Malls and Hypermarkets: Perspectives of Contemporary Shopping

CHAPTER – 1 INTRODUCTION

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School of Management Studies, Punjabi University, Patiala

Malls and Hypermarkets: Perspectives of Contemporary Shopping

1.1

INTRODUCTION
The last decade has witnessed dynamism in Indian retail sector. Various urban areas have been at the center of attraction with emergence of different kinds of organized retail formats gaining momentum. It is largely due to rising income, increasing purchasing power, credit facilities, changing pattern of consumer behaviour and increased consumer awareness. Retailing has emerged as one of the most important sectors of Indian economy beyond the 90s. A large number of retail model retail formats have come in force offering a wide spectrum of merchandise and services. The professional orientation and incorporation of various technology–enabled softwares has offered these retailers better customer relationship management, merchandise offering, store atmosphere and inventory management. There’s a flurry of activity as a revolution sweeps through small town India, with intimidating Malls, Hip stores, looming Hypermarkets & hangouts mushrooming all over the place, apart from a perceptible lifestyle change, breathing fire into these cities (Agarwal, 2006). And it is happening not just in one or two cities, but across all major Tier – II & III cities of India, and in a spectrum of sectors – booming real estate, malls, multiplexes and cinemas, global majors setting up plants and offices, sprawling IT hubs, SEZs and much more. More & more corporate houses including large real estate companies are coming into the retail business, directly or indirectly, in the form of malls and shopping centres. New formats like hyper markets and large–discount–no–frills supermarkets have started influencing the traditional looks of the bookstores,