Modelling frequency of visits to the shopping centres as a part of consumer's preferences: case study from the Czech Republic

Abstract

PurposeEffective management of shopping centres requires a good understanding of the consumers' behaviour and preferences as well as meeting the demand-side needs. The purpose of this paper is to elucidate the factors affecting the frequency of shopping centres' visits, providing implications for shopping centre managers from the perspective of a Czech consumer.Design/methodology/approachThe study was carried out in one of the Czech shopping centres in Brno due to its potentially standardisable common characteristics derived from the observation in the scatter plot. The standardized questionnaire survey on consumer shopping behaviour was conducted on a sample of more than 1,000 customers. The linear probability model and the logit model were applied to estimate impacts of included sociodemographic variables on the outcome.FindingsThe findings on the frequency of visits give an overview of the sociodemographic and spatial determinants increasing the visit regularity. From the managerial point of view, the importance of customers' activities and purposes is highlighted.Practical implicationsThe implications can be provided to managers challenging to demand management and considering the investment projects. We come up with certain suggestions in terms of market segmentation, based on sociodemographic characteristics and shopping behaviour.Originality/valueThe paper provides insights into the preferences of the Czech consumers and extends the previous analysis of shopping behaviour by developing the statistical properties and demonstrating the variables and their influence on the frequency of visit.