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February 13, 2004:
Interesting Facts About Shopping Malls II
Interview
with Paco Underhill author of Call
Of The Mall
Mike
Carruthers:
Ever wonder why teenagers love hanging out at shopping malls?
Paco
Underhill:
For somebody that is under 25, the mall is absolutely marvelous
place, because it represents one of their first opportunities
to be themselves in a secure, safe, but adult world
Paco Underhill,
author of the book Call
Of The Mall, says there's also a good reason why you don't
see older people hanging out at the mall.
For somebody
who is over age 40, particularly someone who is male, the mall
represents a totally bogus version of an urban experience, which
they recognize.
You may
have noticed that there are certain types of stores that used
to be at malls that have left.
One of
them is the sporting goods store, try to buy a baseball mitt
in a shopping mall, it's almost impossible. With the exception
of one chain, toys have left the mall. In many cases books have
left the mall, consumer electronics have left the mall. For
many of them, they have found that free standing locations gets
them a better quality of visit, and they get the customer to
commit to a greater amount of time in the store.
And the
music you hear when you go into a mall is carefully chosen.
The music
being piped in is a critical part of the stores identity. The
music can either tell someone they belong, or tell somebody
they don't belong in that store.
At somethingyoushouldknow.net,
I'm Mike Carruthers and that's Something You Should Know.
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