Shopping streets vs malls: preferences of low-income consumers

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to identify the attributes of shopping streets and shopping malls that influence the satisfaction and patronage intention of low-income consumers in order to understand the consumers’ preferences when it comes to shopping in these retail agglomerations.Design/methodology/approachThe study is based on quantitative and qualitative research, including in-depth interviews and focus groups with low-income consumers. The research collected data from 396 consumers at 3 retail agglomerations in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and used a structured questionnaire to identify 12 attributes as the factors of the agglomerations’ attractiveness.FindingsThe results show that the items “selection” and “value” affect satisfaction and patronage intention at the same intensity in both shopping streets and shopping malls. However, the item “access” proved to be important for shopping malls, and the item “security” proved to be important for shopping streets. The results indicate that shopping streets have a preference for patronage intentions, despite the greater satisfaction generated by shopping malls. In addition, the study looked at consumers’ opinions on these retail agglomerations.Originality/valueThe research findings help to build a conceptual framework on evolved retail agglomerations in comparison to created retail agglomeration, represented by shopping streets and shopping malls, respectively. The findings allow a broader view of low-income consumption, offering insights so entrepreneurs and companies can direct their efforts to better capture value and improve the supply of products and services. Likewise, these findings will help public policy decision-makers to build and provide infrastructure for the preservation of shopping streets, maintaining this option for the consumer.