Research paper on shopping malls

Research on shopping center preference and patronage has reflected this positioning, with theory and methodology being drawn from trading area theory, emphasizing the mass-distance relationship (Huff 1964), and from the store choice literature, which emphasizes store "image" and its components (Lindquist 1974-75).

This clustering may be planned and formalized as a shopping center or shopping mall, may be unplanned, as in traditional downtown shopping areas, or may be formalized ex post facto, as in "revitalized" downtown malls.

Shopping Malls have been in existence for years. The first purposefully mall built was located in St. Petersburg in 1785. This mall consisted of hundreds of shops that were accessible under one roof. The Oxford Covered Market in Oxford, England was opened in 1774 and continues to be a service to the country.

The synergistic effects of multiple retail establishments located in proximity to one-another, zoning ordinances which restrict locations in which retail businesses may operate, and the limited availability of "good" free-standing recall sites tend to encourage the clustering of retail trade into relatively compact areas.