A study of marketing strategy of shopping centre for customer retention in Hong Kong

Title Author(s) Citation Issued Date URL Rights A study of marketing strategy of shopping centre for customer retention in Hong Kong Chu, Ka-wai; 朱嘉慧 Chu, K [朱嘉慧] (2009) A study of marketing strategy of shopping centre for customer retention in Hong Kong (Thesis) University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong SAR Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.5353/th_b4440065 2009 http://hdl.handle.net/10722/128605 The author retains all proprietary rights, (such as patent rights) and the right to use in future works A STUDY OF MARKETING STRATEGY OF SHOPPING CENTRE FOR CUSTOMER RETENTION IN HONG KONG by CHU KA WAI DISSERTATION Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Housing Management The University of Hong Kong December 2009 DECLARATION I declare that this dissertation, entitled A study of marketing strategy of shopping centre for customer retention in Hong Kong, represents my own work, except where due acknowledgement is made, and that is has not been previously included in a thesis, dissertation or report submitted to this University or other institution for a degree, diploma or other qualification CHU KA WAI ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENT I wish to express my sincere gratitude to my supervisor, Dr Eddie Hui, for his professional guidance and support He has provided many valuable advices and opinions during my preparation of this research paper Moreover, I would like to thank my interviewees for their valuable time to fill in the questionnaire They made a lot of contributions in my data collection I also want to take this opportunity to thank my friends, family and colleagues for their unfaltering support and assistance iii Abstract Chapter One - Introduction 1.1 Background 1.2 Research Questions 1.3 Significance 1.4 Goals and Objectives Chapter Two - Literature Review/ Background 2.1 Definition and Concept of Shopping and Shopping Centre 2.1.1 Shopping 2.1.2 Shopping Centre 2.2 Background of Shopping Centre Development 2.3 Classifications of Shopping Centre 2.3.1 Territorial Shopping Centre 2.3.2 District Shopping Centre 2.3.3 Neighbourhood Shopping Centre 2.4 Definition and Concept of Marketing and Marketing Strategy 2.4.1 Marketing 2.4.2 Marketing Strategy 2.4.3 Marketing Mix 2.5 Definition and Concept of Customer Retention 2.6 Shopping Centre Marketing Mix Framework 2.6.1 2.6.2 2.6.3 2.6.4 Place – Location/ Accessibility Physical Evidence - Exterior Design Product - Interior Design, Tenant Mix and Leisure Attractions Promotion - Communications Mix iv 2.6.5 Price - Cost of Access 2.6.6 Process - Customer Service 2.6.7 People - Customer Participants Chapter Three - Methodology 3.1 3.1.1 3.1.2 3.1.3 3.2 3.2.1 3.2.2 3.2.3 Research Methods Documentation Customer Survey Site Investigations Shopping Centres ifc mall apm New Town Plaza Chapter Four - Data Analysis and Results 4.1 Overall Results 4.2 Analysis For Different Categories 4.2.1 4.2.2 4.2.3 4.2.4 Gendor Age Group Education Level Income Level 4.3 Analysis For Customer Satisfaction of Shopping Centre 4.4 Analysis For Customer Spending Behavior of Shopping Centre 4.5 Analysis of the Relationship between Marketing Strategy, Customer Satisfaction and Customer Retention of Shopping Centre 4.6 Discussions, Implications and Recommendations v Chapter Five – Conclusions and Recommendations 5.1 Summary/Conclusion 5.2 Management Implications 5.3 Limitations and Scope for Further Study Appendix Bibliography vi ABSTRACT This paper examines the relationship between the marketing strategy and the customer retention of shopping centre industry in Hong Kong and identifies the major components of marketing strategy for enhancing and sustaining the customer retention to the shopping centre The economic development had grown rapidly in the past decades The shopping behaviour of the customers has also changed a lot from purchasing in a general store to the enclosed shopping mall with comfortable environment and air-conditioning facility, which created a good condition and atmosphere to the fast growth of shopping centre industry Following to the violent competitions among the shopping centres and the awareness of the importance of customer retention in the shopping centre industry, the shopping centre manager put more focus to assess how the marketing strategy can help to retain the existing customers so as to increase the patronage and rental income of the shopping centre The literatures have been reviewed to identify the major components of the marketing strategy of the shopping centre industry In order to further investigate the customers’ opinions on various marketing components which will affect their decision making to re-visit the shopping mall, the customer survey of large scale shopping centres in different districts i.e ifc mall, apm and New Town Plaza has been carried out The results of the survey indicate there are a close relationship between the marketing strategy and the customer retention of Hong Kong shopping centre industry Good marketing strategy can retain the repeated customers in the shopping centres The data of survey also indicates that the components of “Tenant Mix & Leisure Attractions”, “Location/Accessibility” and “Customer Service Provided” play the essential roles for sustaining the customer retention in the shopping centre industry Besides, the survey shows the relationship between customer satisfaction and customer retention that the customers who visit the shopping centre more times per week felt more satisfactory to the services of shopping centre, which points out that the satisfactory feeling of customers can assist to retain them in the shopping centre Since the results of survey reflect the repeated customers are willing to spend more money for shopping, the success to retain the existing customers can improve the performance and return of the shopping centres Through this paper, the shopping centre managers, the private developers and business owners can have further insight and knowledge to the importance of marketing strategy and customer retention in their shopping centre development They understand that the effective marketing strategy can achieve and sustain the customers’ needs and their satisfactory feeling, which enhance customer retention and the competitiveness to the shopping centre as a result Further studies are required to explore a more comprehensive spectrum of shopping malls so as to fully understand the extent of variation in marketing orientation across various types of shopping centres when the sample size is not big enough to examine the topic many challenges of how to make their shopping centres perform well in the industry Their tasks are not only to attract the new shoppers patronizing the malls, but also to maximize retention of current patrons In order to accommodate the rapid change of customer behavior and demand, the shopping centre manager are aware that the effective marketing strategy can help to achieve and sustain the customer needs and finally can increase the satisfactory feeling of customers and the chance of success to retain them in the shopping centre, which are now very essential for enhancing the competitiveness to the shopping centre Through the analysis of the results of survey, they can obtain more idea on improving the marketing and management of the shopping centre so as to maintain a good relationship with the repeated customers and enhance the customer retention rate It provides a guide for management in establishing the marketing strategy based on distinct customer behavior outcomes The shopping centre managers are advised to improve their marketing strategy in particular aspects of “Tenant Mix & Leisure Attractions”, “Location/Accessibility” and “Customer Service Provided” that the repeated customers are very concerned about, so that the shopping centres can develop their own compelling personality and distinctive position The patronage and income of the shopping centres can thus have a great advancement which can achieve the future success of the shopping centres Through such research and measurement, the shopping centre managers can learn and understand how they are doing from the targeted customers’ point of view, find 94 ways to provide better service to their customers, identify what they take to compete and compare their achievements with competitors, which will make them in position to create satisfied, loyal and committed customers in their shopping centres In addition to the shopping centre managers, the private developers and business owners can have further insight and knowledge to the importance of marketing strategy and customer retention in their shopping centre development through the study Thus, they are willing to put more money and resources to re-structure their existing and future planning of the marketing strategy for customer retention so as to improve the return of their investment 5.3 Limitations and Scope for Further Study This main concern of the study is to analyze the marketing strategy of shopping centre for customer retention in Hong Kong which only few literatures were discussed before As the need for effective marketing strategy on customer retention is increasingly acknowledged, the research for this topic provides an extension to the academic literature on shopping centre marketing strategy especially for assessing the relationship between 95 marketing strategy and customer retention There are the limitations of this paper that the sample is not considered big enough to explore the relationship between marketing strategy and customer retention though the paper has already obtained the data from three largest shopping centres in Hong Kong A study that should be investigated further and can be extended is to explore a more comprehensive spectrum of shopping malls so as to fully understand the extent of variation in marketing orientation across various types of shopping centres 96 APPENDIX Questionnaire Q1 Gender □ Male □ Female Q2 How old are you? □ 15 - 20 years’ old □ 21 - 30 years’ old □ 31 - 40 years’ old □ 41 - 50 years’ old □ over 50 years’ old Q3 What is your educational level? □ No education □ Primary education □ Secondary education □ Tertiary education □ Postgraduate or above Q4 What is your monthly income? □ HK$0 – HK$10,000 □ HK$10,001 – HK$20,000 □ HK$20,001 – HK$30,000 □ HK$30,001 – HK$40,000 □ over HK$40,000 97 Q5 What is your traveling time to the shopping mall from home? □ Less than 15 minutes □ 16-30 minutes □ 31-60 minutes □ 1-2 hours □ more than hours Q6 How many times you visit the shopping mall per week? □1-2 □3-4 □5-6 □ every day Q7 Please rank the importance of the following factors affecting you to visit the same shopping mall repeatedly? _ _ Accessibility/ Location Exterior design _ _ _ _ Tenant mix and leisure attractions Promotion Customer service provided Transportation cost _ Friendly and quality of staffs Q8 On average, how much did you spend per person per visit? □ None □ 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