17107322

Influence of price perceptionand shopping motives on Indianconsumers attitude towardsretailer promotions in malls

Arpita Khare, Dhiren Achtani and Manish KhattarIndian Institute of Management Rohtak, Rohtak, India

Abstract

Purpose The current research aims to explore influence of shopping motives and price perceptionson Indian consumers attitude towards mall retailer promotions. Effect of price discounts, gifts,coupons, and rebates offered by mall retailers to attract store traffic were examined.

Design/methodology/approach Data were collected through mall intercept technique in six citiesacross India. Convenience sampling method was used to target metropolitan and non-metropolitancities for data collection.

Findings Results suggest that consumers attitude towards mall retailers promotional strategiesis influenced by shopping values and price consciousness, deal proneness, and coupon proneness.Age, education, and income influence consumers attitude towards promotions.

Research limitations/implications Only three constructs of price perception scale were used forthe research. Future research can include all the items of price perception scale to understand itsapplicability on Indian sample. Promotions offered by branded and non-branded retailers in mallswere not examined.

Practical implications The findings can be useful to mall retailers for designing promotions toincrease footfalls and sales. Promotions can be used by retailers to convey value and attract priceconscious consumers. Retailers need to match their promotional offers according to price sensitivityand shopping motives of consumers.

Originality/value There is limited research to examine role of promotions used by mall retailersin attracting footfalls in Indian malls. The influence of price perceptions and shopping motives onpromotions offered by retailers in Indian malls has not been examined.

Keywords Consumer behaviour, Pricing, Retail management

Paper type Research paper

IntroductionThe Indian retail is poised to become a $1.3 trillion opportunity by 2020, led by anestimated 25 percent average annual growth in organized retail (The Economic Times,2012). Spurred by domestic demand, Indian market is estimated to grow approximatelyby 7-8 percent with retail accounting for 60 percent of growth. Out of the 60 percent,organized retail accounts for 5 percent of retail sector. These figures are comparativelyless than other emerging economies (Fibre2fashion.com, 2012). Retail growth inIndia is driven by increase in nuclear families, double-income households, falling

The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at

www.emeraldinsight.com/1355-5855.htm

The authors want to extend their gratitude towards the Editor and the anonymous Reviewers fortheir indispensable and valuable suggestions and comments that improved the quality of thepaper significantly.

Received 3 September 2013Revised 30 October 2013Accepted 30 October 2013

Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing andLogisticsVol. 26 No. 2, 2014pp. 272-295q Emerald Group Publishing Limited1355-5855DOI 10.1108/APJML-09-2013-0097

APJML26,2

272

real estate prices, increase in disposable incomes, changes in consumer lifestyle, andincrease in expenditure on luxury items (Shine.com, 2012). Kuruvilla and Joshi (2010)state that organized retailing in India has led to growth of malls in different regions.The development of malls is visible not only in major metropolitan centers but also innon-metropolitan cities. However, Gupta (2010), President Technopak Advisors states:with fewer than 20 percent malls delivering on the customer and financial counts, onecan clearly say that the mall revolution has not been a grand success in India. Thismay be attributed to many factors, like inability of malls to deliver products andservices according to Indian consumers preferences, lack of skilled personnel,underdeveloped supply chain and taxation hurdles.

To attract shoppers to malls, retail stores operating in malls use promotions likediscounts, loyalty cards, price-offs, and freebies. Research suggests that factors likeprice, offers, customer care, and shopping mall facilities are important for Indianshoppers (SeminarProjects.com, 2012). Different price promotional strategies are usedby mall operators and retail stores in malls to target different segments. Salespromotion act as versatile weapon for marketing products and services in retail storesin malls. Promotional offers act as attractive tools to encourage footfalls in malls.Research suggests that people shop in malls due to attractive offers, assortment mix,and displays. Several malls report increase in sales during festivals. This is primarilybecause retail stores in malls offer incentives like discounts, free gifts, and price-offs(Damle, 2011). Promotional activities like product launches by celebrities, foodfestivals, mehndi and tattoo workshops, exhibitions, and gifts are crowd pullers.Gaming and cooking contests, sponsoring gift vouchers, and innovative promotionalstrategies increase sales of stores in malls.

Price promotions and discounts have utilitarian and hedonic value forconsumers. They encourage consumers to purchase products that offer rebates, priceoffs, or gifts. Consumers preference for stores is influenced by both functional andhedonic benefits. Functional or utilitarian benefits are related to product and serviceattributes, while hedonic value is associated with store ambience, layout, and productdisplays (Holbrook and Hirschman, 1982; Babin et al., 1994; Turley and Milliman, 2000;Andreu et al., 2006; Keng et al., 2007; Ballantine et al., 2010; Chebat et al., 2010). Hedonicand utilitarian benefits offered by retailers in malls combine factors like product mix,assortment, pricing, and promotional strategies (Wakefield and Baker, 1998; Swait andSweeney, 2000; Darian et al., 2001; De Nisco and Napolitano, 2006; Michon et al., 2008;Arslan et al., 2010). The popularity of malls is attributed to retailers offering range offacilities that targeted different consumer segments. Branded showrooms, apparelstores, book stores, household products, movie theaters, food courts, and play areasfor kids are crowd pullers (Abratt et al., 1985; McGoldrick and Thomson, 1992;Prendergast et al., 1998; Yavas, 2003). Price discounts, rebates, freebies, and price cutshave been used by retailers to improve store patronage and loyalty (Cheong, 1993;Roy, 1994; Folkes and Wheat, 1995; Trivedi and Morgan, 2003; Grewal et al., 2009). Formall retailers, price promotion is important strategy for improving sales and consumersatisfaction (Nusair et al., 2010; Fam et al., 2011).

An examination of extant literature revealed that there is limited research onpromotions offered by mall retailers to attract consumers. Consumers attitudestowards price promotions have been extensively studied; however, there is inadequateresearch to understand relationship between consumer price perceptions

Influence ofprice perception

273

and price promotions offered by mall retailers in Indian malls. This study attempts tobridge the gap by examining influence of price perceptions and shopping motives onconsumers attitudes towards price promotions offered by mall retail stores. The focusof the research was to indentify pricing/promotional strategies used by only mallretailers operating in Indian malls. The findings would add to extant literature onretailing and Indian consumer attitudes towards mall retailer promotions. Whiledifferent mall attributes like assortment, ambiance, service, atmospherics and brandshave been studied; there are few researches specifically on price promotions offered bymall retailers. Findings would provide insights about Indian consumers attitudestowards mall retailers promotions and enable retailers in understanding relevance ofpromotions. It would enable them in judiciously planning promotions to target specificconsumer groups. The findings would also help mall practitioners in planningmarketing promotions according to price sensitivity and shopping motives of Indianconsumers. The research questions were:

RQ1. What promotional strategies offered by retailers in malls appeal to Indianconsumers?

RQ2. Does consumers price perceptions influence their attitudes towardsretailer/mall promotions?

RQ3. Do shopping motives (hedonic and utilitarian) influence Indian consumersattitudes towards retailer/mall promotions?

The findings would help retailers in segmenting shoppers under different categoriesaccording to their response towards mall promotions. It would help in targetingconsumer groups according to their price sensitivity, value consciousness, priceconsciousness, and deal proneness behaviour. Mall owners and retailers can use thefindings to design promotional strategies for targeting consumers.

Literature reviewShopping combines both hedonic and utilitarian aspects like product availability,variety, price, quality and pleasurable experiences (Dube and Morin, 2001). In-storecues like product displays, music, design and colour induce positive feelings towardsretail stores. There is limited research to examine promotional practices and strategiesof mall retailers. Current research examines influence of shopping motives and priceconsciousness on consumers attitudes towards promotions offered by mall retailers.Promotions offered by mall retailers can help in increasing consumer trafficand footfalls. Consumers conscious of low prices and discounts are likely tofavorably respond to promotional offers as compared to consumers who are not priceconscious. The definition of value and price consciousness would vary acrossconsumer segments. Price, value consciousness and shopping motives are personalityrelated variables that were assumed to influence consumers attitudes towards retailerpromotions in malls. Literature review section examines variables considered for thestudy.

Price promotionsMost promotions are related to price reductions, discounts and mark-downs (Merrileesand Fam, 1997). Kumar et al. (2004) found that profitability of coupon and price

APJML26,2

274

redemption schemes depend on value of coupon redemption rates. They posit thatpresence of sales target increase promotion of coupons. Parsons (2003) statestraditional promotional strategies are ineffective in improving sales and mall visits.However, combinations of promotional strategies like entertainment and price offs aremore effective than traditional methods. Some researchers suggest that promotionalstrategies of retail stores have a positive impact on sales and mall visits (Kumar andLeone, 1988; Cheong, 1993; Roy, 1994; Folkes and Wheat, 1995; Nicholls et al., 2000);however, the exact contribution in terms of revenues cannot be ascertained. Theconnotation of value differs according to product class. Lowe (2010) posits that extrafree products and discounts reduce consumers risk perception about the firm. Forproducts having low performance risk, consumers placed high importance to productpromotions rather than discounts, while for products with high performance risk, pricediscounts were preferred.

Richards et al. (2012) found that promotional strategies improve demand for productswhile increasing sales. In another research, Ailawadi et al. (2006) examined impact ofpromotions on sales of other product categories and influence of factors like brand,promotion, product category, and store characteristics on sales. Store promotionsincreased sales and positive halo effect on sales of other product categories was visible.Deep, featured promotions on high consumer-pull-brands increased net value of sales atstores but reduced promotional margins for retailers. In another research, Nusair et al.(2010) studied influence of price discount levels and price discount frames on consumersevaluation of service quality and their purchase intention. Consumers perception aboutprice discounts was dependent on nature of service. They were willing to participate inword-of-mouth publicity only when discounts offered were high. Deep discounts drewconsumers in the short term but led to negative perception on quality. In case of outletmall services, increase in discounts led consumers to believe that the service wasvaluable. This increased their probability to spread favourable word-of-mouth publicityfor respective malls. High discounts levels increased consumers intention to purchasefrom malls. However, receptivity towards promotions differed across consumer types.Trivedi and Morgan (2003) posit that consumers evaluate price promotions according tovalue they attach to brand. Differences in price perceptions were reported among highand low variety seeking consumers. High variety seeking consumers were less sensitiveto brand preferences and reacted positively to price promotions.

Some studies on types of promotional tools suggest that different promotions elicitvaried perceived value. Choi et al. (2010) examined consumers perception towardsscratch and save promotions and tensile price claims. Consumers found scratch andsave promotions ambiguous; however, they perceived them more enticing as comparedto tensile price claims. Similarly, Leischnig et al. (2011a) posit that in-store eventpromotions led to customer satisfaction and generated positive attitude towards retailbrands. Retailer promotions improved consumer experiences and loyalty (Grewal et al.,2009). Sit and Merrilees (2005) observe that retail promotions generate excitementbecause of novelty, surprise element, and entertainment value. Similar findings werereported by, Leischnig et al. (2011b). They suggest that inventive and entertainingpromotional events improved shopping enjoyment and loyalty towards retail stores.Retailers use in-store marketing strategies like promotions and mark-downs to createstore excitement (Fam et al., 2011). Some retailers with high profile marketing strategypreferred using mass media and direct marketing strategies, whereas retailers with


275

discount orientation preferred using in-store promotions and mark-downs. In-storepromotions were strongly associated with environmental uncertainty and competitivereactions. However, low prices, discounts and price mark-downs created negativeperception about store quality and image. Heilman et al. (2011) posit that distributingfree samples induced trial for product. It could help in product switching from plannedto promoted product category.

Analyzing different types of price promotions and their effect on store traffic,Lam et al. (2001) propose that price promotions used by retailers have little impact ongenerating store traffic, but positively affect store entry and increase likelihood ofproduct purchase. Price promotion encourages consumer to spend more time in store,but varies with type of promotion employed by retailers. Increased promotional scopehad effect on store traffic and was relevant for multi-category retailer than for afocused category seller. Consumers appear to prefer purchasing from multi-categoryretailer if price promotions are offered as it gives them access to more product variety.Retailers offering clearance promotions generate weak responses to store entry whencompared to multiple-category promotions. Moore and Carpenter (2008) identified fourconsumer segments according to their price perceptions. The first segment comprisedof consumers who indicate high levels of price/quality schema, high level of valueconsciousness and low level of price consciousness. They were young and belonged tohigh income groups. The second segment comprised of price insensitive consumers.They belonged to older consumer group and fall in low, middle and upper incomecategories. The third consumer segment was prestige sensitive and sale prone. Thefourth consumer group was most price sensitive, value conscious and sales prone.They were likely to place high value to discounts in retail environment.

Temporary promotional price discounts accelerate sales especially during week-ends.Promotional offers on high-priced/quality brands have a stronger impact on sales oflow-priced/quality brands than the reverse (Martnez-Ruiz et al., 2006). Promotions impactsales across categories and cross-price effects are stronger on sales of brands with similarprices. Montaner et al. (2011) examined consumers response towards gift promotions.The impact of gift promotions was favourable when brand promoted has high brandequity and there is a good fit between promoted product and gift. Further, consumerssusceptibility to get affected by promotions is linked to personality characteristics.Research suggests that consumers high on deal proneness are more likely to get drawn topromotions (Lichtenstein et al., 1995; dAstous and Landreville, 2003; Montaner et al.,2011). Chen and Lu (2011) used theory of planned behaviour to understand consumerse-coupon proneness in online retail format. Online retailers should focus on improvingconsumers attitude towards using e-coupons, internet searching, and subjective norms sothat their perception of value for e-coupons is enhanced.

Drawing from above literature, it was apparent that promotions are important indrawing consumers to retail stores in malls. Research posits that promotions increasedsales if they were in line with store image and merchandise quality. Consumersreceptivity towards promotions was affected by not only type of promotions but alsoconsumer types. People more conscious about value and price were likely to respondpositively towards promotions. Price perception comprises of consumers price-quality,value perception, cost advantages, and susceptibility to discounts, coupons andpromotions. Consumers price perceptions towards mall promotions are influenced bycoupons, deals, and value consciousness. This leads to first hypothesis:

APJML26,2

276

H1. Indian consumers perceptions towards promotions offered by mall retailersare affected by coupon and deal proneness.

Coupon and deal proneness are personality traits and several researchers have studiedtheir influence on buying behaviour. Shopping motives are classified under hedonicand utilitarian factors and influence consumers purchase behaviour. The followingsection discusses role of both these variables.

Price perceptionLichtenstein et al. (1993) identified seven related constructs for price perception.Five constructs identified price in a negative role and two constructs in a positiverole. These were used to predict shopping attitudes towards price search, genericproduct purchases, price recall, sales responsiveness, and coupon redemption. Priceconsciousness, value consciousness, coupon proneness, and sales consciousness factorshave an impact on consumers purchase behaviour. Lichtenstein and Burton (1989) positthat consumers perceive objective price quality relationships with some degree ofaccuracy. Price quality perceptions are more accurate for non-durable products andproduct category affects price-quality perceptions. To assess price-quality relationships,consumers use product type schemas (higher price means higher quality). Factors suchas product quality variations and confidence on price as an indicator of quality haveimpact on product choice. High priced products communicate high status image(Lambert, 1972). In some researches, price and store image influenced product qualityevaluations (Stafford and Enis, 1969).

Consumers price perception depends on internal reference prices (Thaler, 1985). Thisis based on past experiences which act as a reference price for present stimuli(Kalyanaram and Winer, 1995; Janiszewski and Lichtenstein, 1999). Lichtenstein et al.(1991) posit that for high discounts, semantic cues connoting high distinctiveness lead tofavourable consumer responses. When offering price is high, distinctiveness basedsemantic cues evoke favourable high price related responses. Nagle and Holden (1995)attribute consumers price sensitivity to perception towards availability of substitutes,value of product, switching costs, inability to make comparisons, quality, relatedexpenditure, benefits, shared costs, fairness, and inventory effects. Danes andLindsey-Mullikin (2012) used Nagel and Holdens framework to understand pricesensitivity and willingness to pay. Availability of substitutes, quality, fairness, andunique value influenced price sensitivity. Raghubir and Corfman (1999) posit thatconsistency with past promotions, distinctiveness, and consumer expertise moderatepromotion related price perceptions. The price promotions should appear consistent tothe consumer as it has effect on brand evaluations.

Price perceptions include consumers susceptibility to lucrative offers and deals.Lichtenstein et al. (1990) define deal proneness as a psychological construct which affectsconsumers coupon responsiveness and value conscious behaviour. A coupon offers aproduct at lower price. Value conscious and deal prone behaviour can be differentiatedon acquisition and transaction utilities. Acquisition utility refers to value consumerderives from purchase of product because of discounts or rebates. It refers to the pricepaid as compared to perceived utility of product. Transaction utility is psychologicalsatisfaction consumer derives from product purchase. Value conscious consumersperceive acquisition utility important factor for product purchase, while coupon proneconsumers place importance to transaction utility.


277

Consumers redeem coupons because they perceive increase in value of the productdue to reduced price being offered in coupon form. Martnez and Montaner (2006)support Lichtenstein et al.s findings. Psychographics traits like innovativeness,impulsiveness, and shopping enjoyment were important in predicting consumers dealproneness behaviour. There was difference between low and high deal prone consumerswith respect to their attitudes towards monetary and non-monetary promotions (Yi andYoo, 2011). Deal prone consumers spread more positive word of mouth than firmssatisfied consumers (Leone and Srinivasan, 1996; Wirtz and Chew, 2002). Pricepromotions function as rewards and are powerful tools for building relationship withcustomers. Barone and Roy (2010) state that companies offer discounts on assumptionthat consumers would respond favorably to them. However, consumers attitudetowards deals is affected by the extent to which they identify with other recipients.Consumers varying in their need for uniqueness would differ in their deal evaluations.Consumers high on need for uniqueness were less sensitive to price promotions. Yoonand Tran (2011) categorized deal prone consumers under value-conscious loyal,deal-prone loyal, variety-seeking non loyal, and deal-prone non loyal.

Colombo et al. (2003) posit that consumers coupon proneness is likely to differacross product categories and coupon types. Some consumer segments exhibitedgeneralized coupon proneness tendencies while others were affected by specific type ofcoupons and product categories. Raghubir (1998) posits that consumers associatecoupon value with price of product. High coupon value indicates high price perception.Similarly, Palazon and Delgado-Ballester (2009) examined interaction of promotiontypes and benefit levels. High benefit level promotions were found to be more effectivethan premiums. Premiums were perceived attractive when promotional benefit waslow and buying intention was high for premiums as compared to discounts.

Some researchers have used Lichtenstein et al.s model in different cultures. Value andprice perception were reported to differ across cultures. Meng and Nasco (2009) appliedLichtenstein et al.s (1993) price perception model to compare price perception constructsamong American, Japanese, and Chinese consumers. The value and price perceptiontheory was applicable on all three cultures. Chinese consumers exhibited higher priceand prestige sensitivity as compared to American and Japanese consumers. Americanconsumers were more sales prone than Chinese and Japanese consumers. These findingscan help retailers in developing effective pricing and promotional strategies.

In another study, Watchravesringkan et al. (2008) examined measurement invarianceof consumers price perception scale across four East Asian countries of China, Taiwan,South Korea, and Thailand. Consumers price perception scale containing five constructsof price-quality schema, prestige sensitivity, value consciousness, sale proneness, andprice mavenism was relevant in East Asian cultures. Even though Asian consumersshare similar cultural values, they differ in their perceptions regarding price cuesrelated to constructs like price-quality schema, prestige sensitivity, value consciousness,sale proneness, and price mavenism. The constructs of value consciousness and saleproneness were rated higher than other price perception constructs. Korean andTaiwanese consumers exhibited strong preference for sales and bargains. In similar vein,it was assumed that price perception model could help in explaining Indian consumersattitudes towards mall promotions. Research suggests that price perception and dealproneness are psychological constructs and affect consumers evaluations about retailstores. Drawing from earlier studies, current research adapts Lichtenstein et al.s

APJML26,2

278

price perception scale to study its influence on Indian consumers attitude towards mallpromotions. This leads to the second hypothesis:

H2. Price perceptions would influence consumers attitude towards retailer/mallpromotions.

Hedonic and utilitarian shopping motivesConsumers shopping behaviour includes not only product acquisition but alsoshopping experience. Babin et al. (1994) classify consumption activities as utilitarianand hedonic. Utilitarian and hedonic shopping values have been much researched(Hirschman and Holbrook, 1982; Babin et al., 1994; Wang et al., 2000; Millan andHoward, 2007; Michon et al., 2008). The pleasurable experience in shopping is related togratification of senses enhanced through entertainment, excitement, and playfulness(Hirschman and Holbrook, 1982; Babin et al., 1994). The utilitarian motives areextrinsic and based on rational and analytical information processing while hedonicvalues have an emotional component of self gratification (Holbrook and Hirschman,1982; Fischer and Arnold, 1990). The shopping environments provide intrinsic andextrinsic gratification by stimulating consumers senses at both rational and emotionallevel. Michon et al. (2005) state that shopping enables consumers to escape from theirdaily work pressures. Arnold and Reynolds (2003) categorized hedonic shoppingvalues into six dimensions: adventure, gratification, role, value, social, and ideashopping. They suggest that shopping values enabled consumers to interact with othershoppers and enhanced shopping experience.

This research examines influence of hedonic and utilitarian shopping values and dealproneness on consumers attitudes towards promotions offered by mall retailers.Research suggests that promotions are important part of mall experience (Chandon et al.,2000). Malls offer a wide selection of products that can minimize the perceived costs(e.g. travel time, effort) associated with each shopping trip and ease the shopping task(Pan and Zinkhan, 2006). The variety of outlets in malls can reduce effort expendedby consumers in looking for assortment in dispersed shopping environments (Kirkupand Rafiq, 1994). The price promotions coupled with variety and entertainment facilitiescreate positive shopping environment. Consumers are able to examine differentpromotional offers and discounts offered by all retailers housed in a mall. De Nisco andNapolitano (2006) posit that stores in mall with their different assortments create atheatrical environment which leads to greater satisfaction:

H3. Consumers hedonic and utilitarian shopping motives would affect theirattitude towards retailer/mall promotions.

Research methodologyInstrument designThe questionnaire contained measures for age, income levels, marital status, andeducation. The objective was to understand influence of shopping values and priceperception on attitudes towards promotions offered by retailers in malls. There were twoindependent factors: price perception (psychological construct) and shopping values(motivational construct). Deal proneness and shopping values scales developed byLichtenstein et al. (1993) and Babin et al. (1994) were used, respectively. The reason forusing these scales was that they have been used and validated in several studies across


279

different cultures and assumed to provide consistent results in Indian context. Theoriginal price perception scale (Lichtenstein et al., 1993) has 40 items, (value consciousness,price consciousness, coupon proneness, sale proneness, price mavenism, price qualityschema, and prestige sensitivity). However, only three sub-scales (value consciousness,price consciousness and coupon proneness) from original scale were adapted becauseconsumers attitudes towards promotion were being examined. These sub-scalescontained items that explained consumers predisposition towards promotions. Othersub-scales were related to quality and status connotations of price; therefore could notexplain consumers attitudes towards mall promotions. For consumers attitudes towardsretailer promotions, quality and status/prestige connotation of pricing was not examinedin current study. Five items were rephrased to understand attitudes towards mall retailerpromotions. Shopping motives scale consists of hedonic and utilitarian subscales(Babin et al., 1994). It has 15 items, (11 hedonic and four utilitarian).

The dependent factor was retailer/mall promotions. Drawing from existingresearch, items were adapted to measure consumers attitude towards discounts andpromotions offered by mall retailers (Lam et al., 2001; Sit and Merrilees, 2005;Martnez-Ruiz et al., 2006; Grewal et al., 2009; Fam et al., 2011; Leischnig et al., 2011a, b;Barone and Roy, 2010). The items combined strategies and promotions currently beingused specifically by retailers in Indian malls (Damle, 2011; SeminarProjects.com, 2012).The items included retailer strategies like rebates, discounts, low prices, coupons, gifts,and loyalty cards. Total items for the scale were 20. The responses were taken on afive-point Likert scale with responses varying on the scale of 5 for strongly agree and1 for strongly disagree.

SampleA self administered questionnaire through a mall intercept technique was used tocollect data in six cities across India (New Delhi, Udaipur, Mysore, Chennai,Chandigarh, and Kolkata). Cities were randomly selected according convenience inorder to gain insight consumer attitude across different regions. Both metropolitan andnon-metropolitan cities were randomly identified. Mall intercept method providesin-depth response to research objective (Bush and Hair, 1985). It is considered randomand unbiased as respondents experience a sense of anonymity and are willing tocooperate in research. Different periods of time and day were used in order to reducesampling bias. Data collection was done over a period of three months. All thequestions were close-ended and no in-depth interviews were conducted.

More than 800 people were contacted for the survey; however, only 550 peoplecooperated with researchers. Most people refused to participate in the survey. Out of550 filled questionnaires only total of 501 completed questionnaires could be used for finalanalysis. Remaining questionnaires were incomplete or illegible and therefore removed.Mall interviews are able to target only specific types of shoppers who frequent malls(Gates and Solomon, 1982; Murry et al., 1989). Given the inherent weakness associatedwith mall intercept method, sample comprised large group of male population (Table I).

Findings and discussionTo understand applicability and validity of three scales on Indian sample (namely mallpromotion, price perception, and hedonic and utilitarian shopping value scales),

APJML26,2

280

exploratory factor analyses were run on all three scales. Factor analysis helps toidentify factors relevant for the study (Churchill et al., 2010).

The results of exploratory factor analysis (EFA) on mall promotion scale revealedthree factors, which covered 51.15 percent of variability and all eigenvalues exceeded1.0. One item: I get more information in malls about free gifts and products in malls thanat local stores; had factor loading less than 0.5 and failed to fit Nunnallys (1978)recommended level of internal consistency for scale development. It was removed fromfurther analysis. The first factor was labeled as promotional offers as it containeditems related to products, quality, availability of variety, rebates and reasonableprices; it contained eight items. The second factor was labeled as discounts andcontained items that described discounts offered by retailers in malls. The total itemsunder the factor were six. The third factor was labeled as loyalty cards and containeditems to related to loyalty cards and schemes offered by retailers. It contained five items.Cronbachsa value for the factors ranged between 0.744 and 0.828. KMO-Bartlett test forscale reliability was 0.910 (Table II).

Second factor analysis was run on price perception scale (Lichtenstein et al., 1993).For price consciousness factor, the scale gets modified, while for value consciousnessand coupon proneness the factors were similar to original scale. Analysis revealed threefactors which covered 52.68 percent of variability and all eigenvalues exceeded 1.0.One item I enjoy finding about deal coupons was removed as it had factor loading lessthan 0.5 and failed to fit Nunnallys (1978) desired level for scale development.

Variable Frequency Percentage

GenderMale 377 75.2Female 124 24.8Age (years)18-21 74 14.822-25 124 24.826-30 130 25.931-40 128 25.541-50 40 8.050 and above 5 1.0Marital statusMarried 250 49.9Single 251 50.1EducationHigher secondary 103 20.6Senior secondary 291 58.1Graduation 97 19.4Post graduation 10 2.0Household income (monthly)Below INR 10,000 (below $218) 45 9.0INR 10,000-20,000 ($218-445) 105 21.0INR 21,000-30,000 ($446-667) 160 31.9INR 31,000-40,000 ($668-889) 85 17.0INR 41,000-50,000 ($890-1,112) 43 8.6Above INR 50,000 ($1,112) 63 12.6Total 501

Table I.Demographic description

of respondents


281

The first factor was labeled coupon proneness and contained six items related toredeeming coupons, buying brands on deals, and using coupons. The second factor waslabeled as value-consciousness and contained five items related to comparing prices,getting moneys worth, and price being related to more value. The third factor containedtwo items related to price and quality. It was labeled as price-consciousness.Cronbachs a values ranged between 0.602 and 0.784. KMO-Bartlett test for scalereliability was 0.836 (Table III).

Third factor analysis was run on hedonic and utilitarian shopping value scale(Babin et al., 1994). Analysis revealed three factors, which covered 52.72 percent ofvariability and eigenvalues exceeded 1.0. Original scale contained two sub-scales onhedonic and utilitarian shopping values; however, current research findings revealedthree factors. The first factor was labeled as utilitarian as it included items related

Mall promotion scale itemsPromotional offers

(a 0.828)Discounts

(a 0.826)Loyalty cards

(a 0.744)I am attracted to malls because the stores give gooddiscounts 0.364 0.570 0.429I like those malls which provide price rebates on mypurchases 0.226 0.576 0.262I prefer malls that provide a range of promotions atdifferent stores 0.174 0.722 0.300The products purchased through discounts are ofgood quality 0.150 0.813 0.059I like the malls which provide good discounts onproducts 0.196 0.672 0.134Shopping at malls becomes economical because ofpromotional schemes 0.147 0.553 0.122There are good offers provided by retailers in malls 0.558 0.388 0.082The quality of products in malls is good 0.561 0.369 0.059There is range of products available at malls 0.797 20.014 0.098The retailers offer reasonable prices on products 0.568 0.234 0.128The sales coupons available at retail outlets areeasily redeemable 0.588 0.181 0.304I prefer to shop at malls that offer variety withreasonable prices 0.628 0.278 0.000The mall retailers provide details about the newschemes introduced by companies 0.545 0.206 0.329The malls have displays about the rebates,discounts, and price-offs 0.629 0.063 0.386The discounts offered at different stores in malls areattractive 0.348 0.148 0.565Loyalty cards of retailers in malls are attractive 0.294 0.170 0.547I am able to get discounts easily through loyaltycards 0.223 20.007 0.724The loyalty schemes help me in getting good offers 0.005 0.268 0.746I regularly visit malls to find about discounts onvarious products 20.014 0.289 0.632

Notes: KMO and Bartletts test 0.910; extraction method: principal component analysis;rotation method: varimax with Kaiser normalization

Table II.Factor loadings for mallpromotions scale

APJML26,2

282

to both enjoying shopping and achieving set goals during shopping trips. It containedtwo items from original hedonic scale and two items from utilitarian scale. Second factorwas labeled as hedonic and contained five items from original hedonic shopping valuescale (Babin et al., 1994). The third factor was labeled as value expressive andcontained items describing not being able to find right products, shopping was a wasteof time, and being able to forget the problems. Cronbachs a values of three factorsranged between 0.707 and 0.735 (Table IV).

EFA results demonstrated internal consistency, with Cronbachs a in the range of0.602 to 0.828. Nunnally (1978) stated that 60 percent reliability is desired in earlystages of construct development.

Three sets of step wise regression analyses were administered to understand roleof shopping values, price sensitivity scales and demographic factors on three mallpromotion related factors namely, promotional offers, discounts, and loyalty cards.It was considered important to understand influence of factors on each of the mallpromotion factors. The three factors could not be understood as one factor and had tobe studied separately. The predictor variables for each factor would enable retailers tounderstand consumers attitude towards mall promotion factors.

Price perception scale items

Couponproneness

(a 0.784)Value

consciousness(a 0.737)

Priceconsciousness

(a 0.602)I am concerned about low prices and quality 0.336 0.201 0.582I am more concerned about lower price than the qualityof the product while deciding 0.194 0.129 0.781When shopping, I compare the prices of different brands(airlines, electronic gadgets) to be sure I get the bestvalue for money 0.066 0.701 0.081When I buy product i like to be sure that I am getting mymoneys worth 0.077 0.732 0.193I generally shop for low prices on products but they stillmust meet some quality requirements before I buy them 0.122 0.561 0.326I always check prices at stores to be sure to get bestvalue for money I spend 0.127 0.578 0.345Finding deals make me feel good 0.213 0.716 20.193When I use coupons I feel that I am getting a good deal 0.614 0.416 20.081I enjoy using coupons and deals regardless of theamount I save by doing so 0.639 0.134 0.263I have favourite brands but most of the time I buybrands for which I have coupon and a deal offer 0.684 0.072 0.269I am more likely to buy brands for which I have a couponor deal 0.617 0.113 0.160Coupons and deals have caused me to buy products thatI normally would not buy 0.615 20.107 0.511Beyond the money I save, redeeming offers and couponsgives me a sense of joy 0.653 0.140 0.155

Notes: KMO and Bartletts test 0.836; extraction method: principal component analysis;rotation method: varimax with Kaiser normalizationSource: Lichtenstein et al. (1993)

Table III.Factor loadings for

price perception scale


283

In the first regression test, promotional offers of mall promotion scale, was taken asdependent factor. For the first model, hedonic shopping value emerged as predictorvariable for promotional offers (R 2 0.278, p , 0.01). The first model suggests thathedonic shopping value accounts for 27.8 percent of consumers attitude towardspromotional offers (Table V).

In the second model, hedonic shopping value and value consciousness of pricesensitivity scale emerge as predictors (R 2 0.344, p , 0.01), and both these variablesaccount for 34.4 percent of consumers attitude towards promotional offers. In thethird model, hedonic shopping value, value consciousness, and utilitarian shoppingvalue were predictors to consumers attitude towards promotional offers (R 2 0.370,p , 0.01). In the fourth model, hedonic shopping value, value consciousness, utilitarianshopping value and age account for 38.5 percent of consumers attitude towardspromotional offers. In the fifth model, hedonic shopping value, value consciousness,utilitarian shopping value, age and value expressive were predictors to promotionaloffers (R 2 0.394, p , 0.01). Age was found to be an important predictor variable.As age of consumers increase, they are likely to be affected by promotions. The resultssupport earlier research on price sensitivity and shopping values (Holbrook andHirschman, 1982; Fischer and Arnold, 1990; Kirkup and Rafiq, 1994; Raghubir, 1998;Chandon et al., 2000; Yoon and Tran, 2011). Promotional offers with respect to productquality, variety, price range, and discounts provide intrinsic and extrinsic motivationto consumers. Mall retailers can use product promotions, variety, and displays to createpositive ambience which communicates superior shopping value. This is line withother research findings that promotions create positive mood (Michon et al., 2008) andare associated with good deals (Raghubir, 1998). The research findings suggest that

Shopping motives(hedonic and utilitarian scale)

Utilitarian(a 0.715)

Hedonic(a 0.707)

Valueexpressive(a 0.735)

Shopping trips truly feel like an escape 0.254 0.547 20.148Compared to other things I could have done, the time spentshopping was truly enjoyable 0.068 0.716 0.001I enjoyed being engrossed in exciting new products 0.117 0.633 0.194I enjoy shopping trip for its own sake, not just for the items Imay have purchased 0.266 0.672 0.074I had a good time because I was able to act on the spur-of-themoment 0.044 0.711 0.178During the trip I felt the excitement of the hunt 0.596 0.186 0.248While shopping I felt a sense of adventure 0.723 0.196 0.090I accomplished just what I wanted to on this shopping trip 0.749 0.062 0.233While shopping, I found just the items I was looking for 0.657 0.211 0.085While shopping, I was able to forget my problems 0.227 0.077 0.713This shopping trip was not a very nice time out 0.202 0.010 0.781I could not buy what I really needed 0.467 0.044 0.562I feel disappointed when I have to go to another store (s) tocomplete my shopping trip 0.020 0.133 0.733

Note: KMO and Bartletts test 0.832Source: Babin et al. (1994)

Table IV.Factor loadings forshopping motives

APJML26,2

284

pleasure, price benefits, getting a good deal and being able to compare prices areimportant factors influencing consumers attitude towards promotional offers. In orderto attract store traffic, promotional offers should be planned to enhance consumersfeeling of pleasure and getting a good deal.

In the second regression test, discounts of mall promotion scale, was taken asdependent factor. Value expressive shopping value emerged as predictor to discounts(R 2 0.309, p , 0.01) (Table VI).

In the second model, value expressive and price consciousness of price sensitivityscale account for 41.0 percent of consumers attitude towards discounts (R 2 0.410,p , 0.01). In the third model, value expressive, price consciousness and hedonicshopping value were predictors and account for 45.0 percent of consumers attitude.In the fourth model, age was introduced. Value expressive, price consciousness,hedonic shopping value, and age are predictors. They account for 46.1 percent ofconsumers attitude towards mall discounts. In the fifth model, income is introduced.Value expressive, price consciousness, hedonic shopping value, age and income are

Model Variable b R 2Adjusted

R 2 Significance

1 First regression (dependent variable:promotional offers) 0.278 0.276

Hedonic 0.527 * 0.000 *

F 191.7702 Second regression (dependent variable:

promotional offers) 0.344 0.342Hedonic 0.371 * 0.000 *

Value consciousness 0.302 * 0.000 *

F 130.7863 Third regression (dependent variable:



Utilitarian 0.178 * 0.000 *

F 97.2774 Fourth regression (dependent variable:




Age 0.124 * 0.001 *

F 77.6645 Fifth regression (dependent variable:




Age 0.123 * 0.001 *

Value expressive 0.109 * 0.007 *

F 64.393Notes: Significant at: *0.01 level; n 501

Table V.Step-wise regression formall promotional offers,

deal proneness,shopping motives and

demographics


285

important predictors to consumers attitude towards discounts (R 2 0.468, p , 0.01).b value for income is negative, suggesting that as income increases, consumers wouldbe less interested in discounts. High income groups are unlikely to be affected bydiscounts offered by mall retailers. However, low and middle income groups can proveto be important target consumer groups, and may associate discounts as a good deal orvalue for money. The results support earlier researches that price sensitive consumersare influenced by promotions (dAstous and Landreville, 2003; Montaner et al., 2011).The current findings add to earlier research that income plays an important role inpredicting consumers preference for promotional offers. The discounts offered onproducts in malls can generate pleasure and excitement (Fischer and Arnold, 1990;Martnez-Ruiz et al., 2006; Millan and Howard, 2007). Price conscious consumers lookfor low priced products and find malls good places to hunt for reasonably pricedproducts. Discounts attract consumers from lower-middle and middle-middle class,who are interested in getting good quality product at low price.

In third regression test, loyalty cards of mall promotion scale, was taken asdependent factor. For first model, hedonic shopping value emerged as predictor


R 2 Significance

1 First regression (dependent variable: discounts) 0.309 0.308Value expressive 0.556 * 0.000 *


discounts) 0.410 0.408Value expressive 0.380 * 0.000 *

Price consciousness 0.363 * 0.000 *




Hedonic 0.207 * 0.000 *




Hedonic 0.197 * 0.000 *

Age 0.106 * 0.002 *

F 105.8705 Fifth regression (dependent variable: discounts) 0.468 0.463

Value expressive 0.334 * 0.000 *


Hedonic 0.204 * 0.000 *

Age 0.128 * 0.000 *

Income 20.091 * 0.009 *


Table VI.Step-wise regressionfor mall discounts,deal proneness,shopping motivesand demographics

APJML26,2

286

variable for loyalty cards (R 2 0.329, p , 0.01). The first model suggests thathedonic shopping value accounts for 32.9 percent of consumers attitude towardsdiscounts (Table VII).

In the second model, hedonic and price consciousness accounted for 41.0 percentof consumers attitude towards loyalty cards. Hedonic shopping value, priceconsciousness and value consciousness were predictor variables in third model. Thethree variables account for 43.3 percent of consumers attitude towards loyalty cards(R 2 0.433, p , 0.01). In the fourth model, coupon proneness was introduced.All variables account for 44.0 percent of consumers attitude towards loyalty cards. Inthe fifth model, hedonic shopping value, price consciousness, value expressive, couponproneness and education were predictors to consumers attitude towards loyalty cards(R 2 0.447, p , 0.01). Highly educated consumers were likely to use loyalty cardsoffered by retailers. Branded retailers often use loyalty cards to increase loyalty andstore traffic. The results are similar to earlier studies on Asian consumers whichsuggest value consciousness and price consciousness as important in influencing


R 2 Significance

1 First regression (dependent variable:loyalty cards) 0.329 0.327

Hedonic 0.573 * 0.000 *


loyalty cards) 0.410 0.408Hedonic 0.500 * 0.000 *










Coupon proneness 0.106 * 0.012 *

F 97.6055 Fifth regression (dependent variable:




Coupon proneness 0.105 * 0.013 *

Education 0.083 * 0.014 *


Table VII.Step-wise regression

for mall loyalty cards,deal proneness,

shopping motivesand demographics


287

consumers price perceptions (Watchravesringkan et al., 2008; Meng and Nasco, 2009).However, it was found that mall promotions also connote hedonic value for Indianconsumers.

Marketing implicationsThere are limited studies to understand Indian consumers attitude towards promotionsand price perceptions and current research can be useful to both retailers and retail firmsplanning to enter Indian sub-continent. Two important issues were considered:

(1) Whether Indian consumers price perceptions affect their attitude towards mallretailer promotions.

(2) Whether shopping values (hedonic and utilitarian) have any influence on mallretailer promotions.

These two issues were found to be interrelated. Indian consumers perceive promotionsoffered by retailers in light of pleasure and value they get from those promotions. Thefindings classified mall promotions under three distinct types: discounts, promotionaloffers, and loyalty cards. The study adds to extant literature. There are few studies inretailing literature to understand consumer segments according price and productrelated promotional strategies. An understanding about relationship between deal/valueconsciousness and mall promotions provides useful insight to mall owners and retailpractitioners. It would help them in understanding consumers attitudes towards mallpromotions with respect to price and value sensitivity. None of earlier researches on mallretailers have discussed promotions in light of value consciousness and shoppingmotives. Understanding consumers attitudes towards different promotions can helpmall retailers in designing promotional strategies for specific consumer segments. Thereare very few researches on retail promotions in emerging markets; and current researchprovides insight about consumer attitudes towards mall retailer promotions. Further,there are no studies on value and deal consciousness behaviour of Indian consumers.With expansion of organized retail formats, multi-brand retailing and retail liberalizationinitiatives undertaken by Indian government (Deloitte, 2013), the findings can be usefulfor planning marketing strategies for mall consumers.

Indian consumers were segmented according to three shopping values, namelyhedonic, utilitarian, and value expressive. Earlier researches posit that price sensitiveconsumers are likely to be affected by price promotions. The current research adds toliterature by suggesting relevance of shopping motives in explaining Indian consumersattitudes towards mall retailer promotions. Shopping motives have utilitarian and hedonicinterpretations and explain consumers reasons for frequenting a particular mall. Pleasureand novelty aspects of promotions can induce retailer loyalty and positive word-of-mouth.Indian malls draw store traffic, but are unable to translate footfalls into sales (Gupta, 2011).The findings clearly suggest that retailers can use promotions to combine functional andhedonic benefits of shopping to encourage footfalls and sales. A combination ofpromotional schemes should be used to target consumers visiting malls.

Babin et al.s (1994) shopping value scale gets modified and a new factor, valueexpressive, gets added to existing two factors. Displays, variety, product quality,discounts, rebates, and loyalty cards were relevant factors in mall promotions. Priceperception factors affect consumers mall retailer promotion attitudes. Mall retailerscan use promotions in order to attract value conscious, price conscious and coupon

APJML26,2

288

prone consumers. The discounts and rebates offered by malls enable consumers topurchase branded products at discounts. Since pricing strategies are important issue forretailers, findings provide practical insights about promotional mix decisions.Promotions can be used to convey value and attract price conscious consumers.Retailers need to identify their target consumers in order to use promotional offers anddiscounts. Price is used to convey high or low image of the product and thereforepromotions should be used cautiously to support price perception retailer wishes to create.

Recent liberalization initiatives by Indian government have enabled manyinternational retail firms to enter Indian market. They may use these findings tounderstand consumers perceptions about promotions and prices. Multi-brand retailingis making inroads and international brands are offering promotions to attract shoppersto their stores. Products purchased on discounts can make shoppers feel that they havegot a good deal. Branded stores can use promotional pricing strategies to enhanceshoppers feeling of pleasure and adventure. It can motivate them to visit mallsfrequently in order to check discounts being offered by different retailers. The strategicissue would be to relate promotions with pleasure, happiness, and value. Consumerswould positively respond to promotions if they feel that they are getting good qualityproducts and brands at good prices. Promotional pricing can help retailers in positioningtheir products and store by communicating a high or low end image. Targeting valueand price conscious consumer through promotions can help in improving footfalls.

Retailers in malls can use different promotion strategies for targeting differentconsumer segments. Segmenting consumers according to shopping motives, priceperception, income and age can help in using different promotions for different groups.Identifying promotional strategies for specific consumer group enhances valueperception. High-income group consumers are not impressed by discounts, insteadsuch consumers prefer loyalty cards, which can be used to create an upscale image andincrease the likelihood of repeat purchases. Low income groups can be targeted byrebates, discounts, variety, and coupons. Indian consumers understanding aboutcoupons is low. Efforts should be made by retailers to educate and inform consumersabout benefits they are likely to get by using coupons. Consumers should beencouraged to try coupons; promotions may be used to increase trial of coupons. Thiswould encourage consumers to purchase brands that offer coupons. The discounts andcoupons can lead to impulsive purchase behaviour. It also leads to cross selling of otherbrands in the store.

Indian consumers motives were classified as: utilitarian, hedonic and valueexpressive. Consumers look for high variety of products and are delighted bypromotions like free gifts, lucky draws, etc. This can improve mall traffic. Findingssuggest that promotional offers help in attracting value conscious consumers but arenot important for consumers looking for utilitarian benefits. As age increases,consumers interest in promotions is likely to increase. This may be attributed tobigger family size and consumers looking for good deals while purchasing largerpacks. Consumers with high incomes are not influenced with discounts. To attracthigher income groups, retailers should target them with loyalty cards. Loyalty cardsmay be perceived as high class and would improve consumer satisfaction withretailer. It may also help retailers in differentiating themselves from other discountstores in the malls.


289

Limitations and future research directionsAlthough the research tried to include different cities across India, future researchcould target more number of consumers. Also, we can broaden the scope of research byincluding Tier 2 cities, where the promotion mix required may be different. There arelarger numbers of males as compared to females in the sample. This is because ofinherent weakness of using mall intercept method to collect data. Future research cantry to have equal gender representation. Women may exhibit different shopping valuesand price perception and cross gender comparison may be useful.

Only three constructs of price perception scale were used for the research. It would beinteresting to check the dimensionality of the seven constructs on the Indian consumers.The results can help in understanding applicability of the scale in Indian context. Therewere no questions in the survey to understand consumers perception about promotionswith respect to product categories or brands. It would be useful to study consumersprice perception about different product categories like grocery, food, durables,garments and fashion accessories. This would help in understanding consumerssusceptibility towards promotions with respect to different product categories. In theresearch, the effect of promotions in malls has been discussed; however, relation andimpact of promotions on number of trials induced may be explored. The impact ofpromotions on supply chain of products can be taken up in further study. This can helpthe new market players to understand consumption patterns to manage distributionchannels accordingly. Future research can be conducted to understand nature of mallpromotions for luxury brands. The insights can be valuable for luxury brands indeciding their promotional and pricing mix.

References

Abratt, R., Fourie, J.L. and Pitt, L.F. (1985), Tenant mix: the key to a successful shopping centre,The Quarterly Review of Marketing, Vol. 15 No. 1, pp. 19-26.

Ailawadi, K.L., Harlam, B.A., Cesar, J. and Trounce, D. (2006), Promotion profitability for aretailer: the role of promotion, brand, category, and store characteristics, Journal ofMarketing Research, Vol. 43 No. 4, pp. 518-535.

Andreu, L., Bigne, E., Chumpitaz, R. and Swaen, V. (2006), How does the perceived retailenvironment influence consumer emotional experience? Evidence from two retail settings,International Review of Retail, Distribution & Consumer Research, Vol. 16 No. 5,pp. 559-575.

Arnold, M.J. and Reynolds, K.E. (2003), Hedonic shopping motivations, Journal of Retailing,Vol. 108 No. 2, pp. 1-20.

Arslan, T.V., Sezer, F.S. and Isigicok, E. (2010), Magnetism of shopping malls on young Turkishconsumers, Young Consumers, Vol. 11 No. 3, pp. 178-188.

Babin, B.J., Darden, W.R. and Griffin, M. (1994), Work and/or fun: measuring hedonic andutilitarian shopping value, Journal of Consumer Research, 20 March, pp. 644-654.

Ballantine, P.W., Jack, R. and Parsons, A.G. (2010), Atmospheric cues and their effect on thehedonic retail experience, International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management,Vol. 38 No. 8, pp. 641-653.

Barone, M.J. and Roy, T. (2010), The effect of deal exclusivity on consumer response to targetedprice promotions: a social identification perspective, Journal of Consumer Psychology,Vol. 20, pp. 78-89.

APJML26,2

290

Bush, A.J. and Hair, J.F. Jr (1985), An assessment of the mall intercept as a data collectionmethod, Journal of Marketing Research, Vol. 22 No. 2, pp. 158-167.

Chandon, P., Wansink, B. and Laurent, G. (2000), A benefit congruency framework of salespromotion effectiveness, Journal of Marketing, Vol. 64 No. 4, pp. 65-81.

Chebat, J.-C., Sirgy, M.J. and Grzeskowiak, S. (2010), How can shopping mall management bestcapture mall image?, Journal of Business Research, Vol. 63, pp. 735-740.

Chen, M.-F. and Lu, T.-Y. (2011), Modeling e-coupon proneness as a mediator in the extendedTPB model to predict consumers usage intentions, Internet Research, Vol. 21 No. 5,pp. 508-526.

Cheong, K.J. (1993), Observations: are cents-off coupons effective?, Journal of AdvertisingResearch, March/April, pp. 73-78.

Choi, S., Ge, X. and Messinger, P.R. (2010), Consumer perceptions of ambiguous price promotions:scratch and save promotions versus tensile price claims, Journal of Product & BrandManagement, Vol. 19 No. 7, pp. 477-486.

Churchill, G.A., Iacobucci, D. and Israel, D. (2010), Marketing Research: A South AsianPerspective, Cengage Learning, New Delhi.

Colombo, R., Bawa, K. and Srinivasan, S.S. (2003), Examining the dimensionality of couponproneness: a random coefficients approach, Journal of Retailing & Consumer Services,Vol. 10, pp. 27-33.

Damle, M. (2011), Malls in Pune anticipate increased footfalls, The Times of India, available at:http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-10-10/pune/30262733_1_assocham-survey-d-s-rawat-footfalls (accessed 26 June 2013).

Danes, J.E. and Lindsey-Mullikin, J. (2012), Expected product price as a function of factors ofprice sensitivity, Journal of Product & Brand Management, Vol. 21 No. 4, pp. 293-300.

Darian, J.C., Tucci, L.A. and Wiman, A.R. (2001), Perceived salesperson service attributes andretail patronage intentions, International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management,Vol. 29 No. 5, pp. 205-213.

dAstous, A. and Landreville, V. (2003), An experimental investigation of factors affectingconsumers perceptions of sales promotions, European Journal of Marketing, Vol. 37Nos 11/12, pp. 1746-1761.

Deloitte (2013), Indian Retail Market: Opening More Doors, available at: www.deloitte.com/assets/Dcom-India/Local%20Assets/Documents/Thoughtware/Indian_Retail_Report_Opening_more_doors.pdf (accessed 23 July 2013).

De Nisco, A. and Napolitano, M.R. (2006), Entertainment orientation of Italian shopping centers:antecedents and performance, Managing Service Quality, Vol. 16 No. 2, pp. 145-166.

Dube, L. and Morin, S. (2001), Background music pleasure and store evaluation intensity effectsand psychological mechanisms, Journal of Business Research, Vol. 54, pp. 107-113.

(The) Economic Times (2012), Indias retail industry to grow by $1.3 trillion by 2020: FICCI,available at: http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2012-11-18/news/35185252_1_back-end-infrastructure-retail-industry-fdi (accessed 5 January 2013).

Fam, K.S., Merrilees, B., Richard, J.E., Jozsa, L., Li, Y. and Krisjanous, J. (2011), In-storemarketing: a strategic perspective, Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics, Vol. 23No. 2, pp. 165-176.

Fibre2fashion.com (2012), Organized retailing in India, available at: www.fibre2fashion.com/industry-article/7/697/organized-retailing-in-india1.asp (accessed 5 January, 2013).

Fischer, E. and Arnold, S.J. (1990), More than a labor of love: gender roles and Christmas giftshopping, Journal of Consumer Research, Vol. 17 No. 3, pp. 333-345.


291

Folkes, V. and Wheat, R.D. (1995), Consumers price perceptions of promoted products, Journalof Retailing, Vol. 71 No. 3, pp. 317-328.

Gates, R. and Solomon, P.J. (1982), Research using mall intercept: state of the art, Journal ofAdvertising Research, Vol. 22 No. 4, pp. 43-49.

Grewal, D., Levy, M. and Kumar, V. (2009), Customer experience management in retailing:an organizing framework, Journal of Retailing, Vol. 85 No. 1, pp. 1-14.

Gupta, N. (2011), Extent of susceptibility to interpersonal influence and price sensitivity amongIndian youth: is there a relationship between these two constructs?, Young Consumers:Insight and Ideas for Responsible Marketers, Vol. 12 No. 4, pp. 361-369.

Gupta, R. (2010), Mall revolution has not been a grand success in India, available at: http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2010-04-29/news/27578985_1_shopping-mall-mall-developer-common-area-maintenance (accessed 4 January, 2013).

Heilman, C., Lakishyk, K. and Radas, S. (2011), An empirical investigation of in-store samplingpromotions, British Food Journal, Vol. 113 No. 10, pp. 1252-1266.

Hirschman, E.C. and Holbrook, M.B. (1982), Hedonic consumption: emerging concepts, methodsand propositions, Journal of Marketing, Vol. 46 No. 3, pp. 92-101.

Holbrook, M.B. and Hirschman, E.C. (1982), The experiential aspects of consumption: consumerfantasies, feelings, and fun, Journal of Consumer Research, Vol. 9, pp. 132-140.

Janiszewski, C. and Lichtenstein, D.R. (1999), A range theory account of price perception,Journal of Consumer Research, Vol. 25 No. 4, pp. 353-368.

Kalyanaram, G. and Winer, R.S. (1995), Empirical generalizations from reference priceresearch, Marketing Science, Vol. 14, Special Issue, pp. 161-169.

Keng, C.J., Huang, T.L., Zheng, L.J. and Hsu, M.K. (2007), Modeling service encounters andcustomer experiential value in retailing: an empirical investigation of shopping mallcustomers in Taiwan, International Journal of Service IndustryManagement, Vol. 18 No. 4,pp. 349-360.

Kirkup, M.H. and Rafiq, M. (1994), Managing tenant mix in new shopping centers,International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, Vol. 22 No. 6, pp. 29-37.

Kumar, V. and Leone, R. (1988), Measuring the effect of retail store promotions on brand andstore substitution, Journal of Marketing Research, Vol. 25, pp. 178-186.

Kumar, V., Madan, V. and Srinivasan, S.S. (2004), Price discounts or coupon promotions: does itmatter?, Journal of Business Research, Vol. 57, pp. 933-941.

Kuruvilla, S.J. and Joshi, N. (2010), Influence of demographics, psychographics, shoppingorientation, mall shopping attitude and purchase patterns on mall patronage in India,Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Vol. 17, pp. 259-269.

Lam, S.Y., Vandenbosch, M., Hulland, J. and Pearce, M. (2001), Evaluating promotions inshopping environments: decomposing sales response into attraction, conversion, andspending effects, Marketing Science, Vol. 20 No. 2, pp. 194-215.

Lambert, Z.V. (1972), Price and choice behavior, Journal of Marketing Research, Vol. 9 No. 1,pp. 35-40.

Leischnig, A., Schwertfeger, M. and Geigenmueller, A. (2011a), Do shopping events promoteretail brands?, International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, Vol. 39 No. 8,pp. 619-634.

Leischnig, A., Schwertfeger, M. and Geigenmueller, A. (2011b), Shopping events, shoppingenjoyment, and consumers attitudes toward retail brands an empirical examination,Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Vol. 18, pp. 218-223.

APJML26,2

292

Leone, R.P. and Srinivasan, S.S. (1996), Coupon face value: its impact on coupon redemptions,brand sales, and brand profitability, Journal of Retailing, Vol. 72 No. 3, pp. 273-289.

Lichtenstein, D.R. and Burton, S. (1989), The relationship between perceived and objectiveprice-quality, Journal of Marketing Research, Vol. 26 No. 4, pp. 429-443.

Lichtenstein, D.R., Burton, S. and Karson, E.J. (1991), The effect of semantic cues on consumerperceptions of reference price ads, Journal of Consumer Research, Vol. 18 No. 3, pp. 380-391.

Lichtenstein, D.R., Netemeyer, R.G. and Burton, S. (1990), Distinguishing coupon pronenessfrom value consciousness: an acquisition-transaction utility perspective, Journal ofMarketing, Vol. 54 No. 3, pp. 54-67.

Lichtenstein, D.R., Netemeyer, R.G. and Burton, S. (1995), Assessing the domain specificity of dealproneness: a field study, Journal of Consumer Research, Vol. 22, December, pp. 314-326.

Lichtenstein, D.R., Ridgway, N.M. and Netemeyer, R.G. (1993), Price perceptions and consumershopping behavior: a field study, Journal ofMarketing Research, Vol. 30 No. 2, pp. 234-245.

Lowe, B. (2010), Consumer perceptions of extra free product promotions and discounts: themoderating role of perceived performance risk, Journal of Product & Brand Management,Vol. 19 No. 7, pp. 496-503.

McGoldrick, P. and Thomson, M. (1992), Regional Shopping Centers, Avebury, Aldershot.

Martnez-Ruiz, M.P., Molla-Descals, A., Gomez-Borja, M.A. and Rojo-Alvarez, J.L. (2006),Evaluating temporary retail price discounts using semiparametric regression, Journal ofProduct & Brand Management, Vol. 15 No. 1, pp. 73-80.

Martnez, E. and Montaner, T. (2006), The effect of consumers psychographic variables upondeal-proneness, Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Vol. 13, pp. 157-168.

Meng, J. and Nasco, S.A. (2009), Cross-cultural equivalence of price perceptions acrossAmerican, Chinese, and Japanese consumers, Journal of Product & Brand Management,Vol. 18 No. 7, pp. 506-516.

Merrilees, B. and Fam, K.S. (1997), Strategic promotion alignment among small New Zealandretailers, New Zealand, Journal of Business, Vol. 19 Nos 1/2, pp. 61-72.

Michon, R., Chebat, J.-C. and Turley, L.W. (2005), Mall atmospherics: the interaction effects of themall environment on shopping behaviour, Journal of Business Research, Vol. 58, pp. 576-583.

Michon, R., Yu, H., Smith, D. and Chebat, J.-C. (2008), The influence of mall environment onfemale fashion shoppers value and behaviour, Journal of Fashion Marketing &Management, Vol. 12 No. 4, pp. 456-468.

Millan, E.S. and Howard, E. (2007), Shopping for pleasure? Shopping experiences of Hungarianconsumers, International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, Vol. 35 No. 6,pp. 474-487.

Montaner, T., de Chernatony, L. and Buil, I. (2011), Consumer response to gift promotions,Journal of Product & Brand Management, Vol. 20 No. 2, pp. 101-110.

Moore, M. and Carpenter, J.M. (2008), An examination of consumer price cue usage in USdiscount formats, International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, Vol. 36No. 5, pp. 345-359.

Murry, J.P., Lastovicka, J.L. and Bhalla, G. (1989), Demographic and lifestyle selection errorin mall intercept data, Journal of Advertising Research, Vol. 29 No. 1, pp. 46-53.

Nagle, T.T. and Holden, R.K. (1995), The Strategy and Tactics of Pricing, Prentice-Hall,Englewood Cliffs, NJ.

Nicholls, J.A.F., Li, F., Mandokovic, T., Roslow, S. and Kranendock, C.J. (2000), US-Chilean mirrors:shoppers in two countries, Journal of Consumer Marketing, Vol. 17 No. 2, pp. 106-119.


293

Nunnally, J.C. (1978), Psychometric Theory, McGraw-Hill, New York, NY.

Nusair, K., Yoon, H.J., Naipaul, S. and Parsa, H.G. (2010), Effect of price discount frames andlevels on consumers perceptions in low-end service industries, International Journal ofContemporary Hospitality Management, Vol. 22 No. 6, pp. 814-835.

Palazon, M. and Delgado-Ballester, E. (2009), Effectiveness of price discounts and premiumpromotions, Psychology & Marketing, Vol. 26 No. 12, pp. 1108-1129.

Pan, Y. and Zinkhan, G.E. (2006), Determinants of retail patronage: a meta-analyticalperspective, Journal of Retailing, Vol. 82 No. 3, pp. 229-243.

Parsons, A. (2003), Assessing the effectiveness of shopping mall promotions: customer analysis,International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, Vol. 31 No. 2, pp. 74-79.

Prendergast, G., Marr, N. and Jarratt, B. (1998), Retailers views of shopping centres:a comparison of tenants and non-tenants, International Journal of Retail & DistributionManagement, Vol. 26 No. 4, pp. 162-171.

Raghubir, P. (1998), Coupon value: a signal for price?, Journal of Marketing Research, Vol. 35No. 3, pp. 316-324.

Raghubir, P. and Corfman, K. (1999), When do price promotions affect pretrial brandevaluations?, Journal of Marketing Research, Vol. 26, pp. 211-222.

Richards, T.J., Gomez, M.I. and Pofahl, G. (2012), A multiple-discrete/continuous model of pricepromotions, Journal of Retailing, Vol. 88 No. 2, pp. 206-225.

Roy, A. (1994), Correlates of mall visit frequency, Journal of Retailing, Vol. 70 No. 2, pp. 139-161.

SeminarProjects.com (2012), The impact of promotional activities by shopping malls in creatingfootfall, available at: http://seminarprojects.com/Thread-the-impact-of-promotional-activities-by-shopping-malls-in-creating-footfall-ppt#ixzz2XO5hHPHn (accessed 26 June 2013).

Shine.com (2012), Industry information, available at: http://info.shine.com/Industry-Information/Retail/139.aspx (accessed 4 January 2013).

Sit, J. and Merrilees, B. (2005), Understanding the experiential consumption of special evententertainment (SEE) at shopping centres: an exploratory study, paper presented at theANZMAC Conference, Wellington.

Stafford, J.E. and Enis, B.E. (1969), The price-quality relationship: an extension, Journal ofMarketing Research, Vol. 6 No. 4, pp. 456-458.

Swait, J. and Sweeney, J.C. (2000), Perceived value and its impact on choice behaviour in a retailsetting, Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Vol. 7, pp. 77-88.

Thaler, R. (1985), Mental accounting and consumer choice, Marketing Science, Vol. 4, Summer,pp. 199-214.

Trivedi, M. and Morgan, M.S. (2003), Promotional evaluation and response among varietyseeking segments, Journal of Product & Brand Management, Vol. 12 No. 6, pp. 408-425.

Wakefield, K.L. and Baker, J. (1998), Excitement at the mall: determinants and effects onshopping response, Journal of Retailing, Vol. 74 No. 4, pp. 515-539.

Wang, C.-L., Chen, Z.-X., Chan, A.K.K. and Zheng, Z.-C. (2000), The influence of hedonic valueson consumer behaviours, Journal of Global Marketing, Vol. 14 No. 1, pp. 169-186.

Watchravesringkan, K., Yan, R.-N. and Yurchisin, J. (2008), Cross-cultural invariance ofconsumers price perception measures: Eastern Asian perspective, International Journalof Retail & Distribution Management, Vol. 36 No. 10, pp. 759-779.

Wirtz, J. and Chew, P. (2002), The effects of incentives, deal proneness, satisfaction andtie strength on word-of-mouth behaviour, International Journal of Service IndustryManagement, Vol. 13 No. 2, pp. 141-162.

APJML26,2

294

Yavas, U. (2003), A multi-attribute approach to understanding shopper segments?, Journal ofRetail & Distribution Management, Vol. 31 No. 11, pp. 541-548.

Yi, Y. and Yoo, J. (2011), The long-term effects of sales promotions on brand attitude acrossmonetary and non-monetary promotions, Psychology & Marketing, Vol. 28 No. 9,pp. 879-896.

Yoon, K. and Tran, T.V. (2011), Revisiting the relationship between consumer loyalty and pricesensitivity: the moderating role of deal proneness, Journal of Marketing Theory andPractice, Vol. 19 No. 3, pp. 293-306.

Further reading

Erkip, F. (2005), The rise of the shopping mall in Turkey: the use and appeal of a mall inAnkara, Cities, Vol. 22 No. 2, pp. 89-108.

Parsons, A. (2009), Use of scent in a naturally odourless store, International Journal of Retail &Distribution Management, Vol. 37 No. 5, pp. 440-452.

Reddy, P.R. and Babu, N.G. (2012), Customer perception on promotional methods at shoppingmalls in and around Tirupathi, South Asian Journal of Marketing & ManagementResearch, Vol. 2 No. 12, pp. 68-74, available at: www.indianjournals.com/ijor.aspx?targetijor:sajmmr&volume2&issue12&article007 (accessed 26 June 2013).

Soars, B. (2009), Driving sales through shoppers sense of sound, sight, smell, and touch,International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, Vol. 37 No. 3, pp. 286-298.

Summers, T.A. and Herbert, P.R. (2001), Shedding some light on store atmospherics influence ofillumination on consumer behavior, Journal of Business Research, Vol. 54, pp. 145-150.

Taylor, G.A. (2001), Coupon response in services, Journal of Retailing, Vol. 77, pp. 139-151.

Wong, J.-Y., Tsaur, S.-H. and Wang, C.-H. (2009), Should a lower-price service offer afull-satisfaction guarantee?, The Service Industries Journal, Vol. 29 No. 9, pp. 1261-1272.

Zafar, A.U., Morry, G. and Dahari, Z. (2007), Malaysian shopping behaviour: an exploratorystudy, Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics, Vol. 19 No. 4, pp. 331-348.

Corresponding authorArpita Khare can be contacted at: [email protected]


295

To purchase reprints of this article please e-mail: [email protected] visit our web site for further details: www.emeraldinsight.com/reprints