The Birth of the Czech Mall Enthusiast: The Transition of Shopping Habits From Utilitarian to Leisure Shopping

Abstract

During the 1990s, shopping habits and consumer behavior underwent many important changes in Czechia. Consumers started to prefer large retail outlets and shopping malls, and began to shop less frequently. Shopping has become not only an act of utilitarian economic exchange, but also a leisure activity. This article introduces the results of a pilot study aimed at mapping the volume of leisure shopping within Czech society. The majority of respondents visit shopping malls regularly and three main groups of shoppers may be constructed, based on analysis of the survey responses: (i) mall enthusiasts, (ii) indifferent mall goers, and (iii) mall opposers. On the whole, Czech consumers have quickly accepted the characteristics and trends of developed economies along with “western” models of shopping. However, shopping does not present a legitimate alternative to traditional leisure activities.

The development of peripheral areas: The case of West Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland

“…Current trends, however, are moving towards territorial trade concentration and de-specialisation in large-format retail centres. They, as Spilková (2012) has also discussed, are becoming a kind of relaxation zone for an ever-increasing group of people for their practicality and availability. The size of trade centres was measured by the size of GLA, the rental area of relevant shopping malls.…”

From School Benches Straight to Retirement? Similarities and Differences in the Shopping Behaviour of Teenagers and Seniors in Bratislava, Slovakia

“…The transformation of retailing in post-socialist countries engendered changes in consumer behaviours (Kunc et al, 2013;Spilková, 2012aSpilková, , 2012b, in the context of demographic processes as well as changes in consumer mobility for services in the context of the shopping gradient (Maryáš et al, 2014).…”

Food and non-food retail change in a post-communist country:A case study of the Gemer region in Slovakia

“…Except for the general transformation manifested through changes to entrepreneurial structure in time and space (described in Bilková, Križan, 2013), retail networks in post-communist societies are increasingly exposed to globalization trends (for more, see Krásny, 1992;Michalak, 2001;Nagy, 2001;Wilk, 2006;Spilková, Perlín, 2013. This has brought a deep shift in consumer behaviour (Križan et al, 2009;Spilková, 2012;Kunc et al, 2013) needing to adjust to recent changes in the territorial distribution of retail networks (Očovský, 1974;Dries et al, 2004), and vice versa.…”