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2.2.2 Shopping experience
Shopping experience must be a pleasurable experience and comfort the customers during
their
shopping
in
a
certain
shopping
center.
According
to
(
Ahmed,
Gingold,
Dahari.
2005 ), mall management (and mall-based retailers) must now offer something extra to
lure
shoppers,
whether
it
is
a
unique
experience, entertainment, excitement or a
social
gathering place. Although today shopping malls have indirect competitors such as online
shopping, catalogs and
home shopping
on television that offer practicality,
those kinds
of
shopping
could
only compliment
them but
can
never
really
replace
real
“live”
shopping malls.
The spectacular Mall of America contains more than 520 specialty stores, 49 restaurants,
indoor
theme
parks,
an Underwater
World
featuring
hundreds
of
marine
specimens,
a
dolphin show and a two-story miniature golf course, all of which can offer an
unforgettable shopping experience which is hard to be copied by any competitor.
In Jakarta, Mall of Indonesia has been designed to attract visitors in the same way as the
Mall of America. It
is
facilitated
with a small
theme park and
many kinds of
fun
family
entertainment.
Shopping must be pleasurable or a leisure experience. Today’s customers are more
discerning,
less
loyal
and
more
demanding.
Demand
for
experience
is
viewed
very
highly
that
malls
need to provide
more authentic retail brands with clearer relationships
with
the
shoppers.
Berry
et
al.
(1997)
stated that
“fun”
must
become
an
important
consideration to successful retailer value propositions.
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