Shopper spotlight
Published: 30 September, 2008
During this period of economic belt-tightening, the shopping habits of consumers have become of keen interest to retailers and centre managers. Customer evaluation company Retail Eyes has turned the spotlight on consumer behaviour and the factors that influence people's decision to visit a shopping centre as opposed to frequenting the high street. Retail Eyes conducted its survey, completed by 3,298 respondents, between 1 and 3 August 2008.
Some 4 in 10 respondents visit their local shopping centre at least once a week; 71.9 per cent travel to their chosen shopping centre by private transport; while just under 1 in 5 (18.9 per cent) use public transport. A tiny 9.2 per cent usually travel by foot.
A significant 63.2 per cent usually travel less than 10 miles to their local shopping centre, whereas only 14.8 per cent travel more than 20 miles.
Significantly, the cost of parking is the most important consideration when deciding which shopping centre to visit (61.6 per cent). This is closely followed by quality of food courts and other available places to eat (61.3 per cent). Just over half (56.2 per cent) of respondents noted that parking spaces were an important feature, as well as ease of navigation (55.8 per cent). Almost 6 in 10 (58.1 per cent) respondents said that entertainment facilities were a strong consideration.
The overwhelming majority (84 per cent) said that the main reason for visiting a shopping centre was to browse the stores. However, just over 1 in 10 (11.1 per cent) said that they regarded their visit as a day trip or an outing.
The distance and time taken to reach a shopping centre was important to 56.4 per cent of respondents, compared to 11.6 per cent who said that the cost of travel was more important. Almost 1 in 3 respondents indicated that they didn't think about either of these considerations.
Of the respondents, 77.1 per cent shop online on a regular basis (at least once a month), and of those just over half (53.2 per cent) said that they visit shopping centres with the same regularity, while 14.3 per cent said that they visit more often. Just under a third of regular online shoppers said that they visit less often.
Some 12.2 per cent of respondents indicated that they are visiting shopping centres more often nowadays and 55.3 per cent said that they visit with the same frequency. However, just under 1 in 3 shoppers (32.4 per cent) say they're currently far too busy to visit shopping centres.
Unsurprisingly, just under half (47.6 per cent) of these respondents indicated that the reason for this was that they are more conscious about spending their money. However, it was also interesting to note that more than a quarter of those who don't visit shopping centres as often said that it was because they have more commitments these days and almost 1 in 5 said that there was nothing different to see when they visit, thus reducing incentive.
