Fear of crime on shopping intentions: an examination

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the impact of fear of crime on consumer shopping intentions at a secondary business district in the USA. Design/methodology/approach – Qualitative methodologies are used to first develop factors associated with fear of crime. These factors are then tested quantitatively with a sample of residents from a community bordering an established secondary shopping district. The model, which also includes behavior and subjective social norms as explanatory variables, is tested using multiple ordinary least square regression. Findings – Only a single factor associated with fear of crime (which includes measures of vagrancies, lighting, and cleanliness) is found to be significantly related to shopping intentions. The findings do not differ between males and females. The remaining five factors associated with fear of crime are not significantly related to shopping intentions. Research limitations/implications – The paper is limited to a single location and measures shopping intentions but not actual shopping activity. Future research can build in these two areas. Practical implications – Retailers located in older shopping districts are challenged to renew interest among shoppers. This paper suggests that by focusing on a few key environmental characteristics, retailers can reduce the fear of crime and improve consumers' shopping intentions. Originality/value – Given the many older, secondary shopping districts, this paper is one of a few to link specific shopping district characteristics to fear of crime and shopping intentions.