mall intercept survey. The shopping motivations were identified through literature, and established scales were utilised to collect data. Exploratory factor analysis was used to understand the underlying structure of mall shopping motives. Hierarchical and K-means clustering were used to cluster the consumers. Additionally, ANOVA along withpost hoctests were used to explore the mean differences between the various clusters. Cross-tabulation along with the chi-square statistic was used to understand the demographic characteristics of the clusters.FindingsIndian mall shoppers are motivated by hedonistic, materialistic and utilitarian motives. They can be primarily classified into four clusters, namely, balanced shoppers, materialist shoppers, hedonistic shoppers and value shoppers.Research limitations/implicationsKnowledge of distinct consumer segments will aid marketers in formulating marketing and promotional strategies for augmenting mall footfalls.Originality/valueAlthough past research has accentuated hedonic and utilitarian motivations as the primary shopping motives, little research has been conducted to examine materialism as a shopping motive. Rise of materialism in the emerging Indian market has metamorphosed the consumer behaviour. The study examines the utilitarian, hedonistic and materialistic dimensions of shopping and unfolds a typology of mall shoppers. It contributes to the repository of cross-national research on shopping behaviour by unravelling the shopping motivations of Indian consumers.