Chitralekha Kumar
The pandemic COVID-19 has negatively impacted the retail industry. The shopping malls that were once the popular meeting hubs have now witnessed a steep fall in the foot traffic. The pandemic restrictions were lifted in India after several months of lockdown. The shopping malls were reopened in the state of Maharashtra in the month of September 2020. In this competitive consumer landscape, it becomes imperative for shopping malls to offer safe, hygienic and high-quality services to attract the customers back to their favourite mall. With this background the present study investigates the measures followed by the shopping malls in the Navi Mumbai region.148 customers were included in the study. All of them voluntarily participated in the study and the data was collected in the digital mode. Exploratory and descriptive research designs have been utilized for in-depth identification and analysis of the responses collected from the customers. Inferential statistical tools like Chi-square, correlation and factor analysis were utilized for empirically examining the data. Findings highlighted that the safety and security measures, convenience and social distancing facilities and shopping offers were the three important dimensions that were important to the customers. Nearby locality, sitting options with social distancing, huge Atrium/ open space in the mall, sanitation and hygienic measures, well distanced parking options, freshly cooked hot food and 50% or more discount offers were the most preferred attributes to the customers. The results of the study indicated that COVID-19 has greatly impacted the choice of the customers while visiting their favourite shopping mall.