Sense of place, shopping area evaluation, and shopping behaviour

In order to turn the trend of decreasing numbers of visitors in shopping areas, retailers seem to agree on the importance of creating experiences for consumers. Yet sense of place research focusing on shopping areas is limited and has not yet fully explored the extent to which sense of place is related to shopping behaviour within physical shopping areas. In this study, we used the concept of sense of place to study a consumer's experience in inner-city retail environments. The main objective was to investigate (1) the relationship between shopping area evaluation and sense of place, (2) the relationship between sense of place and shopping behaviour, (3) the presence or absence of a relationship between shopping area evaluation and shopping behaviour, and (4) the moderating effect of personal and situational characteristics on these relationships. We estimate a path analysis model using survey data that were collected among 380 consumers in 3 shopping areas in the Amsterdam region. The findings suggest that sense of place is a better predictor of shopping behaviour than consumers' evaluation of shopping area characteristics. Therefore, it is important for retailers and shopping area managers to focus on creating a retail environment that stimulates formation of a sense of place.