A STUDY ON CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR TOWARDS SHOPPING MALLS IN ANDHRA PRADESH (WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO VISAKHAPATNAM CITY)

Indian retail industry has emerged as one of the most dynamic and fast-paced industries due to the entry of several new players. It accounts for over 10% of the countrys gross domestic product (GDP) and around 8% of the employment. India is the worlds fifth-largest global destination in the retail space. The sizeable middle class and nearly unexplored retail market in India are the main attractive factors for international retail behemoths seeking to move into newer markets, which will help the Indian Retail Industry, grow more quickly. The urban Indian consumers purchasing power is increasing, and branded goods in categories like apparel, cosmetics, footwear, watches, beverages, food, and even jewellery are gradually evolving into business and leisure that are well-liked by the urban Indian consumer. India has the third-highest number of e-retail shoppers (only behind China, the US). The phenomenon called shopping centre or shopping mall is rocking India - metros and now even the smaller towns are buzzing with the mall mania. Modern retail format i.e. shopping malls are characterized by professionally managed large format stores, providing goods and services that appeal to consumers, in an ambience that is conducive for shopping. The recent surge in the growth of shopping malls is changing the way people shop. Mall culture in India and especially in Andhra Pradesh has been growing with an incredible pace. Just a few years back, people had to make a choice among shopping, movies or hanging out on a holiday but thanks to our malls, all these jobs can be performed at the same time, under the same roof and that too with a wonderful experience. The possibility of shopping for clothes, shoes and grocery, while simultaneously having provision for eating and entertainment in the form of movies or video game parlors, has been a convenient experience for the consumers. This paper aims to study the key factors that influence consumer behaviour towards shopping malls. The specific objective of this paper is to study consumers buying tactic, shopping priority during shopping at mall in Chennai city. The main aim of this study is to analyze different attributes of layouts, accessibility and availability of services in malls in Visakhapatnam City and to examine the attributes offered by the shopping malls which influence the customers in Visakhapatnam.