Introduction
Tough competition has been raging for some time between the local traditional markets and the gigantic malls. A huge number of malls are being constructed all over India and shortly, we will find malls at every step. Nowadays almost everyone wants to use good quality branded products, fresh food, and other everyday items. People also want to save money but at the same time want good things for a less price. They want a shopping place where all the required items they want to buy are available. However, if they buy items, especially food items, from a local shop it is much fresher. Therefore, although the importance of local traditional shopping places is slowly declining, there are still a huge number of people who cannot afford to shop from the malls. In addition, most of the shopkeepers cannot meet the expense of putting up a shop in a mall and have to stick to the local markets.
To understand why there has been a shift in this agglomeration format (AF), we need to consider a customer’s viewpoint. This AF factor specifies certain characteristics seen in customers and compares them with their effects on the agglomeration attractiveness. This is followed by the development of a theoretical framework empirically examined using an Internet-based survey of several consumers. (Munck, 2003).
Main body
At the very beginning the local shops or bazaars, as we know it, were present in many of the Indian cities and towns and mainly sold fruits and vegetables. Soon the areas around them started to sell steel utensils, stationery, groceries, clothes, and many other things. Soon there developed several different types of bazaars. A vegetable bazaar is a market building, a street bazaar is in the nearby neighborhood, a wholesale market is where people get things at a very low price and a temple bazaar is situated in the center of an old city, which sells almost everything, from flowers to instruments.
A mall is a more developed and organized bazaar. Unlike the local markets, we do not have to bargain with the vendors for a particular item. However, some people enjoy going to the local bazaar as it allows them to bargain. We also find all of our required items under one roof. Therefore, it saves a lot of time. In Asian, South America, and African countries, the tradition has shifted from local bazaars to malls mainly in the urban and more developed areas. A mall has achieved a much advanced level and is more appealing than the local markets. It can meet all the commercial needs of the people and satisfy them completely. Local markets are more flexible as they keep on changing daily keeping the demands of the customers in mind whereas the malls more or less remain the same and only keep changing their offers. The stature of the malls also increases due to their novelty and it becomes a prestige issue having a store in a luxurious mall. (Ledwith, 2005).
Shopping malls have been classified keeping several points in mind, which includes their size, the area and people it attends to, and so on. They can be local, regional, or super regional. Some are even called Big Box, as they are huge individual stores, which specifically keep a certain range of products, in huge volumes. They have been built since the early 20th century, with the upcoming of urban areas. However, we cannot imagine any city without its famous street markets. They satisfy the requirements of not only the locals but also several foreigners who come to India looking for ethnic places like them. They do not show any improvement in technology and do not bother about the future economy. Thus, we cannot ignore a special place, which these local markets hold in our hearts. (Mahoney, 2004).
Of late, we can see a revival in the number of street malls. A huge number of streets have started emerging on the streets to create a people-friendly and much more appealing environment. The shopping centers are day-by-day increasing in size including huge open-air and underground car parking areas, movie theatres, food centers, and places for people to sit, chat and relax. They are clean with high security and sometimes even conduct fashion shows and other interactive events for the people. With the upcoming of these huge shopping centers, we have also seen that the previous shopping behavior of the customers has changed.
Some of the operators of the posh shopping centers have restricted the entries of potential customers by enforcing certain conditions like only those people with credit cards or mobile phones will be allowed to enter the premises of the mall. Some even demand a proper dress code among the customers. The mall operators sometimes even demand higher parking fees than the actual one imposed. The rentals for occupying space in these huge shopping malls are very high and sometimes the shopkeepers cannot keep up with it. Thus, the question of whether these shopping malls can operate productively and survive in India is being frequently asked. (OECD, 2006).
We have also noticed that most of the potential shoppers who visit the shopping malls are just casual observers who barely even buy anything from the malls; either because they cannot afford it or that they never came intending to shop at all. This also indicates that their initial enthusiasm for shopping from these attractive malls has slowly diminished and they are thus, going back to their original shopping destinations. In addition, as there are so many malls all over the country completion is also very high among them.
The ratio of people buying from the street shops and those from the huge malls is very high as the former is much more affordable. In addition, customer loyalty plays a big part. The shopkeepers cannot expect customers to be loyal to them overnight. However, the big brands have this advantage as they have the nationwide brand recognition to support them. Thus, this improves the operation of the various outlets in the malls. Having movie halls and eateries can also be disadvantageous at times. Sometimes people visit the malls only to watch a movie or just to hang out with friends over coffee and not to shop.
Conclusion
Although it is being continuously said that with the development of more and more malls the traditional street shops will disappear, it will not be the case. (Porter, 2008) Shop rents in the malls are high and most shopkeepers will not be able to afford it. Thus, they will stick to the local market. In Asia, Africa, and Latin America, there are still a huge number of people below the poverty line who cannot visit the malls for their daily requirements.
References
Ledwith, Margaret & Jo Campling; 2005; Community Development: A Critical Approach; British Association of Social Workers; The Policy Press.
OECD Publishing; 2006; Competitive Cities in the Global Economy: OECD Territorial Reviews; Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
Porter, Douglas R; 2008; Managing Growth in America’s Communities: Second Edition; Island Press.
Mahoney, Joseph L, Jacquelynne S. Eccles & Reed W. Larson; Spring 2004; Processes of adjustment in organized out-of-school activities: Opportunities and risks; New Directions for Youth Development; Volume 2004, Issue 101, Pages: 115-144.
Munck, Ronaldo; 2003; Reinventing the City?: Liverpool in Comparative Perspective; Liverpool University Press.