Emergence of malls as a retail format in India: some perspectives, trends and paradigms

The paper analyses the Indian experience of shopping malls - their development and emerging trends. Analysis in terms of marketing strategies, consumer behavior and psychographics sheds light on customer attitudes towards shopping and entertainment. It further elucidates the benefit of incorporating Family Entertainment Centers (FECs) in the malls' mix in terms of cross-shopping, increased consumer spending and future patronage of malls through an empirical study conducted in Gurgaon, India. It compares and contrasts the issues and problems in the development of malls. A model for rentals as revenue sharing between mall-developer and tenant is suggested. A case of FDI in Indian malls is examined keeping in light how liberal FDI policies have completely changed the market dynamics in S.E. Asia in the past few years. Some micro and macro imperatives have been suggested to enable the Indian retail industry to continue on its growth trajectory.