1 s2.0 S096969892031273X Main

Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services 58 (2021) 102265
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services

journal homepage: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/jretconser
A cross cultural study of gender differences in omnichannel

retailing contexts
Nisreen Ameen a, *, Ali Tarhini b, Mahmood Hussain Shah c, Khaldoon Nusair d
a
School of Management, Royal Holloway, University of London, London, UK
b
Department of Information Systems, Sultan Qaboos University, Muscat, Oman
c
Newcastle Business School, New Bridge Street, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Northumbria University, UK
d
Department of Marketing, Sultan Qaboos University, Muscat, Oman
A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T
Keywords: This research examines gender difference in omnichannel experience in modern shopping malls, combining
Omnichannel experience personal, physical and virtual encounters. It proposes a new theoretical model: the gender-based shopping mall
Shopping malls omnichannel experience model. Data was collected using 1139 questionnaires completed by millennial shoppers
Service encounters model
in the United Kingdom and United Arab Emirates. Data was analysed using partial least squares. The results
Trust commitment theory
Cross-national research
showed a shift in males shopping behaviour as they pay more attention to peer interaction on social platforms,
Gender service excellence, convenience, diversity and personalisation in shopping malls than female shoppers, while
aesthetics and privacy are more important for female shoppers.
1. Introduction simultaneous use of accessible distribution channels, regardless of the

path used to make a purchase (Agius, 2019; Gerritsen et al., 2014).
Over the years, shopping malls have made a considerable influence However, the majority of previous studies either focused on the
on the economic and social welfare of both consumers and communities brick-and-mortar shopping experience (offline) (e.g. El-Adly, 2007;
(Haj-Salem et al., 2016; Katrodia and Soni, 2018). Despite their sub Keng et al., 2007; Kim et al., 2015; Merrilees and Miller, 2019) or the
stantial impact on the economy, there is a major drop in the number of online customer experience (e.g. Verhagen et al., 2019; Zhang et al.,
shoppers visiting physical stores at an alarming rate. By 2022, it is ex 2019). However, there is a gap in existing knowledge on customer
pected that one out of every four shopping malls in the United States experience in the modern and innovative types of malls, namely: mod
could go out of business (Sanburn, 2017). This is largely due to the ern shopping malls in which customers enjoy an omnichannel shopping
advent of online and mobile shopping which have led to a dramatic experience, integrating virtual and physical environments. In this type
change in consumer shopping behaviours and preferences. of shopping malls, providing a positive shoppers’ experience plays an
In the past few years, shopping malls have been striving to provide important role in their sustainability (Gong and Janssen, 2015). In order
unique shopping experiences to respond to the different desires of to provide a positive omnichannel experience to shoppers, marketers
shoppers (Gong and Janssen, 2015). To counter this change in shoppers’ need to understand differences between shoppers with reference to
preferences, shopping malls are shifting to omnichannel retailing. This different factors namely: gender and cultural differences (Mosquera
strategy, named omnichannel retailing, involves the integration of et al., 2018). Gender has been found as an important factor in the field of
different technologies such as: mobile applications, artificial intelli marketing and shopping intentions (Walsh et al., 2017). However, there
gence, virtual reality, augmented reality and biometrics (Morgan, is an absence of theoretical frameworks that examined male and female
2018). The growing popularity of omnichannel retailing in recent years shoppers’ behaviour in omnichannel shopping malls. Additionally,
has significantly transformed the retail landscape (Herhausen et al., previous studies highlighted the importance of studying cross-cultural
2015). differences which can have a significant impact on consumer behav
Omnichannel shopping malls bring together the offline and online iour (Ameen et al., 2018). Hence, investigating the pivotal role of
channels, where a shopper’s experience is seamlessly enhanced via the cross-cultural differences in omnichannel shopping mall experience is
* Corresponding author. Royal Holloway, University of London, School of Management, Egham, TW20 0EX, UK.
E-mail address: nisreen.ameen@rhul.ac.uk (N. Ameen).
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jretconser.2020.102265
Received 27 November 2019; Received in revised form 18 June 2020; Accepted 21 July 2020
Available online 10 September 2020
0969-6989/© 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
N. Ameen et al. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services 58 (2021) 102265
important from both practical and theoretical perspectives. perceive the quality of the services offered as part of the physical en
Hence, the main aim of this research is to analyse gender differences vironments in shopping malls (Diallo et al., 2018).
among millennials in customer omnichannel shopping malls, combining Culture” refers to the system of collective values shared by the
personal, physical and virtual encounters, in a cross-cultural context. members of a group or society, which can be operationalized on Hof
Cross-cultural differences between the United Kingdom (UK) and United stede’s (2001) five dimensions, with the possible addition of a sixth
Arab Emirates (UAE) are evaluated in this study as the two countries are dimension (Hofstede, 2020). These dimensions are: power distance.
different in their cultural characteristics (Hofstede, 2019). These two Individualism vs collectivism, long-term orientation vs short-term
countries are different in terms of shopping cultures and behaviours, in orientation, uncertainty avoidance, masculinity vs femininity and in
addition, both are frontrunners in the adoption of omnichannel retailing dulgence (Hofstede, 2020). Uncertainty avoidance refers to “The extent
and they both have some of the most advanced shopping malls in the to which the members of a culture feel threatened by ambiguous or
world in terms of the integration of technologies in customers’ shopping unknown situations and have created beliefs and institutions that try to
experiences. Hence, we empirically test the model proposed in this study avoid these” (Hofstede, 2020a). Power distance refers to “The extent to
using customers of two advanced shopping malls in these two countries: which the less powerful members of institutions and organisations
Westfield London (UK) and Dubai Mall (UAE). within a country expect and accept that power is distributed unequally”
One of the primary market segments for shopping malls is millen (Hofstede, 2020a). Individualism vs collectivism refers to “The degree of
nials. Millennials, also known as “Generation Y′′ , refer to the genera interdependence a society maintains among members of a culture”
tional cohort born between 1980 and 2000 (Ferri-Reed, 2010). (Hofstede, 2020a). Masculinity vs femininity refers to “What motivates
Millennials are distinct segment that is characterised by their immense people, wanting to be the best (Masculine) or liking what you do
purchasing power, their high involvement towards technological in (feminine)” (Hofstede, 2020a). Long-term vs short-term orientation re
novations, and their aspiration towards personalised experiences fers to “maintaining time-honoured traditions and norms while viewing
(Sepher and Head, 2017). This group of shoppers is unique not only in societal change with suspicion.” (Hofstede, 2020a). Indulgence refers to
terms of motivations and behaviours (Thomas et al., 2016) but also is “a society that allows relatively free gratification of basic and natural
anticipated to have a higher spending power than all previous genera human drives related to enjoying life and having fun” (Hofstede, 2020a).
tions (Fleming, 2016). Shopping through omnichannel shopping malls is These dimensions have been examined in existing cross-cultural
rapidly growing among this group of shoppers, thus our study suggests studies (e.g. Ameen et al., 2020; Diallo et al., 2018). However, Acker
that this segment of customers ‘millennials’ is open to embracing man and Tellis (2001) explained that measuring the cultural effects on
omnichannel retailing more than any other generational cohort. consumer behaviour can be problematic as some cultural norms and
The study offers theoretical contributions. First, the study proposes a values may not be easily measured and quantified and they may not be
new model: the GSOE model which addresses a gap in the literature in captured accurately through the use of Hofstede’s cultural dimensions.
understanding the omnichannel experience for different segments of Hence, some studies focused on the effects of cultural differences on
customers in modern shopping malls. This model is tested in two consumer shopping behaviour by studying acculturation, cultural
different countries. Second, it extends knowledge by providing a better orientation, language and ethnicity (Ackerman and Tellis, 2001). Other
understanding of gender differences in millennials customer experiences studies focusing on differences in cultural norms found that although
in modern shopping malls combining personal interactions, physical consumers’ reactions to mall shopping environment are not universal
environment and virtual environment encounters. In addition, the study across cultures, the decision-making process of consumer mall shopping
has practical implications for shopping mall management and retailers behaviour is universal regardless of the cultural orientation (Laroche
since it explains how to connect with this highly attractive segment of et al., 2005). Despite the existence of cross-cultural studies in retail and
millennials via creating unique omnichannel shopping experiences. mall environments, there is a gap in research studying gender differ
Section two offers a background on the theoretical background and ences in a cross-cultural context in the context of omnichannel shopping
conceptual model. Then, a set of hypotheses is presented. Then, the mall experience.
methodology, results and discussion are provided. Lastly, the theoretical Within the context of this research, despite that the UK and UAE have
contributions, practical implications and limitations and future work are some of the most advanced shopping malls in terms of omnichannel
provided. shopping experiences, they are different in term of their cultural norms,
language and cultural dimensions. For example, the two countries score
2. Theoretical background and conceptual model differently in terms of Hofstede’s cultural dimensions. The UAE scores
90 in power distance, 25 in individualism, 50 in masculinity and 80 in
2.1. Shopping and shopping malls in cross-cultural contexts uncertainty avoidance (Hofstede, 2020b). This indicates that the coun
try has a high level of power distance, hence individuals accept hierar
Existing studies have focused on shoppers’ experience in shopping chical orders in the society. The society can be classified as collectivist,
malls in terms of interaction with physical environments, service pro where decisions are made collectively and the sense of belonging to a
viders and stores in these malls (Keng et al., 2007; Calvo-Porral and group is high among individuals. In addition, this society is classified to
Lévy-Mangin, 2019). These studies highlighted the importance of be neither masculine nor feminine as individuals balance between
providing customers with a pleasant experience which extends beyond wanting to be the best and liking what they do but they avoid un
shopping. In fact, shopping malls were found to help older shoppers to certainties. However, the UK scores 35 in power distance, 89 in indi
overcome loneliness and younger shoppers to be more socially engaged vidualism, 66 in masculinity, 35 in uncertainty avoidance, 51 in
(Pyyry, 2016). In reality, shoppers use different types of technologies as long-term orientation and 69 in indulgence (Hofstede, 2020b). Hence,
part of their shopping experience in modern and advanced shopping the society in the UK believes that inequalities among people should be
malls (Gilliland, 2019). minimised, believes in individualism. It is also a highly success oriented
Previous studies emphasised the role of cultural differences between and driven culture. In addition, individuals in this society do not fear
developed and developing countries play in how customers perceive the uncertainty and they are able to take chances. In addition, the country’s
services they receive in shopping malls (Malhotra et al., 2005; Diallo core in long-term orientation indicates that a dominant preference in
et al., 2018; Thomas and Carraher, 2014). Hence, retailing strategies British culture cannot be determined. Furthermore, the British society
should vary according to these differences (Thomas and Carraher, scores high in indulgence, indicating that individuals in this culture have
2014). One of the main areas of cultural contexts that has been focused a desire to enjoy without restraints. Given the cultural differences be
on and validated in previous studies is considering Hofstede’s cultural tween these two countries, the empirical examination of the model
dimensions (Hofstede, 2001) and their effects on how customers proposed in this research helps in reaching a better understanding of
2
how the model fits in different countries, cultures and shopping malls. level of control over how their data is used by retailers. The theory states
that trust and relationship commitment are affected by different factors
2.2. Conceptual model (Morgan and Hunt, 1994).
Our proposed model combines the service encounters model (Solo
Existing literature on shopping mall patronage mixed diverse factors mon et al., 1985; Bitner, 1990; Bitner et al., 1997) and the
including distance and population density (Bucklin, 1967). Later, Huff trust-commitment theory (Morgan and Hunt, 1994). Combining both
(1964) and Huff and Rust (1984) created a model for forecasting models provide better understanding of customer omnichannel experi
shopping mall patronage. This particular model was grounded on ence in modern shopping mall, integrating personal interactions, phys
evaluating price (accessibility) verses utility (size). Nevertheless, Mason ical environment encounters and virtual environment encounters. Our
and Moore and Mason (1969) revealed that these models assume similar proposed framework focuses on four main aspects of Wang et al.’s
mall patronage choices are produced by shoppers despite their various (2019) model related to the virtual environment encounters namely:
demographics for example income, age, education and gender. Then, the privacy, trust, relationship commitment and consumer peer interaction.
inference theory was introduced by Ross and Nisbett and Ross (1980) In addition, modern shopping malls are incorporating the latest tech
which means that shoppers depend on salient and accessible information nologies which should provide shoppers with a personalised experience
cues (such as local mall layout as well as atmospherics). Investigation on (Chung and Shin, 2008). Hence, our model includes personalisation as
mall patronage had an increasing focus on shoppers’ behaviour along an additional factor. Personal interaction encounters include service
with other important elements in shopping mall patronage like picture excellence and efficiency, while physical environment encounters include
characteristics as well as motives (Houston and Nevin and Houston, aesthetics, convenience, diversity and luxury. Personal and physical
1980), picture (Hunter, 2006) along with situational variables (Zhuang environment interactions are particularly important in cultures with a
et al., 2006). Later, Bakhshizadeh et al. (2016) proposed the achieve high level of uncertainty avoidance and classified as collectivistic
ment model for shopping malls, consisting of preparation, financing, (Furrer et al., 2000). In addition, we integrate virtual environment en
construction as well as rates which does not concentrate on the cus counters including personalisation, privacy, consumer peer interaction,
tomer’s side. relationship commitment and trust. We also include gender as a factor
Market trends show that the role of customer experiential value has moderating the relationships between these factors and customers’
attracted increasing attention among practitioners in the retail industry behavioural intention towards shopping in modern shopping malls.
(Varshneya et al., 2017). Experiential value is the value that customers A few studies have focused on gender differences in conventional
derive from an experience. The notion is based on the theoretical shopping malls. For example, Haj-Salem et al. (2016) analysed gender
concept of value defined by Holbrook (1994, 2000). Mathwick et al. loyalty differences in shopping malls and found that there are significant
(2001, p. 41) conceptualised experiential value as the value derived differences between men and women in their shopping preferences.
from an experience via “interactions involving either direct usage or While El Hedhli et al. (2016) found that there are no gender differences
distanced appreciation [indirect observation] of goods or services”. in shoppers’ experience in shopping malls. Interestingly, Lucia-Palacios
Experiential value (Mathwick et al., 2001) is conceptualised in terms of et al. (2018) found that gender differences in shopping experience in
four main dimensions: playfulness, aesthetics, service excellence and shopping malls only exist among more frequent shoppers and among
consumer return on investment (CROI). Shopping mall experiences are negative low-arousal shoppers. Katrodia and Soni (2018) found that
categorised as: experiences perceived through the senses; and experi there are significant gender differences in average time spend in shop
ences created through entertainment or dramatic effects (Holbrook, ping in shopping malls. Shopping has been typically stereotyped as a
1994, 2000). Playfulness refers to potential amusement and the female activity (Sohail, 2015). Women are often more likely to shop for
emotional worth of the shopping process (Mathwick et al., 2001). Ser items like grocery and clothing than men, while men are shoppers of
vice excellence refers to the generalised consumer appreciation of a specialised items like cars (Chebat et al., 2014; Sohail, 2015). Never
service provider that demonstrates expertise and reliability (Holbrook, theless, other studies explained that these differences are changing as
2000). CROI reflects the utilitarian aspects of shopping and describes females’ roles in the society are changing, which in turn is affecting their
active investment in the economic, temporal, behavioural and psycho shopping behaviour and preferences (Sohail, 2015). Therefore, this
logical resources and emotions that yield rewards (Holbrook, 2000; study aims to bridge this gap by attempting to understand gender dif
Mathwick et al., 2001). ferences among shoppers in their omnichannel experience in modern
The service encounter model refers to the communication between a shopping malls. By exploring the differences in gender shopping
service receiver and service provider (Solomon et al., 1985; Bitner, behaviour and preferences, malls’ management may offer unique
1990; Bitner et al., 1997). Customer service encounters possess an in shopping experiences.
fluence on the capacities of service diversity, quality control, and
customer satisfaction (Chang and Chang, 2008). The effect of the service 3. Hypothesis development
encounters can be divided to two main aspects: personal interactions
with the service provider and physical environment encounters in This section outlines the hypotheses developed in this research.
shopping malls (Bitner, 1990; Wu and Liang, 2009). The model has been Fig. 1 below depicts the proposed model.
used in previous research studying service experience (e.g. Ang et al.,
2018; Sharma et al., 2018; Li et al., 2019). However, the majority of 3.1. Personal interaction encounters
studies which used or extended the service encounter model have
mainly focused on personal interaction encounters and physical envi Personal interaction encounters refer to the time during which cus
ronment encounters. tomers interact with the service personnel (Wu and Liang, 2009). Cus
The trust-commitment theory explains that trust and relationship tomers’ assessment of the quality of these encounters as part the
commitment are key components in relationship development between personal interaction is based on the service provider’s competence,
customers and retailers (Morgan and Hunt, 1994). The model has been listening skills and level of dedications (Keng et al., 2007). Personal
used in previous studies on customers’ trust and brand relationship interaction encounters include efficiency and service excellence (Keng
management (e.g. Zhang et al., 2018; Vohra and Bhardwaj, 2019). Wang et al., 2007).
et al. (2019) explained that trust helps towards building a relationship
commitment between customers and retailers online and on social 3.1.1. Service excellence
media. They highlighted the role of privacy issues including privacy Service excellence refers to the politeness, attitude, experience and
control which may raise concerns especially that consumers have a low sociability of personnel, which can have an important influence on
3
Fig. 1. The gender-based shopping mall omnichannel experience (GSOE) model.
customers’ intention towards shopping in malls (Keng et al., 2007; who shop for a longer time and carefully consider offers and resources
Calvo-Porral and Lévy-Mangin, 2019; Haj-Salem et al., 2016). Previous available in the mall (Ramprabha, 2017). Hence, we hypothesise:
studies showed that there are considerable gender differences among
H2. Gender will moderate the effect of efficiency on behavioural
shoppers in the interpretation of service excellence (Mathies and Bur
intention towards shopping in modern shopping malls such that its effect
ford, 2011). The quality and excellence of services offered to millennials
is more significant among female customers than male customers.
were found important determinants of their intention and satisfaction
(Nowak et al., 2006). For female customers, interaction quality and the
processes of the service are essential elements of customer service, while 3.2. Physical environment encounters
male consumers focus on the outcome and consider efficient problem
solving as an essential element of customer service (Mathies and Bur The shopping mall physical environment refers to the general at
ford, 2011). The quality of service is more important for female shoppers mosphere of the shopping mall as viewed by customers, namely: the
because they are more interested in gathering information and there is a outside appearance, the shape and internal atmospherics, decorations or
higher chance for them to assess it after taking part in full examination aroma, the colour and lighting and the store windows (Calvo-Porral and
of the service provided (Mansoora, 2017). This is also applicable to fe Lévy-Mangin, 2019). Previous studies explained that the physical envi
male millennial shoppers (Sharkey, 2020). Accordingly, excellent ser ronment may provide cues regarding the influence the image of brands
vice quality provided in shopping malls is possibly more important and shopping malls because it increases customer satisfaction (Wu and
among female shoppers than male shoppers. Hence, we propose: Liang, 2009). Following the work conducted in Keng et al. (2007) and
El-Adly’s (2007) studies, the shopping mall physical environment fac
H1. Gender will moderate the effect of service excellence on behav tors included in this study are: diversity, luxury, aesthetic and
ioural intention towards shopping in modern shopping malls such that convenience.
its effect is more significant among female customers than male
customers. 3.2.1. Aesthetic
Aesthetic is a response to the harmony of a physical object, or per
3.1.2. Efficiency formance (Veryzer, 1993). In the context of retail marketing, aesthetics
Efficiency is one of the dimensions of customer experiential value can be viewed as relevant visual aspects of the retail atmosphere
(Keng et al., 2007; Varshneya et al., 2017). It refers to customers’ return (Mathwick et al., 2001). Previous studies highlighted the impact the
on investment (CROI) from their shopping experience, including eco aesthetics of shopping malls on shoppers’ experience (Chebat et al.,
nomic, time, temporal, behavioural and emotional properties that can 2014; Wu and Liang, 2019) and particularly on millennial shoppers’
cause a positive shopping experience (Keng et al., 2007). Previous experience (Calienes et al., 2016). Michon et al. (2008) highlighted the
research on shopping mall experience emphasised the significance of impact of this factor on female shoppers. Product characteristics,
this factor (Keng et al., 2007; Wu and Liang, 2009; Varshneya et al., packaging, display, retail atmosphere, and ecosystem have significant
2017). Female millennials are more skilled in navigating in shopping influence on female’ interactions with retailers and their intention to
malls than males as males are able to complete their shopping in less shop in shopping malls (Michon et al., 2008). Male millennial shoppers
time, obtain a lower number of items, but they spend more on shopping pay less attention to mall atmosphere than female shoppers as they tend
(Bogomolova et al., 2016). Hence, the efficiency of the service provided to be more focused on buying their favourite items (Sullivan et al.,
in modern shopping malls can be more significant for female shoppers 2012). Therefore:
4
H3. Gender will moderate the effect of aesthetics on behavioural male customers (Stokburger-Sauer and Teichmann, 2013). Females link
intention towards shopping in modern shopping malls such that its effect to luxury of physical appearance more than males and they use luxury
is more significant among female customers than male customers. consumption as a self-promotion strategy and a lifestyle practice
(Stokburger-Sauer and Teichmann, 2013) which is also linked to luxury
3.2.2. Convenience of shopping malls. In fact, Wu et al. (2015) reported that female cus
Convenience refers to the convenience and ease of access to facilities, tomers are emotionally attached to luxury retailing even those on a
stores and retailers of shopping malls (Keng et al., 2007). El-Adly (2007) low-income level which is also applicable to millennial female shoppers.
provided examples of how the shopping mall’s physical environment Thus:
can be made convenient: enlarging shopping malls’ tenant mix to
H6. Gender will moderate the effect of luxury on behavioural intention
include a supermarket, having good layout and adequate directions in
towards shopping in modern shopping malls such that its effect is more
side the mall, using outside signage to guide shoppers to malls,
significant among female customers than male customers.
providing shuttle buses services and operating late working hours. It has
been found as an important factor in retail service convenience to save
3.3. Virtual environment encounters
time and efforts (Gupta and Sharma, 2017). It also has a significant
positive impact for retailers as it affects customer satisfaction and brand
In the era of new advanced technologies, shopping malls are no
loyalty (Gupta, 2015). The growing intrusion of the internet into con
longer be described as the offline shopping experience as digitisation is
ventional retail marketplaces indicate that convenience offers evident
transforming the retailing ecosystem for shopping malls (Park and Kim,
ways to ensure the continued existence of modern shopping malls
2018). The smart shopping mall’s virtual environment integrates
(Reimers and Clulow, 2000; Sohail, 2015). Previous studies highlighted
different technologies including mobile applications, smart boards, so
the importance of the shopping convenience in malls due to changes in
cial media, virtual reality and artificial intelligence (Park and Kim,
shoppers’ lifestyle including increasing time scarcity, working millen
2018). In this study, the factors included as part of the shopping mall
nial female shoppers and discerning male shoppers (Reimers and Clu
virtual environment encounters are: personalisation, trust, privacy,
low, 2000). Thus, we hypothesise that convenience would be an
consumer peer interaction and relationship commitment which were
important factor among both millennial male and female shoppers with
found significant in previous studies on online retail environments
no significant differences. This is because the roles of men and women
(Wang et al., 2019).
have started to gradually overlap (Sohail, 2015). Thus:
H4. Gender will not moderate the effect of convenience on behav 3.3.1. Personalisation
ioural intention towards shopping in modern shopping malls such that Personalisation refers to the way in which the service is designed to
there will be no significant differences between male and female meet the preferences of customers and it can lead to a positive shopping
customers. experience (Bilgihan et al., 2016). It can also be based on how the ser
vice provided to customers is tailored through data mining techniques to
3.2.3. Diversity meet their needs and preferences, which leads to a higher level of in
The diversity of shopping malls’ physical environment refers to the terest in shopping (Chung and Shin, 2008). Personalisation was found
diversity in restaurants, stores, food and cinemas to meet the needs of important in online shopping and mobile shopping (https://www.tan
shoppers from various cultures, nationalities, and backgrounds (El-Adly, dfonline.com/author/Trivedi%2C+Hemant, Trivedi and Trivedi, 2018;
2007; Kusumowidagdo et al., 2016). This diversity in shopping malls Xu et al., 2008). In addition, personalisation was found important in
helps towards ensuring customers’ overall satisfaction of the shopping other contexts of retail shopping for example, when using technologies
atmosphere (El-Adly, 2007). It also refers to the range of brands, variety for clothing shopping (Dennis et al., 2009), mobile games shopping (Ha
of types of companies, fashionable and prestigious brands offered, level et al., 2007) and creating technology profiling (DeYoung and Spence,
of price and quality of options (Gonza’lez-Herna’ndez and Orozco- 2004) where personalisation based on gender differences was high
Go’mez, 2012). This factor has been found significant in previous studies lighted as an important factor to be considered.
on retailer and shopping mall experience (e.g. El-Adly, 2007; Kusumo The use of technology to provide customers with a personalised
widagdo et al., 2016). Ensuring diversity in shopping malls enables mall shopping experience can enhance informativeness, credibility, intention
managers to plan suitable strategies to meet the needs of each segment and pleasure (Kim and Han, 2014). Similarly, a personalised virtual
(El-Adly, 2007). Previous studies on shopper behaviour emphasised the environment encounter through the use of advanced technologies in
dominant male shopping characteristics, showing male shoppers to be modern shopping malls is an important factor determining millennial
task orientated towards shopping (Teller and Thomson, 2012), while shoppers’ attention towards these malls. Some studies found that female
female shoppers, more specifically millennial female shoppers, are more customers place more emphasis on personalisation as a factor deter
concerned with the diversity in prices, brands, advertisements and cul mining their intention to purchase (Riquelme and Román, 2014). Other
tures (Polkes, 2019). Therefore: studies found that there are no major variations between male and fe
male shoppers in their preferences in receiving a personalised service in
H5. Gender will moderate the effect of diversity on behavioural
virtual environments (Aichner and Coletti, 2013). This is due to their
intention towards shopping in modern shopping malls such that its effect
attention to detail while receiving services from retailers and shopping
is more significant among female customers than male customers.
mall service providers (Ramprabha, 2017). Hence, features such as a
personalised customer service, customer reviews, messages, campaigns
3.2.4. Luxury
and offers from favourite brands are important to this segment of cus
Luxury is the sum of visual and sematic cues of the shopping mall
tomers. Therefore:
(Mathiowetz, 2010). The luxury of the shopping mall’s physical envi
ronment was found an important factor determining customers’ shop H7. Gender will moderate the effect of personalisation on behavioural
ping intentions (Singh and Prashar, 2014). Previous studies highlighted intention towards shopping in modern shopping malls such that its effect
the significant role luxury plays in customer experience with retailers in is more significant among female customers than male customers.
shopping malls (El-Adly, 2007; Singh and Prashar, 2014; Varshneya
et al., 2017). Women are associated with quality, distinctiveness and 3.3.2. Privacy
social value as key motives for luxury brand shopping (e.g., Wiedmann, Privacy is part of consumers’ ethical perception and it is a significant
et al., 2009). As women perceive the values offered by luxury brands as element for determining the use of technology while shopping (Limbu
important, they have a more optimistic view towards luxury brands than et al., 2011). Consumers share personal and financial data with shopping
5
malls and retailers during all points of interactions with technology and relationship with the brand is an important factor to make them
they expect a confidential treatment of their information (Martin and committed and make efforts for that brand, in addition to their feeling
Murphy, 2017). Previous studies showed that female shoppers are more that this relationship is worth working on to maintain (Morgan and
sensitive to misuse of credit card, loss of privacy, fraudulent sites than Hunt, 1994). Previous studies in the area of marketing emphasised the
male shoppers (Garbarino and Strahilevitz, 2004). In addition, female important effect of this factor as it increases customers’ behavioural
shoppers perceive higher risk level to shopping in virtual environments intention to buy from the retailers they feel they have a strong
and thus they would be more cautious in such environments (Lim and connection with and it is linked to brand loyalty (Kim et al., 2008). This
Yazdanifard, 2014). One might argue that shoppers tend to disclose sort of relationship has been found particularly important in
more personal information when shopping (Stern, 2004). Interestingly, technology-mediated communications between brands and customers
Riquelme and Román (2014) found that the high preference of female (Park and Kim, 2018; Wang et al., 2019). Similarly, consumers can be
shoppers for a personalised, engaging interaction with different tech committed towards their relationship with modern shopping malls via
nologies as part of their shopping experience tends to override their the use of different technologies as part of the virtual environment.
privacy concerns. Hence, such experiential or social value-seeking Previous studies on brand commitment show that millennial women
behaviour can make female shoppers to perceive trust which occurs as have higher level of relationship commitment with brands than men
a result of the interactivity or communication features of the virtual (Tifferet and Herstein, 2012). This is because women tend to be different
environment. in the way they build and maintain friendships and commitment and
Consistent with the findings of prior research suggesting that female they are more self-disclosed than men. Women are highly affected by
shoppers are more sensitive to privacy issues when shopping using their own behaviours in relation to a brand or what the brand is offering
different technologies (Garbarino and Strahilevitz, 2004; Lim and Yaz them when assessing brand relationship quality and they develop
danifard, 2014), we suggest that millennial female shoppers would be commitment based on this using different virtual platforms (Zhang et al.,
more sensitive to privacy issues associated with the use of virtual 2015). Therefore:
environment encounters in modern shopping malls than male shoppers.
H10. Gender will moderate the effect of relationship commitment on
Thus:
behavioural intention towards shopping in modern shopping malls such
H8. Gender will moderate the effect of privacy on behavioural inten that its effect is more significant among female customers than male
tion towards shopping in modern shopping malls such that its effect is customers.
more significant among female customers than male customers.
3.3.5. Trust
3.3.3. Consumer peer interaction From a marketing standpoint, in comparison to conventional com
Consumer-peer interaction refers to shoppers’ perceived power of merce, where the items of customers’ trust are not retailers only, cus
social interactions with their peers (Chai et al., 2011; Wang et al., 2019). tomers in e-commerce must believe in not only the site but additionally
This factor stems from the trust-commitment theory and it acknowl the technology as well as brand behind the site (Beldad et al., 2010).
edges the power of customers’ social interactions in shopping and Previous research offered insights into consumer behaviour and trust of
building brand value (Morgan and Hunt, 1994). Since consumers pro the processes in a digital environment (Park and Kim, 2018). Since
vide feedback on their shopping experience and share it with other shopping malls’ virtual environments integrate different types of tech
consumers online and on social media, shopping malls and retailers can nologies, trust can be a significant determinant of behavioural intention
record and analyse such data to provide an improved, better quality towards modern shopping malls, especially for millennial shoppers
customer service (Wang et al., 2019). Shoppers share stories of their (Salpini, 2017). Male shoppers are more assertive when using technol
shopping experiences and communicate with other shoppers on social ogies for shopping while females are less trusting of virtual environ
commerce platforms to share product/service information. This leads ments (Sethna et al., 2017). Hence, trust was found to be more
them to develop and maintain close relationships with each other to significant in shaping behavioural intention for females than for males
satisfy their need for feeling related (Wang and Li, 2016). When con (Shaouf and Altaqqi, 2018). Thus:
sumers share their experiences in modern shopping malls and provide
H11. Gender will moderate the effect of trust on behavioural intention
feedback, whether positive or negative, other consumers’ intention to
towards shopping in modern shopping malls such that its effect is more
use these malls can be affected as they can be influenced by the opinions
significant among female customers than male customers.
of others, hence it is an important marketing issue for retailers and
shopping malls (Libai et al., 2010).
4. Methodology
Extant research showed that females are more likely than males to
make use of social media platforms to see others’ images, reviews, brand
4.1. Sampling and data collection
and mall recommendations and they compare themselves with others
(Hogue and Mills, 2019). In addition, millennial women tend to spend
Data was collected via a questionnaire distributed face-to-face using
more time on social media platforms and they are more likely than men
purposive sampling. This method allows researchers to collect data from
to inform other individuals about the products they find interesting
young shoppers in the two target shopping malls: Westfield London
(Thompson and Lougheed, 2012). This links to a variety of factors such
shopping mall in the UK and Dubai Mall in the UAE. Westfield London is
as image, comparison with other women and other social factors
one of the largest and most advanced shopping malls in Europe, located
(Nielsen, 2011). Hence, consumer peer interaction may have a higher
in the UK (Hendriksz, 2018). The management of Westfield shopping
effect on intention towards shopping in modern shopping malls among
mall announced the 2028 vision for the mall (Hendriksz, 2018). It pre
female shoppers than male shoppers. Accordingly, we propose the
dicts that the role of digital in the customer retail experience will
following hypothesis:
become increasingly important in the upcoming years (Westfield, 2019).
H9. Gender will moderate the effect of consumer peer interaction on In addition, the UAE has some of the most advanced shopping malls in
behavioural intention towards shopping in modern shopping malls such the world that integrate both physical and virtual environments (Gulf
that its effect is more significant among female customers than male news, 2018). For example, Emaar (a real estate development company)
customers. launched a new ‘tech-driven’ mall and it will encourage ‘omnichannel
retailing’, to provide customers the options to shop via different plat
3.3.4. Relationship commitment forms their personal computers, mobile devices or at a retail store
Relationship commitment refers to consumers’ belief that the (Nagraj, 2018). In 2019, Dubai Mall won two top honours at the Dubai
6
Service Excellence Scheme for its exceptional customer service (Al 4.3. Data analysis
Bawaba, 2019). The mall attracts over 80 million visitors annually
(Saadi, 2018). The initial screening and analysis were conducted through the
Purposive sampling proved to be effective in previous studies with assessment of common method bias and normality of the data (Hair
target samples who had certain characteristics (Ndubisi, 2006). The et al., 2010). Common method bias exaggerates the relations in the
respondents are selected based on certain qualities (Etikan et al., 2016). theoretical model (Podsakoff et al., 2003). To reduce the potential of
That is, they must meet certain criteria in order to be selected (Etikan common method variance bias in this quantitative study, we conducted
et al., 2016). As such, it is different from convenience sampling, in which a Harman’s test. Hence, common method bias was examined for both the
participants are selected based on their availability at a given time UK and UAE samples using the Harman’s single factor method in SPSS.
(Dörnyei, 2007). In this research, two criteria to select the participants Upon extraction of squared loadings, the results showed that a single
were used. First, the participants had to be aged 23–38 to be classified as factor accounted for 21% of the variance in the UK sample and 22% in
millennials (https://www.pewresearch.org/staff/michael-dimock, the UAE sample which is lower than the threshold value of 50% (Pod
Dimock, 2019). Second, customers who shop in the two target shopping sakoff et al., 2003). In addition, common method bias was assessed in
malls. Smart PLS software via the inner collinearity assessment function. The
There were three reasons for selecting participants aged 23–38 years results showed that inner Variance Inflation Factor (VIF) values were
old. First, it is anticipated that by 2020, millennials will account for lower than the threshold value of 3.3 (Hair et al., 2010).
almost $1.4 trillion in spending power (The Store Front, 2015). In Data was also assessed in terms of normality of distribution using
addition, their spending pattern is different as they like to pay for ex skewness and kurtosis in Smart PLS Version 3 software. When there are
periences such as travel, entertainment and technology (The Store Front, issues in terms of skewness and kurtosis, it can be concluded that the
2015). Second, this particular segment of shoppers is challenging for collected data are not normally distributed. Values higher than 3.0
shopping malls due to their lack of interest in offline (in store) shopping, indicate that the data is skewed (Kline, 2005) and values of 8.0 or higher
instead, they are more interested in using technology to enhance their indicate extreme kurtosis as recommended by West et al. (1995) and
shopping experience (Skeldon, 2018). Third, the buying decision mak Kline (2005). The analysis showed that the collected data in the two
ing process for millennials is different from previous generations, so they countries was not normally distributed.
require a unique, exciting and personalised shopping experience which Partial least squares-structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) was
also makes them a challenging segment for retailers in shopping malls used to analyse the data (Hair et al., 2014, 2017). There were three
(Oracle, 2015). Initially a pilot study took place as we collected data motives for choosing this method of analysis. First, PLS-SEM allows the
from 25 UK-based customers in order to assess the of validity and reli analysis of none normally distributed data which is the case of the
ability of the measurements. As a result, a few changes were made, and collected data in this research (Hair et al., 2017). Second, this method is
some questions were added. In addition, a team of two experts, aca able to handle single items factors in the analysis of the structural model
demics in the Abu Dhabi University in the UAE, was consulted to (Afthanorhan, 2014). Third, when used with complex models, PLS-SEM
comment on the instrument and no changes were required. is more effective than covariance-based structural equation modelling
Using purposive sampling method, we distributed 700 question (CB-SEM) (Hair et al., 2014). Therefore, the use of PLS-SEM in this study
naires to participants face to face in each of London and Dubai in July was justified. The PLS-SEM analysis included the assessment of the
and August 2019. After checking missing data, unengaged responses and measurement model followed by the assessment of the structural model
outliers (Hair et al., 2014, 2017) and that the participants shop in the (Hair et al., 2017). In addition, partial least squares-multi group analysis
selected shopping malls, 553 completed questionnaires from the re (PLS-MGA) was used for further analysis of the differences of the sig
spondents in the UK and 586 in the UAE from the target age group were nificance of the paths between the UAE and UK samples (Henseler et al.,
used in the analysis. The response rate was 79% in the UK and 84% in 2009; Sarstedt et al., 2011).
the UAE. Distributing the questionnaires face to face helped to achieve
high response rates. 5. Results
4.2. Measurements 5.1. Samples characteristics
The selection of measurement items adopted in this study was based Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 24 software
on studies focusing on the models considered and integrated in the was used to obtain the descriptive statistics. Table 1 shows the
model proposed in this research and based on an extensive review of the descriptive statistics for both samples. For the UK sample, 43% were
literature. Hence, some measurement items were adopted from the aged 23–30 years old, 57% were aged 31–38 years old, while 49% were
studies carried out by Mathwick et al. (2001), Keng et al.’s. (2007) and males and 51% were females. The results also showed that 9% of the
El-Adly (2007) which focused on the service encounters model and respondents in the UK shop daily in shopping malls, 81% shopped
experiential value model in retail and shopping mall environments. In weekly, 10% shopped monthly and none of them shopped annually.
addition, some of the measurement items were adopted from Wang Furthermore, 64% of them shopped more often offline and 36% of them
et al.’s (2019) study which focused on the trust-commitment theory. shopped more often online. In terms of the types of technology used
The items for the factors: efficiency, service excellence, aesthetics while shopping, 58% indicated that they use smartphones and mobile
and behavioural intention were adopted from Mathwick et al. (2001) applications, 4% used augmented reality, 14% used virtual reality, 8%
and Keng et al.’s. (2007) studies. The items for convenience, diversity used biometrics and 16% used all of these technologies.
and luxury were adopted from El-Adly’s (2007) study. The items for For the UAE sample, 33% were aged 23–30 years old, 67% were aged
personalisation and privacy were adopted from Chellappa and Sin 31–38 years old, while 52% were males and 48% were females. The
(2005), since this study focused on these two factors in online shopping results also showed that 3% of the respondents in the UK shop daily in
environments. The items for trust, consumer peer interaction and rela shopping malls, 88% shopped weekly, and 9% shopped monthly.
tionship commitment were adopted from Wang et al.’s (2019) study. Furthermore, 75% of them shopped more often offline and 25% of them
Appendix A shows all factors including their measures and the publi shopped more often online. In terms of the types of technology used
cation source for each factor. while shopping, 56% indicated that they use smartphones and mobile
applications, none of them used augmented reality, 17% used virtual
reality, 8% used biometrics and 20% used all of these technologies.
Overall, the results show that the two samples were millennials and
7
Table 1 UK sample, the values of Cronbach’s alpha ranged from 0.743 to 0.967
Descriptive statistics for the UK and UAE sample. and the values of composite reliability ranged from 0.710 to 0.977.
UK (%) UAE (%) Furthermore, some items were removed from the samples after the
assessment of the factor loadings including CON2, CON3, AE5 and DI4
Age
23–30 43 33 as they were lower than 0.7 (Hair et al., 2017).
31–38 57 67 The discriminant validity of the sample was assessed using Fornell-
Gender Larcker Criterion (Hair et al., 2014) as shown in Table 3 and Table 4.
Male 49 52 The results show that the square root of each construct’s AVE is higher
Female 51 48
Use of smartphones
than its highest correlation with any other construct (Hair et al., 2014).
Yes 100 100 In addition, the cross-loadings analysis revealed that each factor has a
No 0 0 higher loading on its indicators than on the indicators of the other fac
Frequency of shopping in shopping malls tors so there are no concerns in terms of discriminant validity (Hair
Daily 9 3
et al., 2014).
Weekly 81 88
Monthly 10 9
Annually 0 0
Use of technology for shopping 5.3. Multi-group analysis
Yes 100 100
No 0 0
For a more accurate comparison of the differences among male and
Shopping more often
Offline 64 75 female customers in the significance of the paths, PLS-MGA was used.
Online 36 25 This nonparametric method of analysis, introduced by Henseler et al.
Type of technology used while shopping (2009), tests the differences between the path coefficients of two groups
Smartphones and mobile applications 58 56 (Henseler et al., 2009; Sarstedt et al., 2011). PLS-MGA directly compares
Augmented reality 4 0
Virtual reality 14 17
different groups in the sample. A p value of the difference between the
Biometrics 8 8 path coefficients of 0.05 or lower or 0.95 or higher at the 5 percent level
All of the above 16 20 indicates that there are significant differences between specific path
coefficients across two groups (Henseler et al., 2009; Sarstedt et al.,
2011). These threshold values were adopted in previous studies using
balanced in terms of the proportion of male/female participants. In
PLS-MGA (e.g. Ameen et al., 2018). Table 5 and Table 6 show the results
addition, the participants in both samples still shop more often in
of the PLS-MGA in both the UK and the UAE samples.
shopping malls (offline) as well as online shopping. All of the re
In the UAE sample, the results of the PLS-MGA analysis showed that
spondents in both countries used smartphones and they all used tech
three of the proposed hypotheses were supported namely: H3 (AE - > BI,
nology for shopping. Furthermore, the results show that the participants
p value = .998), H4 (CON - > BI, p value = .610, as there were no sig
used a range of technologies while shopping.
nificant differences between the two groups in this relationship,
consistent with what we hypothesised) and H8 (PR - > BI, p value =
5.2. Measurement model .999). In addition, four of the proposed hypotheses were partially sup
ported as there were significant differences between male and female
The first stage of the analysis included the assessment of reliability, shopper groups but contrary to what we hypothesised. These four hy
convergent validity, discriminant validity and factor loadings (Hair potheses were: H1 (SE - > BI, p value = ,000), H5 (DI - > BI, p value =
et al., 2017). Table 2 illustrates the findings of the validity and reliability .010), H6 (LU - > BI, p value = .050) and H7 (PE - > BI, p value = .000).
assessments of both samples. The assessment of average variance The remaining hypothesises were not supported.
extracted (AVE) as part of convergent validity showed that there were In the UK sample, the results showed that three of the hypotheses
no major issues as all values were above 0.5 (Hair et al., 2017) as they were supported namely: H3 (AE - > BI, p value = .997), H4 (CON - > BI,
varied between 0.602 and 0.865 in the UAE sample and they ranged p value = .287, as there were no significant differences between the two
between 0.601 and 0.851 in the UK sample. In addition, reliability was groups in this relationship, consistent with what we hypothesised) and
assessed using Cronbach’s alpha and Composite reliability (Hair et al., H8 (PR - > BI, p value = .954). Furthermore, five of our proposed hy
2019). The findings revealed that there were no concerns as all values potheses were partially supported as there were significant differences
for both samples were above 0.7 (Hair et al., 2017). The values of between male and female shopper groups but contrary to what we
Cronbach’s alpha ranged from 0.715 to 0.998 and the values of com hypothesised. These four hypotheses are H1 (SE - > BI, p value = .050),
posite reliability ranged from 0.701 to 0.961 in the UAE sample. In the H5 (DI - > BI, p value = .031) and H7 (PE - > BI, p value = .022) and H9
Table 2
Assessment of validity and reliability in the UAE and UK samples.
Cronbach’s alpha UAE Average variance Cronbach’s alpha UK Average variance
extracted extracted
Composite Composite
reliability reliability
Aesthetics .998 .829 .865 .892 .926 .757

Behavioural intention .870 .920 .793 .967 .918 .690
Consumer peer interaction .778 .701 .754 .795 .867 .765
Convenience .889 .950 .703 .950 .710 .670
Diversity .722 .894 .737 .808 .887 .723
Efficiency .796 .921 .659 .888 .915 .643
Luxury .715 .818 .604 .789 .865 .683
Personalisation .945 .958 .820 .743 .757 .616
Privacy .894 .934 .825 .792 .933 .722
Relationship commitment .767 .861 .676 .801 .893 .676
Service excellence .957 .961 .803 .958 .977 .851
Trust .763 .817 .602 .768 .719 .601
8
Table 3
Assessment of Fornell-Larcker Criterion in the UAE sample.
Aesthetics Behavioural Consumer peer Convenience Diversity Efficiency Luxury Personali- Privacy Relationship Service Trust
intention interaction sation commitment excellence
Aesthetics .930
Behavioural .375 .891
intention
Consumer peer .113 .205 .868
interaction
Convenience .193 .165 .049 .838
Diversity .317 .352 .122 .151 .859
Efficiency .408 .447 .175 .136 .307 .812
Luxury .076 .134 .125 -.059 .091 .204 .777
Personalisation .477 .323 .135 .108 .058 .383 .096 .906
Privacy .221 .258 -.077 .083 .285 .152 .015 .498 .908
Relationship .298 .301 .001 .083 .295 .227 .074 .249 .373 .822
commitment
Service excellence .399 .542 .085 -.049 .450 .330 .101 .022 .036 .229 .896
Trust .001 .198 .027 -.097 .101 .065 .099 .340 .224 .285 .190 .775
Table 4
Assessment of Fornell-Larcker Criterion in the UK sample.
Aesthetics Behavioural Consumer peer Convenience Diversity Efficiency Luxury Personali- Privacy Relationship Service Trust
intention interaction sation commitment excellence
Aesthetics .870
Behavioural .370 .830
intention
Consumer peer .108 .192 .875
interaction
Convenience .162 .127 .049 .818
Diversity .312 .343 .113 .110 .850
Efficiency .467 .503 .158 .096 .448 .802
Luxury .052 .097 .098 -.087 .079 .175 .826
Personalisation .462 .063 .134 .073 .253 .336 .085 .784
Privacy .188 .224 -.089 .074 .245 .123 .003 .451 .849
Relationship .289 .281 -.010 .066 .258 .176 .046 .204 .334 .822
commitment
Service excellence .382 .533 .056 -.068 .414 .300 .090 .014 .029 .229 .922
Trust -.012 .219 -.006 -.089 .133 .088 .143 .369 .248 .274 .232 .775
Table 5
Multigroup analysis UAE sample.
Hypothesis Relationship p-value males vs females t-values males p-Values males t-Values females p-Values females Results
H1 SE - > BI 0.000 5.307 0.000 1.984 0.053 Partially supported

H2 EF- > BI 0.070 0.669 0.503 1.369 0.171 Not supported
H3 AE - > BI 0.998 6.776 0.000 8.915 0.000 Supported
H4 CON - > BI 0.610 2.001 0.046 2.761 0.006 Supported
H5 DI - > BI 0.010 2.997 0.003 1.072 0.284 Partially supported
H6 LU - > BI 0.050 1.983 0.048 0.193 0.847 Partially supported
H7 PE - > BI 0.000 7.375 0.000 2.100 0.036 Partially supported
H8 PR - > BI 0.999 0.170 0.865 4.260 0.000 Supported
H9 CPI - > BI 0.063 2.626 0.009 1.595 0.111 Not supported
H10 RC - > BI 0.629 1.139 0.255 1.225 0.221 Not supported
H11 TR- > BI 0.340 1.451 0.147 1.998 0.053 Not supported
Note: efficiency (EF), service excellence (SE), aesthetics (AE), behavioural intention (BI), convenience (CON), diversity (DI), luxury (LU), personalisation (PE), trust
(TR), privacy (PR), consumer peer interaction (CPI) and relationship commitment (RC).
(CPI - > BI, p value = 0.008). The remaining hypotheses were not (Hair et al., 2017).
supported.
We also assessed the model’s predictive power, the assessment of the 6. Discussion
R2 value showed that the model is able to predict 68% in male shoppers’
behavioural intention and 51% in male shoppers’ behavioural intention This research analysed gender differences in millennial customer
in the UAE. The model was also able to predict 63% of male shoppers’ omnichannel experience in modern shopping malls, combining physical
behavioural intention and 48% of female shoppers’ behavioural inten and virtual environments encounters in a cross-national context. The
tion in the UK, suggesting that the model has a good explanatory power findings revealed that the proposed model fits well among millennials in
9
Table 6
Multigroup analysis UK sample.
Hypothesis Relationship p-value males vs females t-values males p-Values males t-Values females p-Values females Results
H1 SE - > BI 0.050 5.032 0.000 2.137 0.000 Partially supported

H2 EF- > BI 0.064 1.906 0.057 0.812 0.417 Not supported
H3 AE - > BI 0.997 4.737 0.000 7.498 0.000 Supported
H4 CON - > BI 0.287 1.990 0.054 2.297 0.022 Supported
H5 DI - > BI 0.031 3.693 0.000 2.412 0.016 Partially supported
H6 LU - > BI 0.480 1.044 0.297 1.379 0.168 Not supported
H7 PE - > BI 0.022 6.454 0.000 4.855 0.000 Partially supported
H8 PR - > BI 0.954 2.387 0.002 3.066 0.017 Supported
H9 CPI - > BI 0.008 3.158 0.002 1.128 0.259 Partially supported
H10 RC - > BI 0.523 1.152 0.249 1.788 0.053 Not supported
H11 TR- > BI 0.130 2.455 0.014 1.809 0.071 Not supported
Note: efficiency (EF), service excellence (SE), aesthetics (AE), behavioural intention (BI), convenience (CON), diversity (DI), luxury (LU), personalisation (PE), trust
(TR), privacy (PR), consumer peer interaction (CPI) and relationship commitment (RC).
both countries, specifically among millennial male shoppers in both the Millennial male shoppers in UAE are more concerned with luxury of
UK and the UAE. On the contrary to what we hypothesised, the effect of shopping malls and retailers than millennial female shoppers. This is
service excellence on behavioural intention towards shopping in modern possibly because millennial male shoppers in this country tend to spend
shopping malls is more significant among millennial male shoppers than slightly more on luxury products than female shoppers and they are the
millennial female shoppers in both the UK and the UAE. This contradicts main bread owners (Jcdecaux, 2017). Overall, the findings of our
with what was found in previous studies (e.g. Mathies and Burford, research indicate the significance of aesthetics, convenience, diversity
2011; Mansoora, 2017). Millennial male shoppers in the UK and UAE and luxury as part of customer physical environment encounters in
view the quality of the services provided in shopping malls and by re modern shopping malls. While the aesthetics factor is more significant
tailers in terms of courtesy, attitude, knowledge and friendliness of among millennial female customers, convenience, diversity and luxury
personnel. This factor was significant among millennial female shoppers are more significant among male customers.
too but at a lower level. In addition, efficiency was insignificant among Surprisingly, millennial male shoppers in both countries are more
both millennial male and female shoppers in both countries. This con affected by a personalised virtual environment in shopping malls than
tradicts with the findings of previous studies on the significance of ef female shoppers. This extends the findings of previous studies conducted
ficiency among millennial female shoppers as they pay more attention to by Kim and Han (2014) and Aichner and Coletti (2013) in which per
detail (Ramprabha, 2017). Hence, customer personal interactions sonalisation was found a significant factor among customers in general.
encounter in modern shopping malls are based on service excellence Hence, it is particularly important for modern shopping malls to follow
which is more important among millennial male shoppers. millennial male customers’ profiles, consumption patterns, and
The findings of this study regarding the impact of aesthetic were customer needs. The findings also show that millennial female shoppers
similar to what was found in prior studies (e.g. Kim and Moon, 2009; are less concerned with being offered a personalised shopping experi
Chebat et al., 2014; Wu and Liang, 2019; Han and Ryu, 2009). Aesthetic ence than male shoppers and they are more sensitive to privacy issues
is an important factor for millennial male and female shoppers in both associated with the use of virtual environments in modern shopping
the UK and UAE. However, our findings revealed that the aesthetic of malls. The findings show that millennial female shoppers are sensitive to
modern shopping malls is a more important factor for millennial female how their information is used by shopping malls and retailers, which
shoppers’ intention to shop in these malls than millennial female possibly links to their behaviour in disclosing more personal information
shoppers’ male shoppers in both the UK and UAE. Furthermore, there when shopping (Stern, 2004).
were no substantial differences between millennial male and female Our findings on the effect of consumer peer interaction on behav
shoppers in both countries in the effect of convenience on behavioural ioural intention were contracting to what we originally hypothesised.
intention. This shows the significant effect of convenience and ease of First, there were no significant differences between millennial male and
access to the facilities, stores and retailers of malls among both millen female shoppers in terms of the effect of this factor in the UAE but it was
nial male and female shoppers. In addition, it shows a shift in millennial more significant among male shoppers. This contradicts with our orig
females’ behaviour as despite that the existing literature pointed out inal assumption that consumer peer interaction is more important
that female shoppers prefer to spend longer time while shopping than among females as they are more active on social media (Hogue and
millennial male shoppers and they are more proficient in navigation Mills, 2019). Second, millennial male shoppers in the UK are more
(Bogomolova et al., 2016; Chebat et al., 2014), male shoppers still prefer engaged on social platforms and affected by this factor than female
to have a convenient experience which helps them to manage their time shoppers. This provides further evidence of the shift in millennial male
efficiently. This also links to the changing lifestyle and role of women in shoppers’ behaviour in modern shopping malls. In addition, the findings
the society which affects their shopping behaviour (Ameen et al., 2018). show that customer relationship commitment with retailers does not
Interestingly, the findings show that millennial male shoppers are have a significant effect on behavioural intention among both genders in
more sensitive to the diversity of the brands, restaurants, stores and both countries. Hence, the sense of belonging to customers’ favourite
entertainment facilities in shopping malls in both countries. While retailers in the shopping mall and on social media platforms does not
existing research found that diversity is an essential element in deter necessarily lead to a higher intention towards shopping in modern
mining shopping mall patronage (El-Adly, 2007; Kusumowidagdo et al., shopping malls. This contradicts with the findings of previous studies
2016), our findings suggest that millennial male shoppers find diversity regarding the effects of relationship commitment (e.g. Wang et al.,
more significant compared to millennial female shoppers. Furthermore, 2019). This shows that millennial customers are more interested in the
on the contrary to what we hypothesised, millennial male shoppers pay quality of the personal encounters and physical environment encounters
more attention to luxury in shopping malls than female customers in the and the reliability and ensuring privacy in the virtual environment when
UAE, while it was insignificant for both millennial male and female evaluating modern shopping malls.
shoppers in the UK. This contradicts with the results of earlier studies in There were no significant differences between millennial male and
this area (e.g. Wiedmann et al., 2009; Stokburger-Sauer and Teichmann, female shoppers in terms of the effect of trust in virtual environment
2013). encounters on their intention. Nevertheless, the findings show that
10
millennial female shoppers in the UAE and male shoppers in the UK find millennial male and female shoppers’ omnichannel experience in
trust in virtual environment encounters as an important factor deter shopping malls enhances their intention to visit these malls. Hence,
mining their intention towards modern shopping malls. Finally, shopping malls management teams and retailers should ensure that
consistent with the findings of Garbarino and Strahilevitz (2004) and these technologies are well integrated with customers’ personal en
Lim and Yazdanifard (2014) regarding the significance of privacy counters and the physical environment in shopping malls. We suggest
among female customers, millennial female shoppers are more con that shopping malls managers and retailers need to focus on cross-
cerned about their privacy when using virtual shopping environments in cultural and cross-national differences when integrating new and
these malls than male shoppers. advanced technologies to shoppers in a way that will positively impact
Overall, our findings reveal a shift in millennial male customers’ their experience and improve the overall quality of this experience. This
behaviour in modern shopping malls as they pay more attention than can be further enhanced by understanding the differences between male
before to service excellence, convenience, diversity, luxury, consumer and female shoppers in this type of service encounters as found in this
peer interaction and personalisation in shopping malls in both the UK study.
and UAE. Managers in shopping malls and retailers with stores situated in
these malls should be updated with and constantly monitoring the rapid
7. Contributions and future work changes in consumer behaviour which does not necessarily mean a
complete shift from offline shopping to online or mobile shopping rather
7.1. Theoretical contributions than having an enjoyable experience which integrates all these channels
combined. This is applicable to both male and female millennial shop
This study offers several theoretical contributions to the existing pers. Our research focused on customers of two advanced and modern
literature. The model proposed in this research: the gender-based shopping malls: Westfield London in the UK and Dubai Mall in the UAE
shopping mall omnichannel experience (GSOE) model integrates fac where different technologies are already integrated as part of the
tors classified as part of personal interaction encounters, physical customer omnichannel experience. However, this approach should be
environment encounters and virtual environment encounters in shop followed by other shopping malls suffering from a decline in shoppers’
ping malls. The proposed model conceptualises the factors affecting interest to visit them.
millennial customers’ intentions towards shopping malls omnichannel Our findings regarding the shift in millennial male shoppers’
experiences. The empirical examination of the model showed that there behaviour in both the UK and the UAE have important implications for
are significance gender differences among millennial shoppers in this shopping malls management teams and retailers. For this segment of
context, in addition, to the differences found between the two countries customers, despite the integration of virtual environment encounters in
studied in this research: the UK and UAE. The majority of existing shopping malls, management teams are still advised to focus on the
research focused on the offline (physical) shopping experience (e.g. Kim quality of the service provided face-to-face to customers. In addition, the
et al., 2015; Merrilees and Miller, 2019) or the online customer expe attributes of the physical environment encounters are important for
rience (e.g. Verhagen et al., 2019; Zhang et al., 2019). Other studies male shoppers in both countries. Hence, shopping mall managers and
focused on shopping mall physical experience (e.g. Keng et al., 2007; retailers should ensure the convenience of shopping malls in terms of
Calvo-Porral and Lévy-Mangin, 2019) which mainly focused on personal how easy it is to reach the mall, late working hours and navigation to
interactions encounters and physical environment encounters. Howev different stores. In addition, ensuring the diversity of restaurants, stores
er, there are gaps in existing research in terms of analysing gender dif and entertainment facilities is important for this segment of customers.
ferences among millennial shoppers in a cross-cultural context. Hence, Furthermore, shopping malls management teams and retailers should
this research addresses a number of gaps in research and it builds on the ensure that the luxury of the physical environment in shopping malls in
findings of these studies by understanding the omnichannel experience the UAE is particularly appealing to millennial male shoppers, in terms
of millennial customers in modern shopping malls and studying gender of the luxury of the appearance of the shopping mall and the services
differences in omnichannel shopping mall experience in a cross-national provided.
and cross-cultural context. Providing millennial male shoppers in the UK and the UAE with a
Our research revealed interesting findings regarding male and fe more personalised experience in the mall in terms of offers from their
male millennial shoppers’ behaviour in shopping malls. While previous favourite retailers, products and services using different advanced
studies emphasised that factors such as service excellence, convenience, technologies is important. In addition, ensuring that there is a strong
diversity, luxury, personalisation and consumer peer interaction are engagement with male shoppers in the UK on different social media
important for female shoppers (e.g. Mathies and Burford, 2011; Polkes, platforms through collaboration between malls and retailers can have a
2019; Stokburger-Sauer and Teichmann, 2013), our findings showed significant effect on mall shoppers in both countries. On the other hand,
that millennial male shoppers pay more attention to service excellence, as female shoppers tend to provide more information when using tech
convenience, diversity, luxury and personalisation in shopping malls nologies as part of the virtual environment encounters, assuring them
than millennial female shoppers in both the UK and UAE. Moreover, that the privacy of the information they provide as part of their virtual
consumer peer interactions in virtual environments play a more signif environment encounters will be ensured can play a significant role in
icant effect on behavioural intention towards modern shopping malls increasing their intention towards visiting shopping malls in both
among millennial male shoppers. The present findings examined the countries.
specific antecedents to male and female shoppers that in return generate
an intention to visit modern shopping malls. Overall, this study provides 7.3. Limitations and future research
a better understanding of different customer segments’ views and
preferences in terms of their omnichannel experience in shopping malls Despite the significant contributions, this research has some limita
which can integrate the personal, physical and virtual aspects and it thus tions that can be addressed in future research. The research focused on
provides a more holistic view of their experience in these malls. collecting data from advanced shopping malls in the UK and UAE only.
Future research can gather data from customers in shopping malls in
7.2. Practical implications other countries and compare the findings to the findings of this study. In
addition, future research can gather data from management teams of
This research has implications for management teams of shopping shopping malls and retailers to understand their perspective on
malls and retailers. Overall, our findings show that the integration of providing customers with an improved omnichannel experience.
technology (shopping malls’ virtual shopping environment) as part of Furthermore, we encourage researchers to acknowledge virtual
11
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Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services 58 (2021) 102265

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services

A cross cultural study of gender differences in omnichannel

1. Introduction simultaneous use of accessible distribution channels, regardless of the

Fig. 1. The gender-based shopping mall omnichannel experience (GSOE) model.

4.2. Measurements 5.1. Samples characteristics

Aesthetics .998 .829 .865 .892 .926 .757

H1 SE - > BI 0.000 5.307 0.000 1.984 0.053 Partially supported

H1 SE - > BI 0.050 5.032 0.000 2.137 0.000 Partially supported

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