Co-Shopper Preference and Mall Shopping -A study of Delhi and NCR-

Abstract

Introduction: The person or group of persons who accompany a shopper during mall visit i.e. co-shopper could be a major influencer(s) in purchase decisions. An attempt has been made by the researcher to study the impact of co-shopper(s) during purchase situations. Purpose: Co-shopper preference, one of the major behavioral variables, has been focused to understand its influence in mall shopper clustering and in proposing strategies accordingly. Researcl, Metl,odology: This study discussed only one of the demographic variables, co-shopper, being a part of extensive research work conducted by the research scholar. Mall Intercept Survey technique has been used to collect data primarily from malls shoppers visiting select malls in Delhi and NCR. 400 shoppers represented the population surveyed. Clustering technique has been used to analyze the data collected. Findings: Two clusters, namely, Mall Sightseers and Mall Dawdlers, have been formed. It has been observed that mall shoppers prefer to shop along with co-shoppers rather than shopping alone. The major portion of the sample surveyed.found students or those in jobs to be frequently visiting the shopping malls. The mall managers need to formulate strategies focusing Indian youth, also, being a major part of entire population/or effective positioning of the malls. Limitation: The current study is limited to investigate whether shoppers prefer to shop alone or with someone. The study has not taken into consideration the kind of relationship that might exist between d(fferent types of co-shoppers viz.friend.family member during mall shopping (Chebat et al., 2012).