‘Malls least affected by the ecommerce wave’, says study

While there has been constant reports of how consumers’ tilt towards online shopping and discounts offered by these platforms are impacting sales and profits of offline retailers and brand, according to the latest report, the malls are last in the league to be scared of online retail. As per ‘Malls in India’ report, there were around 50 malls in 2005 which rose to 500 in 2013 and the number is likely to touch 700 in 2016.

Provided the depiction of malls as entertainment hubs and hangout zones, mall operators are of the opinion that no matter how many people shop online, they will drive down to malls for social gatherings as they can’t have a birthday bash or friend’s outing online. As per mall owners surveyed, footfall in malls continues to be intact since people cannot celebrate special occasions online, they have to go out to places like malls.

The report says that going by the consumer behaviour in India, shopping here is more about outings and experience rather than mere procurement of goods. And the bloopers committed by well-known online players have shaken the confidence of consumers which lead to a wholesome amount of complaints filed against the online retailers.