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Expanding the loyaltyconcept to includepreference for a shoppingmallMelody L. Adkins Lehew , Brigitte Burgess& Scarlett WesleyPublished online: 08 Dec 2010.

To cite this article: Melody L. Adkins Lehew , Brigitte Burgess & ScarlettWesley (2002) Expanding the loyalty concept to include preference fora shopping mall, The International Review of Retail, Distribution andConsumer Research, 12:3, 225-236, DOI: 10.1080/09593960210139643

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Expanding the loyalty conceptto include preference for ashopping mall

Melody L. Adkins LeHew, Brigitte Burgess andScarlett Wesley

Abstract

This paper is an initial investigation into the feasibility of customer loyalty towards anenclosed mall. Recently, several mall development companies have established frequentshopper programmes to enhance loyalty to their particular mall properties. Thepurpose of the research is to determine if a loyal mall group exists; and if so,investigate their assessment of mall characteristics to provide a better understanding ofthose attributes in� uencing a loyal response. Results support the presence of loyal mallcustomers, and several mall attributes in� uenced such loyalty. Managerial implicationsand suggestions for future research are provided.

Keywords

Customer loyalty, patronage, retail strategy, shopping centres

Introduction

A highly competitive retail environment coupled with changing shoppingbehaviour has negatively impacted shopping mall productivity and encouragedmall managers to develop innovative, customer-oriented strategies. One recentstrategy used by a few mall developers promotes the mall as a brand (Hazel1999; Talmadge 1999) through various marketing programmes, such as uniformsignage, televised and print advertisements featuring the mall name, andfrequent shopper programmes used to create a cohesive image of the mall in theminds of consumers. Through these programmes, mall management encouragecustomers to identify with a speci� c mall property, and make patronagedecisions based on a preference for the overall mall.

Retail stores have successfully used customer reward programmes to increasecustomer satisfaction and loyalty. According to Fulkerson (1996) ‘� fty six

Melody L. Adkins LeHew, Assistant Professor, Apparel, Textiles and Interior Design,Kansas State University, 217 Justin Hall, Manhattan, KS 66506–1405, USA. Tel: +785532 1321, E-mail: Lehew@humec.ksu.edu

The International Review of Retail, Distribution and Consumer ResearchISSN 0959-3969 print/ISSN 1466-4402 online © 2002 Taylor & Francis Ltd

http://www.tandf.co.uk/journalsDOI: 10.1080/09593960210139643

Int. Rev. of Retail, Distribution and Consumer Research 12:3 July 2002 225–236

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percent of adults who currently have or have had frequent customer cards . . .say the cards in� uence their decision to patronize a business (p. 46). Imitatingtheir retail tenants, some shopping mall developers have introduced customerreward programmes. One programme is similar to a retail store frequentcustomer card, where customers can earn points for all purchases made in mallsowned by a single mall development company. This programme is used to builda customer database and to differentiate a mall property located in a saturatedmarket (Gattuso 1994; Hazel 1998; Edelson 1999). By adopting a frequentcustomer reward card and other branding tactics, shopping mall managersencourage customer loyalty toward the mall. This paper explores the concept ofmall loyalty.

Although there is considerable extant research regarding brand and storeloyalty, to date there is little, non-proprietary, empirical literature pertaining toshopping mall customer loyalty. The purpose of the current research study isto determine whether a group of loyal mall shoppers can be identi� ed; and if so,investigate their assessment of mall characteristics in order to provide a betterunderstanding of the attributes in� uencing such a favourable attitudinal and/orbehavioural response. Mall loyalty was de� ned in this study as a consumer’spreference for shopping in a speci� c mall facility.

Conceptual background

Mall loyalty implies repeat patronage of a speci� c retail property. Therefore, theconstructs of shopping centre patronage and customer loyalty will be brie� yreviewed to provide a conceptual background.

Customer patronage has been the focus of many theoretical and empiricalwritings. Early researchers developed gravitational models to predict patronagefor shopping areas using a combination of objective measures, such as distance,population density and mass (square footage of retail space) to explain why onelocation would be patronized over another (Brunner and Huff 1963; Bucklin1967; Mason 1968). As the popularity and choice of shopping centres grew, moresubjective factors were considered, such as image attributes of a speci� c centreand consumers’ shopping motives (Bellenger et al. 1977; Gentry and Burns1977–8; Nevin and Houston 1980; Finn and Louviere 1996; Stoltman et al.1991). In 1983, Sheth developed a general theory of patronage behaviour,integrating the knowledge base into two theoretical models: shopping preferenceand patronage behaviour. Of interest to the current study is the shoppingpreference theory.

Sheth (1983) identi� ed three antecedents for shopping preference among anevoked set of alternative outlets: shopping motives, shopping options; and choicecalculus. In Sheth’s conceptualization, shopping motives are made up ofconsumers wants and needs and are in� uenced by personal values as well asproduct related characteristics. Shopping options refer to the group of retailoutlets available in a trade area in which a consumer can satisfy their wants andneeds and are determined by market and company factors. Using a choicecalculus, the consumer narrows the possible shopping alternatives to a manage-able number by matching their motives with shopping options. These threefactors establish a consumer’s shopping predisposition. The current study

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examines the supply-side determinants of shopping options by investigatingcharacteristics of a mall that may in� uence a loyal shopper’s predisposition forthat mall.

The importance of tangible and intangible characteristics of a shopping areaon consumer perceptions and preferences has long been recognized, dating backto the seminal work by Martineau (1958) regarding the personality of a storewhich lead to a plethora of image research. In 1974, Lindquist completed anextensive review of retail image literature and developed a list of attributes thatin� uence customers’ perceived store image. His work has been extended,modi� ed and re� ned by Hansen and Deutscher (1977–8), Gentry and Burns(1977–8), and Nevin and Houston (1980). Early shopping centre patronageresearchers were interested in understanding the underlying attributes thatin� uence patronage decisions (Bellenger et al. 1977; Gentry and Burns 1977–8).More recently, patronage researchers have focused on the impact of speci� ccharacteristics on shopping excitement and desire to stay in the mall (Wake� eldand Baker 1998), as well as having used mall attribute perceptions to determineshopper attitude and the importance of personal values and ethnicity onpatronage behaviour (Shim and Eastlick 1998). Research identifying character-istics encouraging loyal patronage is needed. The current study utilized commonshopping centre attributes from previous patronage research to clarify thein� uence that mall attributes may have on customer loyalty.

In recent years a special kind of patronage has become the focus of research,the loyal patronage of retailers (Hallowell 1996; Macintosh and Lockshin 1997;Angreassen and Lindestad 1998; Sirohi et al. 1998; Pritchard et al. 1999).According to Oliver (1999), loyalty is the committed repurchase or repatronageof a preferred product or service. Loyalty develops through cumulative satisfyingexperiences with the attributes of the product/service (Selnes 1993; Oliver1999). The best measure of loyalty has been an issue for debate. Jacoby andChestnut (1978) completed a review of brand loyalty literature, focusing on meas-urement issues. Early conceptualization of loyalty relied solely on repeat purchaseinformation, (i.e. loyal behaviour) and was supported by many researchers. An-other group has suggested loyalty is an attitude, an evaluation of a product/servicebased on the expectations of its attributes (Selnes 1993). Others claim that bothattitude and behaviour measures should be used (Jacoby and Chestnut 1978;Baldinger and Rubinson 1996). Understanding the dynamics of customer loyaltyis essential because encouraging loyalty is a strategic priority for many � rms, ascustomer retention costs less than customer acquisition (Oliver 1999).

The pursuit of loyal customer patronage has extended to the shopping mallindustry and poses an interesting case. Shopping mall owners/managers do notproduce or sell products. They provide retail/service conglomeration, by bring-ing together sellers of products and services to satisfy the wants and needs of theretail customer in a pleasant and exciting environment. So, if these organizationsdo not have anything to sell, why is customer loyalty important? In the over-saturated retail marketplace, keeping current customers and encouraging loyalbehaviour is imperative for success. A loyalty strategy is used to increase sales ofa shopping mall’s tenants (product and service retailers), and since leases aretypically based on percentage of sales – a corresponding increase in pro� ts formall owners. The challenge for shopping malls pursuing a customer loyalty

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strategy is to communicate the bene� ts and added value that the mall develop-ment � rm provides loyal customers. In order for such a strategy to succeed, thecustomers must be able to ‘describe it and the unique set of bene� ts it offers’(Randall 1997, p. 13).

The salient evaluative criteria used by consumers must be determined tocomprehend the basis of mall loyalty. This study provides an initial step inunderstanding the unique phenomenon of shopping mall loyalty by examiningthe most important attributes used by loyal customers to evaluate a particularmall. The following research questions guided the study: (1) is there anidenti� able group of consumers that can be labeled loyal mall shoppers? (2) If so,can the mall characteristics in� uencing this preference be identi� ed?

Methodology

In order to obtain valid information regarding customer perception of speci� cmall attributes, a � eld setting was necessary for data collection. A conveniencesample was drawn from two geographically dispersed enclosed malls, owned bya developer pursuing a loyalty strategy. Each site was located in a majormetropolitan area within the US: one in the Southeast and the other in theMidwest. Metropolitan areas were chosen in order to ensure the presence ofcompetition from other nearby regional and super-regional malls. The re-searchers believed that to capture mall loyalty, respondents must have a choice ofseveral shopping malls in which patronage would be possible. Choosing topatronize a shopping mall in a market with no other malls available may notre� ect loyalty, but necessity.

Mall managers gave the researchers permission to set up a table in high traf� careas to intercept current shoppers. Data were collected during a four day periodat each of the two malls, varying the time of day and location of the datacollection area. Two interviewers approached customers appearing to be 18 yearsor older. A purposive sample was sought, in order to get a representation of age,gender and ethnic groups. Shoppers agreeing to participate were offered a smallmonetary incentive to complete a survey. One hundred and � fty four useablesurveys were obtained for data analysis.

Mall loyalty measurement

Both behavioural and attitudinal measures of customer loyalty were included inthe survey instrument. In consideration of the loyalty measurement debatediscussed above, the authors included both to provide richer understanding ofmall loyalty as well as to investigate whether the two measures produceddifferent outcomes. The behavioural loyalty measure assessed each respondent’spercentage of product category purchases (PURCH) made annually in the datacollection mall and could range from 0 percent to 100 percent. The closer thepercentage was to 100 percent, the higher degree of loyalty behaviour exhibited.Respondents were also asked to respond positively or negatively to the followingstatement: ‘Would you consider yourself to be a loyal customer of this mall?’ asa surrogate measure of their mall loyalty attitude (LOYAL). This question was

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placed near the end of the survey in order to delay respondents’ awareness of thespeci� c interest of the researchers. Pearson correlation coef� cient was used totest the relationship between the two loyalty measures. The measures weresigni� cantly correlated (r 5 0.35, p £ 0.001), and with a Cronbach’s alpha of0.52, an acceptable range for exploratory studies (Nevin and Houston 1980), andwere considered to be a reliable measure of loyalty.

Mall attribute perception measurement

After an extensive review of store and shopping centre patronage literature, 28shopping mall attributes were chosen to represent seven distinct categories. Thecategories correspond to the seven most common types of attributes measured inpast patronage research: price (e.g. competitive prices, quality for price); tenants(e.g. variety of stores, access to theatre); store (e.g. personnel, displays);merchandise (e.g. new fashions, popular brands); mall facilities (e.g. cleanliness,layout); atmosphere (e.g. lighting, decor); and location (e.g. convenient). Severalitems were borrowed and/or modi� ed from Nevin and Houston (1980) andBellenger et al. (1977). Bi-polar adjectives (e.g. poor-excellent, low-high) werelisted for each attribute statement, with � ve possible Likert-type responses.

Data analysis and results

In order to determine whether loyal mall customers could be identi� ed, thebehavioural mall loyalty measure was collapsed into categorical data, trans-forming the percentage of product category purchases (PURCH) into twogroups, loyal customers and non-loyal customers. Respondents making morethan 50 percent of their purchases in the mall where intercepted were groupedtogether and considered to be heavy users and labelled loyal mall shoppers, assuggested by previous loyal behaviour studies (Jacoby and Chestnut 1978).Those making 50 percent or fewer purchases were considered to be light usersand labelled non-loyal. Twenty-six percent of the sample purchased more than50 percent of a product category at the mall and were considered to be exhibitingmall loyalty behaviour (Table 1). The self-reported mall loyalty attitude measure(LOYAL) yielded a high number of loyal mall shoppers (48.3 percent). The � rstresearch question asked whether a group of loyal mall customers could beidenti� ed. Through respondent’s behaviour, and especially attitude, it is appar-ent that the answer is yes.

Table 1 Frequency distribution of loyal and non-loyal mall shoppers

VariableLoyaln (%)

Non-loyaln (%)

PURCH 37 (25.9) 106 (74.1)LOYAL 73 (48.3) 78 (51.7)Note:Sample size equals 154. These variables had somemissing cases.

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Two analysis strategies were used to investigate the second research question:if a loyal group exists, are there identi� able mall characteristics in� uencing theirpreference for that speci� c mall? First, chi-square analysis was used to test therelationship between mall attribute perception and loyal attitude. Second,regression analysis was used to test the in� uence of mall attribute perception onloyal mall behaviour. These two separate analyses were conducted in order toinvestigate whether results differed due to the type of loyalty measure.

First, chi-square analysis was employed to investigate whether perception ofmall attributes would distinguish loyal from non-loyal mall customers and todetermine which attributes loyal mall customers evaluated as positive. Isolatingthese noteworthy (in loyal customer minds) characteristics may reveal whichattributes encourage loyalty. Likert-type responses to all 28 mall attribute itemswere collapsed into nominal data with the following three categories: agreementwith the positive adjective (e.g. excellent), agreement with the negative (e.g.poor) or choice of the neutral response (e.g. neither excellent nor poor).Collapsing the � ve-point scale into a three-point scale reduced the possibility ofempty cells. Contingency tables with chi-square tests were constructed using theself-reported LOYAL attitude measure of mall loyalty to investigate whetherloyal mall customer perceptions of shopping mall attributes differed signi� cantlyfrom the non-loyal mall customer. Chi-square test results indicated only four ofthe attribute perceptions signi� cantly differentiated the two groups: competitiveprices, general price levels, quality for price, and the availability of a rewardprogramme (Table 2).

The perception of price and quality attributes distinguished the loyalcustomers from the non-loyal ones. A chi-square test indicated that signi� cantlymore loyal customers perceived the competitive prices offered at the mall asbeing excellent (60.7 percent) than non-loyal customers (39.3 percent). Likewise,signi� cantly more non-loyal customers (61.7 percent) rated the competitivenessof the mall’s prices as poor. The general price level of the mall was rated ‘unfair’by 63 percent of the non-loyal shoppers, which was signi� cantly more than loyalrespondents (36.7 percent). The non-loyal customer group was also heavilyrepresented in the neutral perception, with approximately 62 percent perceivingprice levels to be neither fair nor unfair, as compared to only 38 percent of loyalmall customers. The value-oriented attribute (quality for price) also differ-entiated the loyal and non-loyal patrons. More non-loyal respondents (66.7percent) indicated a neutral perception regarding the level of quality for theprice than did loyal respondents (33.3 percent).

The availability of a reward programme was related to level of mall loyalty.Non-loyal respondents (77.8 percent) were more likely to indicate neutralityregarding the importance ascribed to the availability of a reward programme ina shopping mall, than loyal respondents (22.2 percent). Results indicated aslightly higher proportion of loyal (58.1 percent) than non-loyal (41.9 percent)shoppers agree that a reward programme is important.

Chi-square results did distinguish non-loyal and loyal mall customers throughtheir perception of mall attributes, but in an unexpected manner. The majorityof the signi� cant � ndings were related to the non-loyal mall customer segment.Non-loyal mall customers perceived the mall to have poor competitive prices,and to offer unfair prices in general. They did not have a strong opinionconcerning the mall’s value offering, perceiving the level of quality for the price

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to be neither high nor low, and also had neutral perceptions related toimportance of an available reward programme. The only distinguishing percep-tion of loyal customers was their belief that the mall offered excellent com-petitive prices.

Next, regression analysis was employed to explore linkages between loyalbehaviour and mall attribute perceptions. In order to complete the regressionanalysis, 28 mall attribute items were reduced into a smaller number ofuncorrelated variables by submitting them to a principal component factoranalysis with a varimax rotation. The criteria for interpreting the results wereas follows: (a) an eigenvalue over 2.0 for termination of factor extraction assuggested by a scree plot; (b) a primary loading of 0.50 and no secondary loadingabove 0.40 for an item to be considered loaded on a factor.

The data were best explained by the � rst two principal components, witheigenvalues equaling 10.85 and 2.53 respectively. The � rst principal componentaccounted for 35 percent of the total variation, the second approximately 10percent, with each succeeding component contributing smaller proportions.Factor 1 was labelled mall environment attributes (Table 3), with items suchas lighting, decor, cleanliness, security, and well-known stores loading highly.Factor 2 was labelled value-assortment attributes (Table 2), with price, qualityand variety items loading highly. The reliability of each shopping mall attribute

Table 2 Chi-square tests: attitudinal measure of mall loyalty and shopping mallattributes

Mall loyaltyShopping mall attribute N Loyal Non-loyal

Total sample%

Competitive prices[c 2 = 5.81, df = 2, p £ .05]

149 n (%) n (%)

Poor 18 (38.3) 29 (61.7) 31.5Neutral 20 (43.5) 26 (56.5) 30.9Excellent 34 (60.7) 22 (39.3) 37.6

General price level[c 2 = 6.91, df = 2, p £ .05]

148

Unfair 11 (36.7) 19 (63.3) 20.3Neutral 17 (37.8) 28 (62.2) 30.4Fair 43 (58.9) 30 (41.1) 49.3

Quality for price[c 2 = 5.66, df = 2, p £ .05]

148

Low 9 (52.9) 8 (47.1) 11.5Neutral 15 (33.3) 30 (66.7) 30.4High 47 (54.7) 39 (45.3) 58.1

Available reward programme[c 2 = 13.41, df = 2, p £ .05]

145

Unimportant 18 (51.4) 17 (48.6) 24.1Neutral 8 (22.2) 28 (77.8) 24.8Important 43 (58.1) 31 (41.9) 51.0

Note:Sample size equals 154. These variables had some missing cases.

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dimension was tested to ensure internal consistency. Resulting Cronbach coeffi-cient alpha’s were both acceptable, with mall environment 5 0.90 and value-assortment 5 0.81.

The underlying dimensions (factor scores) resulting from the principalcomponent analysis, (mall environment and value assortment), were then used inthe multiple regression analysis to determine the level of in� uence on shoppingmall loyalty as measured by the behavioural measure; percentage of purchases(PURCH). The regression model proposed mall loyalty (dependent variable) asa function of consumer’s perception of mall environment attributes and value-assortment attributes (independent variables). The regression analysis providedinformation concerning direction of in� uence and signi� cance.

Results supported the overall regression model tested (R2 5 0.11, p £ 0.001)as shown in Table 4. Findings indicated that the underlying attribute dimensionlabelled value-assortment had a signi� cant and positive impact on shopping mallloyalty, but the mall environment dimension did not. Loyal shoppers, thosepurchasing the greatest proportion of a product category in the mall, perceivedmall price levels to be fair and competitive, product quality for the price to behigh and variety of stores available to be excellent. The loyal mall shoppers werenot differentiated from the non-loyal shoppers by their perceptions of the mallfacilities or the popularity of brands and stores. The low r-square value, only 11percent of the variance being explained by the model, suggests that additionalvariables not included in the model may in� uence mall loyalty. Therefore,additional variables impacting mall loyalty need to be determined and includedbefore any predictions can be made.

Do loyal mall customers perceive mall attributes differently than those notidenti� ed as loyal? Are there mall characteristics that in� uence mall loyalty? Theauthors cautiously reply, yes, to both questions. The signi� cant differences inperceptions of price (general level and competitiveness), value (quality for price),and presence of a loyalty programme between loyal and non-loyal mall shoppers,as de� ned by their attitude, suggests that a only few mall attributes distinguished

Table 3 Mean factor loadings for shopping mall attribute dimensions

AttributesMall

environmentValue-

assortment

Competitive prices .79General price level .82Quality for price .63Variety of stores .63Well-known stores .73Availability of lunch/refreshments .49Popular brand names .74Mall cleanliness .77Walkway space in mall .70Mall restrooms .60Mall security .67Comfort areas .62Mall lighting .80Mall decor .71Mall temperature .50

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the two groups, with only one attribute, competitive prices, perceived morepositively by loyal mall shoppers. These signi� cant chi-square � ndings weresimilar to the regression results. The value-assortment dimension of the mallsdid signi� cantly in� uence increasing loyalty behaviour. The value-assortmentdimension included the three price related attributes (general level of prices,competitiveness of prices, quality for price) and the variety of stores containedwithin the mall.

Interestingly, the signi� cant results did not differ substantially when using twodifferent measures of loyalty; attitudinal and behavioural. It is evident that priceconsiderations have a great impact on loyal attitude and behaviour. Slightvariations were apparent, such as the importance of reward programmes revealedby respondents reporting a loyal attitude and in� uence of variety of stores onthose reporting loyal behaviour. The overall similarity in the results from bothanalyses suggests to the authors that perhaps the attitudinal and behaviouralmeasures may be interchangeable. Perhaps the choice of which to use dependson managerial convenience and the situation at hand: retailers may prefer to usethe behavioural measure, as it re� ects direct impact on pro� tability.

Conclusions and implications

The primary purpose of this study was to explore the viability of extending theconcept of customer loyalty to shopping malls. Two questions were posed: Isthere an identi� able group of shoppers that exhibit mall loyalty? And if so, arecertain mall characteristics in� uencing their loyalty? The results of this studysuggest that mall customers can be divided into loyal and non-loyal groups,along both attitudinal and behavioural dimensions, and a few mall attributesdistinguish and in� uence mall loyalty. However, the � ndings also imply thatperhaps perception or evaluation of mall attributes may not be the primarydeterminant of mall loyalty. The low percentage of variance explained by themultiple regression model, as well as only one mall attribute (i.e. competitiveprices) receiving a positive perception by loyal mall shoppers do not present astrong case for the importance of mall attributes in the loyal customer’s mind. Sothe question becomes: What are the essential ingredients encouraging loyalty toa speci� c mall property?

Table 4 Multiple regression: behavioral measure of mall loyalty and shopping mallfactors

Source df SS F Prob. R2

Model 2 15070 7.292 0.0010 0.11Error 120 123997

Variable dfParameterestimates

Standarderror T Prob.

Intercept 1 37.38 2.90 12.89 0.0001Mall environment 1 3.65 3.07 1.19 0.2368Value assortment 1 11.25 3.12 3.60 0.0005

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Even more interesting than the statistically signi� cant � ndings were the lackof signi� cant � ndings related to certain mall attributes. The attributes that didnot differentiate the loyal from the non-loyal customers were the characteristicsin which mall managers have the most control (mall and restroom cleanliness,adequate comfort areas and security, attractive decor, etc.). The price and valuerelated attributes on the contrary are controlled indirectly through carefulleasing strategies. For example, the general price image of the mall is determinedby the strategies of retailers leasing space within the mall facility. Mallmanagement can pursue leasing agreements with speci� c retailers using aparticular pricing or value strategy, but may have dif� culties controlling aretailer’s continued use of that strategy. Mall leasing managers can change thetenant mix, but only over time as contractual agreements come to an end.

Is mall loyalty a feasible strategy for enclosed shopping malls? Yes, accordingto the present study, it is possible through careful planning of the tenant mixwith the right assortment of stores, selling products at the price and qualitylevels valued by the customers. Most mall managers have carefully devised theirtenant mixes for years, because that is the essence of a planned shopping centre.However, tenant mix control has not been the emphasis of the loyalty pro-grammes pursued by recent mall development companies. Instead, loyaltyprogrammes are marketing intense, with televised and print advertising cam-paigns, uniform signage and frequent shopper programmes. The impact onpro� tability of these tactics have not been published by the mall companies ordetermined through research. Perhaps the more important question may be:Should mall developers and managers implement such loyalty programmes?The results of this study do not strongly support such a decision. Accordingto Randall (1997), a loyalty strategy cannot succeed if customers are unable todescribe the unique bene� ts offered, in this case the added value provided by themall. The authors question whether mall loyalty can be considered as separatefrom store loyalty in the minds of customers, especially considering that thesigni� cant evaluative attributes identi� ed in this study were primarily related tocharacteristics of the retail tenants and their merchandise. Perhaps one indica-tion that a mall loyalty strategy is feasible, but not practical, is that the malldevelopment company owning the malls where data were collected discontinuedtheir frequent shopper programme at the end of April 2001.

Future research

This exploratory research study is a � rst step toward understanding the conceptof mall loyalty, but there is still much to discover. Before other enclosedshopping mall managers decide to pursue a customer loyalty strategy, additionalresearch is necessary, most importantly is there a link between such a strategyand pro� tability for the mall property? Do the bene� ts gained outweigh the costof implementing a customer loyalty strategy? A case analysis of mall develop-ment companies currently using (or discontinuing) loyalty programmes mayshed light on this issue.

Future research should determine customer awareness of the added valuecreated by the shopping mall and whether these unique bene� ts encourage

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loyalty. Are consumers aware of the mall as a separate pro� t-oriented entity?When customers report loyalty to a mall, are they actually reporting loyalty to astore within the mall property? Can the concept of mall loyalty be consideredseparate from the concept of store loyalty? The � ndings of this study suggestedloyal mall customers evaluated store attributes more positively, whereas mallspeci� c characteristics were not. Are consumers able to distinguish the uniquebene� ts provided by a mall? A mall does not manufacture or sell products; themall provides the customer shopping convenience and a shopping experience.Are these bene� ts easy to communicate and are they valued enough bycustomers to arouse mall loyalty?

It may also be necessary to compare consumers’ perception of what con-stitutes customer loyalty with retailers’ perception. Forty-eight percent ofcustomers reported being loyal to a particular mall, whereas 26 percent of thesame sample of respondents exhibited loyal behaviour (50 1 percent of annualpurchases) to that mall. The decrease in the number of mall loyal customerswhen measuring attitude versus behaviour is interesting and deserves furtherexploration. Most retailers de� ne loyalty in terms of behaviour, as suggested bythe growth of loyalty programmes rewarding frequent buyers in the US. Docustomers de� ne loyalty in less tangible terms, such as emotional commit-ment, continued preference or other such attitudes? The higher percentage ofattitudinal loyalty implies that approximately half of the respondent’s reportinga loyal attitude did not purchase a high percentage of category speci� cmerchandise in that mall. To customers, attitude appears to be more importantthan behaviour.

The results of this study support the importance of price and value tocustomers. Therefore, a better understanding of the impact of price and valueattributes on mall loyal patronage is required. Future research should explore thenature of the relationship: Are price related attributes considered by customersto be more important determinants of mall patronage and loyalty than thepresence of speci� c retailers? It would be interesting to test whether customersare drawn to a mall by the price image rather than the speci� c stores present,this would help mall managers determine the subtistutability of retailers withsimilar price images.

The current research was an initial exploration of mall loyalty in response tocurrent strategic trends in the shopping centre industry. The idea of customerloyalty to a speci� c mall facility stimulated numerous questions in the minds ofthe researchers. This initial project has answered only a few of these questionsand elicited even more.

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