Determinants for shopping centre choices by the youth in Hong Kong

Abstract

Shopping centres have become part of the daily lives of the urban citizens. Going to shopping centres for dining, shopping, entertainment activities is commonly observed among normal families and individuals of all ages in Hong Kong. How do people choose the shopping centre they are going to visit? What are the factors that affect the choice of shopping centres for visit? Youth, being the most active group for the retail market, and also the frequent visitors of shopping centres, plays a relatively more important role than other customers. It is worth to have a study for youth’s preferences for shopping centres. This study focuses on the youth who are aged from 18 to 30. In order to get their opinions about the factors affecting their choices in visiting shopping centres, a questionnaire survey was conducted. After the analysis of the views obtained, it was noticed that a good location, mature transportation, variety of shops, tenant mix, as well as entertainment features are the most important factors that the youth in Hong Kong would consider when they are choosing shopping centres. Among those factors, location was chosen as the most important determinant that the youth would consider in choosing shopping centres for visiting. It is suggested that the landlords, management agents and business operators of shopping centres should take these factors into account and have to consider those when they plan, develop, manage, and promote their shopping centres.