Exploring the Structural Design of Shopping Malls

A shopping mall is one or more buildings forming a complex of shops representing merchandisers, with interconnecting walkways enabling visitors to walk from unit to unit, along with a parking area – a modern, indoor version of the traditional marketplaces.

As traders moved into more spacious shops in the early 19th century high streets developed, but wealthier people (who could afford to travel to city centers for pleasure) started wanting shelter from rain, so shopping arcades were developed. With new innovations like escalators these evolved into shopping centers and with the rise of the automobile these evolved into shopping malls.

From early on, the design tended to be inward-facing, with malls following theories of how customers could best be enticed in a controlled environment. Similar, the concept of a mall having one or more "anchor stores" or "big box stores" was pioneered early, with individual stores or smaller-scale chain stores intended to benefit from the shoppers attracted by the big stores.

B. Statement of the Problem

The mall will provide a soothing shopping experience for customers. Also the system will allow more than one shop owner to set up different shops, to sell various products under one roof i.e. mall. The concept, at its very
basic, provides for an environment that allows the following:

* Shop owner

* Any person wishing to setup shop in the mall can send a proposal to the mall owner. * The mall owner approves the proposal and confirms the deal. * Shop owners can then setup and maintain their own shop(s) in the mall.

* Customers

* Customers when enter the mall have to authenticate themselves on a central server. * After authentication, the customer is allocated a shopping cart and can enter a particular shop of his/her choice for shopping.

C. Research Objectives

* Investigate how the internal and external environment impacts on the consumers’ choice of shopping malls; * Identify the purpose for which the consumers visit the various the shopping malls; * Determine the extent to which consumers are satisfied with the various shopping malls; * Assess the extent to which consumers’ choice and patronage behavior impacts on the shopping malls’ marketing strategies to meet consumer’s needs and desires; * Assess the extent to which private transportation impacts on patronage of shopping malls; * Assess the extent to which one-stop shopping malls with efficient service contribute to positive family experiences; * And assess the extent to which males and females prefer various facilities within the shopping mall.