Malaysian shopping mall behavior: an exploratory study

Purpose – The ascendancy of the shopping mall as a significant shopping, social interaction and/or entertainment destination has had a major impact on retail strategies and the retail landscape in numerous countries, especially the USA. Shopping malls are not nearly as well established in developing and newly industrialized countries, however. Hence, the purpose of this paper is to assess international consumer behavior in regards to shopping malls in a non‐Western country, specifically, Malaysia. Design/methodology/approach – A survey of Malaysian university students was conducted to assess the mall‐directed shopping habits and shopping orientations of young adults in that country. A total of 132 usable surveys were obtained from five university campuses in the Klang Valley region of Malaysia, a region with a numerous institutions of higher learning. Findings – Malaysian students were motivated to visit malls primarily by the interior design of the mall; products that interested them; opportunities for socializing with friends; and convenient one‐stop shopping. Further analysis showed that younger respondents have more favorable dispositions or shopping orientations towards malls than somewhat older respondents. Post‐secondary students in the Klang Valley of Malaysia were frequent and long‐staying visitors to shopping malls, typically visiting six stores per 2.5 h mall visit. And, more than one‐third of respondents visited three or more different shopping malls during the previous 30 days. Generally, the observed Malaysian shopping behavior was similar to that observed of Western shoppers in prior shopping studies. Research limitations/implications – The sampling frame for this research was limited to students in the Klang Valley regions in Malaysia. Study findings, although interesting, are clearly not generalizable to all populations of non‐Western consumers or even all Malaysian consumers. The non‐probabilistic convenience sampling methods used in this research due to time and resource constraints may have lead to biases in selection of respondents. It is recommended that future research utilize random sampling methods to ensure the generalizability of results. Future research should also consider a broader demographic profile (not just students) representing multiple geographical locations in Malaysia as well as other countries in the Asia‐pacific region given that consumers' shopping‐related perceptions and expectations are likely to differ across countries or cultures throughout the world. Originality/value – The data indicated the primacy of certain shopping motives over others in explaining why respondents visited shopping malls. The results of our study have several implications that should be of benefit to the retailing industry, and mall management, specifically.