Shopping centre environmental factors: does Generation Y's gender influence strategic marketing communication? an Australian exploration

Sales at shopping centres in Australia are declining though retail shopping space continues to increase, creating the challenge of capturing and retaining a feasible amount of foot traffic, especially with lucrative Generation Y. This exploratory study examined whether Generation Y's perceptions of shopping centre environmental factors and consumption motivations (social or objective) were influenced by gender. Unexpectedly, gender was found to influence the shopping centre environmental factors of: layout, desire to stay, excitement and involvement. This paper contributes to the understanding of the Generation Y cohort and identifies practical implications for strategic marketing communications.