Role of the eco-natural environment as an alternative attractiveness factor in malls

Abstract

Purpose The mall industry in Latin America has grown rapidly in the past decade, offering diverse proposals oriented to improving the attractiveness of this commerce format; along this line, despite the fact that several studies have analyzed variables from an ecological perspective based on the relationship of the physical space with the consumers (from a marketing context), there is shortage in research regarding alternative attractiveness factors inspired by nature, although its connection with people’s behavior has been confirmed. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to answer the following question: Is the perception of environments with natural resources displayed in malls an alternative attractiveness factor for visitors? Thus, does it benefit its own competitive management against other attractiveness variables that focus on offering variety, accessibility, physical design and entertainment? Design/methodology/approach The quantitative method is an exploratory factor analysis that is followed by a confirmatory analysis and resulting in a measurement model based on 470 effective questionnaires. The exploratory and confirmatory nature focused on multidimensional verification of the measurement model (including the validation of the eco-natural environment) justified this choice in consistence with prior research that has used goodness of fit criteria. Findings The paper not only suggests the existence of a perception factor in the eco-natural environment, but it also determines its comparative importance over other traditional attractiveness factors reported in scientific literature. Particularly because commercial attractiveness is a consequence of how marketing variables are managed by malls and of how consumers respond to said variables, benefiting the visit’s experience. Practical implications The paper contributes to malls’ competitive management by suggesting and proving the importance of the eco-natural environment as a commercial attractiveness factor; thus, the results encourage this format’s developers to take into account new ways of persuasion considering its progressive and competitive rise in the past years in Latin America. Originality/value There is shortage of research on alternative attractiveness factors for malls; therefore, contrasting the eco-natural environment in a measurement model of commercial attractiveness allows contributing strategic information to the industry, which in turn constitutes an innovative resource to lure and motivate visitors. On the other hand, the paper contributes the state of knowledge of environmental variables over consumers’ assessments.