Shopping activity had been recognized as a simple buying behavior for decades until the cognitivist approach was introduced and presented shopping as a complex array of feelings and experiences (Csaba & Askegaard, 1999). Shopping malls can be perceived as organized spaces that comprise not only shopping activities but entertainment and social activities as well. Users are drawn to shopping malls that meet their shopping motives as reasons for visiting the mall, and malls that offer a wide range of activities (Farrag, El Sayed, & Belk, 2010).
The first and most obvious experience in shopping malls is the act of shopping itself. Some of the reasons why users choose to shop in shopping malls were identified in research by Anuradha & Manohar (2011) as: “shopping ambiance, availability of different types of shops, parking facility, ease of shopping, good product quality, pride and prestige attached to shopping”. The shopping activity may be planned shopping, recreational shopping, or browsing. Planned shopping has a directed pre-purchase motive and includes purchasing goods such as clothing, accessories, groceries, or household products. Recreational shopping may be a non-directed shopping activity where users scan random stores and make unplanned purchases, or it may be a browsing activity with a non-purchase motive (Bloch & Nelson, 1991; Bloch & Richins, 1983). Browsing is the act of examining stores within the shopping mall without the intention of buying anything. According to Bloch & Richins (1983): “Browsing may be done “for the fun of it”, to see new developments in a product class, or perhaps just to fill time while waiting…Browsing can provide a consumer with a way to spend a rainy afternoon … the search aspect of browsing may be pleasurable in and of itself”. Recreational shopping is considered one of many entertainment activities that users experience while visiting shopping malls.
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Entertainment and spending leisure time are the second group of experiences that motivate users to visit shopping malls. Multiple researchers studied the entertainment dimension of shopping malls. For example, research conducted in Egypt by Farrag et al. (2010) showed that users commonly used the term “fun” when they described their experience at shopping malls. They considered their trip to shopping malls as a source of enjoyment and a fun activity. An earlier research by Bloch & Nelson (1991) identified five leisure activities in shopping malls; eating, movies, walking, socializing, and browsing. Another research by Eastlick, Lotz, & Shim (1998) studied the term “retail-tainment” which proposed that adding entertainment activities to shopping activities will draw more users to shopping malls.
In general, shopping malls provide functional activities as planned shopping and meetings for business, in addition to providing various entertainment activities which include: going to the movies, hanging out in coffee shops and food courts, visiting children’s play areas, walking for leisure, recreational shopping, in addition to socializing with friends, family members or random strangers (Anuradha & Manohar, 2011; Bloch & Nelson, 1991; Farrag et al., 2010; Gilboa & Vilnai-Yavetz, 2010).
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