Since the businesses are becoming more consumer driven because of the increasing completion retailing became a kind of science. The location of the store, its offerings and customer service are all parts that should be considered and studied in retailing. Not so long ago malls started to develop in different areas not only in the U.A.E. but around the world. In Dubai, which one of the fastest economically growing city there are several malls some of them are efficient and others aren’t. Due to this growing interest in retailing marketing students are required to develop an understanding of how an effective retail environment looks and feels. Also, they are required to develop an analytical capability to compare different retail environments in their efficiency and effectiveness.
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Earlier this semester we performed a field trip to three malls in Dubai; Mirdif city center, Festival city and Dubai mall. We were required to evaluate each of the malls on a set of criteria that are important in retailing. These criteria included parking efficiency, car accessibility, shop assortment, layout of the mall, empty areas and several others. After evaluating each mall we had to compare the three of them and show the advantages and disadvantages of each one of them. In this paper I will be presenting the evaluations of each mall based on the criteria specified. This field trip helped us connect what we learned in theory with what happens in reality. Also, having a colleague walking around with me in the mall helped me discuss some of the observations.
Car accessibility towards the mall:-
This criterion discusses how easy it is for the shoppers to reach the mall, the number of routes available and the complexity of these routes. It is one of the criteria that people take into consideration when visiting malls. Some malls are located in areas where there are several detours and others are located near major high ways with clear signs showing the location of the mall. If the mall was well located and reaching it was easy then more shoppers will come in. if the mall was badly located then shoppers will decide to go to a more convenient mall.
Dubai mall can be accessed through Sheikh zayed road and business bay. The signs on sheikh zayed road are efficient enough to show the location of the mall. In addition there are several routes and bridges that give direct access to the mall parking lots. Also, there a metro station near Burj Khalifa for better access to the mall. Moreover, there is a big number of parking spaces, several bus stops around the mall and there is an area where the shopper can take a taxi.
Festival city can be accessed through four routes from Alramoul Bridge, from business bay, emirates road, and Algarhoud bridge. The business bay route is filled with traffic lights which is a bit inconvenient. However, festival city has got its own roads near the center which provides easier access to the center and out of it.
Car parking efficiency:-
This criterion evaluates the efficiency of the parking spaces. It considers the number of parking spaces, the easiness in which people park and the easiness in which people navigate through the parking area. Also, it considers the parking services offered to customers. This is an important criterion in retailing because if shoppers cannot find a parking they may choose to go another mall. Mirdif city center scored 8, festival city scored 9 and Dubai mall scored 7.
There are more than 7000 parking spaces in Mirdif city center. These spaces are located at different levels P1, P2 and P3. Each parking area has an access to the mall itself. The parking areas are designed in way to provide the shoppers easy access to and out of the mall. Unlike Festival city and Dubai mall the parking areas are not distinguished by names instead each one is named P1, P2 or P3. Similar to the other malls these areas provide access to different parts of the mall. P1 provides access to the western section of the mall, P2 provides access to the southern and eastern section, P3 provides access to the northern section of the mall.
Dubai mall contains several thousand parking spaces on different levels to contain as many shoppers. The main areas are cinema parking, fashion parking and grand parking with parking spaces on different levels. To make it easier for the shoppers to park their car there is a valet parking and a board that shows the number of parking spaces available. Also, there is a machine that provides the shopper with a card that shows where he/she parked. Festival city has valet parking but not electronic boards and electronic cards, instead they have a sensor at each parking. In addition, each parking area has got a color the grand area is red, fashion is blue, and cinema is green. In these parking areas each parking area has a number, as an example all the cars that park in the middle have number 42 parking spaces. Also, each parking area provides access to a different part of the mall the grand parking provides access to the grand atrium and the souk atrium, fashion parking provides faster access to the fountain, and cinema parking provides direct access to the cinema. A major drawback in the design of the parking area in Dubai mall is the signs, the location of the exit and the location of parking spaces. If a shopper is driving through the parking area in Dubai mall whether this shopper is exiting the mall or looking for a parking, this shopper goes through a maze. The shopper can see an empty parking space on the opposite side but the shopper has to go through several turns to reach the spot
Festival city has large parking spaces inside and outside the mall. The parking areas outside the mall provide the shoppers with easier access to and from the mall. Similar to Dubai mall the parking areas are distinguished spice, silk and gold. Each one of those parking areas provides access to different sections of the mall. The spice area provides access to the northern section, gold area provides access to the middle section and the silk area provides access to the southern section. There are out door parking areas for access to Ikea and Hyper panda. Each one of them has a different color spice is red, silk is blue and gold is gold. Each parking space has a sensor that turns red when a car is parked and those sensors are placed above the parking spaces so that they are visible. Dubai mall uses electronic boards to show the available spaces instead of sensors. Also, similar to Dubai mall valet parking is available at the main entrance to the mall. Unlike Dubai mall, there the parking is easy to navigate and the exit is easily found. Also, parking spaces are reached easily without going through a maze.
Efficiency of indoor pedestrian areas:-
This criteria can be defined as the number of shoppers in the mall and how easy it is for those shoppers to walk around in the mall. If the pedestrian areas were designed to be wide and the mall itself had appealing offerings, it will have a better efficiency. Mirdif city center and Dubai mall had a score of 8, and festival city had a score of 6.
In Mirdif city center the pedestrian areas were wide and easy to navigate. In addition there weren’t several kiosks located in the middle of those areas expect for a small area near Carrefour but it probably won’t disturb traffic. In addition, in some of the areas kiosks and booths for different companies were located under the escalators were no pedestrians will walk and these kiosks are noticeable. However, there weren’t several shoppers at the mall, maybe because of the time of the visit or because it was recently opened. When compared to Dubai mall and Festival city we can notice that there are several offerings in both of these malls that attract shoppers more than Mirdif city center.
Unlike Mirdif city center, the main pedestrian areas in Festival city were narrow and filled with kiosks in the middle of the areas which compresses traffic into one narrow area specially on weekends and that is not efficient. Other pedestrian areas that were hard to locate did not include any kiosks and there weren’t any people there. The inner design of the mall was different than the others I visited and it looked good but the narrow pedestrian areas and the way the pedestrian areas were deigned makes the shopper feel that the mall is too big and in fact it isn’t. Despite that, on the weekends the mall is filled with shoppers because it has several coffee shops located on the canal. At the time of the visit, a few were shopping and were sitting in the coffee shops. Dubai mall also faces a huge traffic flow, but the pedestrian areas a wide, so that that is not of a problem to them.
Similar to Mirdif city center, Dubai mall had wide pedestrian areas, wider that the ones in Mirdif city center. There weren’t several kiosks in these areas but some coffee shops had their outdoor area there which creates traffic for the coffee shop and does not disturb traffic because the pedestrian are is very wide. The inner design of the mall did not have a specific theme and the mall contained several turns and areas which gives the shopper the feeling that it is huge. Also, the mall has got several tourist attraction sites such as the fountain and the aquarium. Even at the time I visited the mall which was at 2:00 pm most of the shoppers were concentrated in that area. Also, it was nearly lunch time, so the food court was filled and there weren’t any places for me and my partner to sit.
Overall layout of the mall:-
This criteria discusses the general appeal of the mall, how it looks from the outside and the inside. Well designed malls look more appealing and can attract more shoppers. For this criteria, Mirdif city center scored 9, Dubai mall scored 8, and festival city scored 7.
Mirdif city center was designed similar to a rectangle where every shop is visible and reachable which makes walking around in this mall comfortable although it is big. From the inside the mall had bright colors and sufficient lighting which brings out the color. There is an area in front of the main gate were palm trees are planted in the middle with small fountains in some parts. I believe that this adds an atmosphere of comfort to the shopper. In addition, the mall stands out compared to the other establishments in the area because of its size and design.
On the other hand, Dubai mall is designed similarly to Mirdif city center but the way the areas are divided and because the mall is huge, it can take shoppers a whole day to walk around the mall. Similar to Mirdif city center, there were bright colors inside the mall and the way it is lighted reflects those colors and gives the shopper a good feeling. There were other areas that had different designs like the aquarium area that had a ceiling with shiny dots that looks like stars. Also, there is an area near Galleria Lafayette were the area looks like an alley in a European country. In addition, there is a separate entity that follows the mall called souk al bahar that has a unique design that reflects the traditional Arabian souk. I think that the shoppers enjoy those different designs.
When comparing Festival city to Dubai mall and Mirdif city center, it has a different layout and inner design. Festival city was different, this mall had a theme but I couldn’t identify it, most probably it was related to the Arab culture or history. Unlike the previously mentioned malls, this one was inefficiently designed, the mall isn’t too big but the length of the pedestrian areas and the location of others makes the shopper feel that it is large. On the inside, dark colors dominate the pedestrian areas and the lighting gives brightness to these colors but the colors are different than the other malls. In the section where IKEA and Hyper panda are located the inner design is different as it is much brighter with bright colors.
Empty spaces/ vacuum areas within the mall:-
This criteria refers to the places that are hardly accessible by the shoppers or hidden areas that the shoppers cannot find. If a shopping mall contained several vacuum areas then its design is inefficient and the shops in those areas are badly located. Even if these shops are destination stores it won’t be easy for the shoppers to reach them. For this criteria Mirdif city center scored 9, Dubai mall scored 8, and festival city scored 7.
Mirdif city center was efficiently designed and I did not locate several empty or vacuum areas inside the mall expect for one in an area opposite to fitness first where a spa and a health center were located. Those two are maybe destination stores because they are the only ones available but they should have made them more visible to the shoppers. There weren’t several shoppers in the mall at the time I visited so I could identify some areas as being vacuum or not. However, all the shops were visible and most of them can be accessed. Most of the shoppers where sitting in coffee shops probably because the time of the visit was early in the morning.
In Dubai mall there were several shoppers in some areas and in others there weren’t any although some of them were big. The gold souk is an empty area because of its location, the shop is located in the middle of other shops that sell garments and its not noticeable. Another area was on the right of Galleria Laffayette, in this area some of the shops on one side were open on the main pedestrian area but on the other side there are shops that nobody notices. The area was empty except for some coffee shops that viewed the world cup game. In addition, there weren’t any shoppers in souk al bahar although it had an appealing look. As I noticed from the several visits to Dubai mall shoppers go to the fountain, the coffee shops beside the fountain, the aquarium and the food court. This is where all the traffic was located.
In festival city there were two areas that were completely isolated and in one of them the fashion store Kelvin Klein was located. Even if Kelvin Klein is a destination store these areas are hard to be found. There were several turns that lead to different almost hidden areas in the mall but some of them were not completely dead. Also, there is an area that is accessed through a bridge on the canal in which some cafes like orchestra are located. In this area the cafes are full especially on weekends but there are shops that sell rugs and they are always empty. I’ve been to that area several times at different times of the day and those shops are always empty. Even on weekends all the shoppers are in the canal, the food court or the cinema.
Shop assortments:-
This criteria discusses the number of shops available at the mall and the different kinds of shops. Basically, the larger the assortment the more shoppers the mall will attract. A trend that is noticeable in most of the shopping malls is that all of them contain several clothing stores. Mirdif city center and Dubai mall scored 8, and Festival city scored 9.
Like most of the malls, Mirdif city center had a wide assortment of clothing stores in addition to other stores that sold electrical appliances, jewelry and confectionaries. Unfortunately, in some areas the shops were not organized, in one area there were several clothing stores on both sides and suddenly there was an optics store in the middle. Also, Patchi which is a confectionary store was located in the middle of an area were the electrical appliances shops were located. Also, Jewelry stores were located at different locations in the mall. At the same time, there were some well organized areas; there was an area where there were several kids clothing stores located. The other two malls were more organized probable because they have existed for a longer time.
Dubai mall was more organized that Mirdif city center but probably because Mirdif city center was recently opened. The thing that drew my attention was the area where Armani is located, the luxury stores are in one area located in two stories. There were some discrepancies; some areas had different kinds of stores all in one place. The shop assortment in Dubai mall is more than needed; I believe that they stuffed the mall with these shops while they could have used parts of the mall for different purposes. The way the shops are organized in this mall makes it easier for the customers to shop but I had the feeling that the mall owners just wanted to fill the mall with shops. From my point of view, there was an unnecessary wide assortment of shops in Dubai mall, Festival city and Mirdif city center had a similar assortment but a much lesser number of shops.
Similar to the shop organization in Dubai mall is Festival city were the shops are well organized. Also, there is a wide assortment of stores like clothing, jewelry and confectionary. The place where IKEA is located was a different part of the mall, the shops were located everywhere without a particular organization. The shop assortment in Festival city was similar to Mirdif city center but more organized.
Security and safety for customers:-
This is an important criterion for shopper since every shopper needs to feel safe and protected while shopping. Although robbery is not a common incident in the malls in Dubai, certain acts by the teenagers who visit the mall need to be controlled. Also, there are undercover intelligence personnel to control these acts and protect the customers. These personnel are found in every mall in Dubai and their number is determined by the amount of traffic in a mall. As an example, on weekends you find several of these personnel walking around in Dubai mall, mall of the Emirates and others.
In Mirdif city center and Dubai mall there were several security members at different locations. However, in festival city I didn’t notice several security guards but there were security cameras just like Dubai mall. In addition, each shop has got a theft detector at the entrance in case someone decides to steal which doesn’t happen often. Also, in every mall in the U.A.E. specially the crowded ones like Dubai mall there are undercover police officers who ensure that the shoppers are safe. In addition, our instructor informed us not to talk notes while walking in the mall because it may raise suspicion. Regarding emergencies I am not sure about the preparations at Merdif city center and Festival city. However, in Dubai mall when the aquarium broke and started leaking they contained the situation effectively and efficiently, they had a specialized team to fix the aquarium.
Prayer room:-
Since we live in a Islamic country several Muslims visit shopping malls. Each mall should have a number of prayer rooms located at convenient places for the shoppers. Although this is not a criterion for most of the shoppers to consider when visiting malls it has to be discussed. Dubai mall scored 9, festival city scored 8 and Mirdif city center scored 7. The prayer rooms are almost the same in most of the shopping malls, there is a place for wodou’ and sometimes there is a toilet, and there is a rack where the shoes are put. The difference is in the number of these rooms and their locations.
In Mirdif city center there was one prayer room located in the second floor near E-max. On the contrary, in Festival city there were five prayer rooms located at different places in the mall which is more efficient. One is located in Ikea, another near Hyper panda, one in the south oval court and another in the north oval court. In this mall the prayer rooms are located at different convenient locations. The shoppers can have access to a prayer room at different places in the mall.
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Similar to festival city, Dubai mall had prayer rooms located at each floor. In addition, the prayer rooms are separate for men and women at each level. The difference between Dubai mall and festival city is that the prayer rooms’ locations were more scattered than in festival city. Also, it is easier to locate the prayer rooms in Dubai mall than in festival city.
Directions within the mall:-
This criterion evaluates the effectiveness of how the mall provides the shoppers with proper directions. It includes the signs in different areas of the mall, mal guides and location map boards. Mirdif city center and Dubai mall scored 8, while festival city scored 7.
Mirdif city center has a simple design, during my visit I found my way easily and the signs were efficient because of the efficient design. Also, the mall guide contains a simple map with the location of each store and entity in the mall. In addition there were location map boards with simple maps at different places. Furthermore, there were information desks at different locations.
On the other hand, Dubai mall was too large and the signs were not efficient enough to lead the shopper to where he/she wants to go. As an example, if a shopper wants to go to the fountain from the other end of the mall on the second level he/she have to ask for directions because the signs can be misleading. However, the mall guide is very simple and the names of the different sections of the mall written on the actual map for easier directions. However, the reader must discover by his own that each square on the map represents a shop, as an example square number f5 in the lower ground level refers to Aptic mobile. In addition to the several information desks at different places in the mall, Dubai mall is quite efficient in terms of providing directions.
Un fortunately, in festival city the signs are not very reliable and can be misleading probably because of the strange design of the mall that makes shoppers lose their way easily. Also the mall guide is a little confusing, there are not many information desks and on weekends they are always crowded.
Toilets:-
This criterion discusses the number, location and the availability of toilets at the malls. Mirdif city center scored 8, Dubai mall scored 9, and Festival city scored 7.
The toilets were located at the entrances to the mall in Mirdif city center, except for the toilets in the food courts. There are 7 toilets on the first level one of them is in the north food court. In the ground level there are 6 toilets at the entrances only. None of the toilets were found in the pedestrian areas but the locations aren’t efficient enough. Overall, there are several toilets and they are easily located.
In Dubai mall there are several washrooms on each level in convenient locations. There are toilets in the food courts and pedestrian areas. In festival city, the toilets are few and hard to locate but they are found at convenient locations such as the food court and the main pedestrian area. In the three malls the toilets were clean and well maintained.
Customer service/information counters:-
Usually, when shopper visit a mall they have queries or questions about directions, offers, shops and services in the mall. That is why it is important that a mall has an enough number of these desks with clerks who are trained to deal with customers. Dubai mall scored 9, Mirdif city center scored 8, and festival city scored 7.
In Mirdif city center there were information counters at different locations. The clerks there are friendly and provide customers with full information about any queries even on the phone. When I arrived at the mall I went to the information desk to ask for the directions to Starbucks. When I asked for directions she showed me the exact location. There was a man asking about a gift voucher and the clerk was very efficient when providing him with information.
In Dubai mall there are numerous information desks at different locations more than Mirdif city center. It is similar to Mirdif city in a sense that they provide people with the same information whether it is about directions or gift vouchers. The information desks are located at vital areas, there are two near the ice rink, one not too far from the aquarium and one near the cinemas. Other information desks are located at the grand atrium, star atrium and other locations. The ground floor has the largest number of information desks.
Unlike Dubai mall and Mirdif city center, Festival city did not have as many information desks, I think they have two only. The information desk on the first level near Paris gallery is always crowded and the other one is on the other side of the mall near Ikea. Just like the other two malls the clerks are friendly and provide customers with all information needed.
Entertainment offer:-
This criterion measures the number and uniqueness of the entertainment offerings at the malls. This is an important criterion for most of the families who want to visit the mall. The more entertainment the mall offers the more shoppers it gets. Dubai mall has the best offers that is why it is always crowded. Dubai mall scored 9, Dubai mall scored 9, Mirdif city center and festival city scored 8.
Mirdif city center had different entertainment offers but it was different from the other malls and did not offer something unique like the fountain in Dubai mall or momento in Festival city. In this mall they had play areas only, Magic Planet, Play nation and an area called aqua play in the north food court. Also, there is a cinema in the first floor. Play nation had different offerings from the other malls. However, these offerings are better suited for children.
Dubai mall has entertainment offerings suited for both adults and children. There is a huge aquarium, Ice rink, Sega Republic, underwater zoo kidzania and reel cinema. What differentiates this mall from the other malls is the huge aquarium and kidzania. People can go to the aquarium and watch different kinds of fish from the outside for free or they pay fees to watch these fish swimming around them in a tunnel. In kidzania, children have their own world, they ask the child what he/she wants to work then give the child fake money to buy daily needs with it just like an adult. This is one unique offering that most of the families like. There is nothing special about the ice rink except that Dubai mall is the only mall with an ice rink inside. It is better than Mirdif city center because of the different and unique offerings that are suited for adults and children.
In festival city there aren’t many entertainment offerings, there is momento, boat ride on the canal, a family entertainment center and a movie theater. Compared to the other malls, it is better than Mirdif city center because it has momento for adults but not as good as Dubai mall and Mirdif city center in the entertainment for kids.
ATMs:-
The ATM machines are very important to be found in malls since people use them to draw cash. They have to be located at different areas and near vital ones such as food courts. Mirdif city center and Dubai mall had a score of 8, festival city had a score of 7.
In Mirdif city there are 10 ATM machines available at the entrances to the mall. In the first level there are 10 ATM machines as well at each entrance. Since the north food court and the play areas are located near the entrances the ATM machines are close to those areas and the location of the ATMs is shown in the mall guide. Also, there are branches for two banks, Abu Dhabi bank and Emirates Dubai bank. Festival city has several ATM machines in different areas inside the mall.
In Dubai mall there were several ATM machines as well in different areas but their locations were not shown in the mall guide. The ones that I was able to see are the ATM near Reel cinema and the ones located in the parking lots entrances to the mall. These machines belonged to several banks such as HSBC and Dubai Islamic Bank.
In festival city, the machines were located in different areas near Ikea and Hyper panda and near the food court. The location of the ATM machines was shown in the mall guide map for easier directions. Similar to the other two malls they belonged to different banks. The difference between this mall and the others is the fewer number of ATM machines but they were easily located.
Food courts:-
This is another criterion for families to consider when visiting a mall. They consider the number of food courts available at a mall and the variety of restaurants it has. Usually, after a long day of shopping or running after the kids parent are too tired to go home to cook. Also, going out to eat is considered entertaining since it is different than home. That is why each mall needs to have a number and variety of restaurants and cuisines for its shoppers. Dubai mall scored 9, festival city and Mirdif city center scored 8 for this criteria.
Mirdif city center offers a wide range of assortment when it comes to food for its shoppers. There are two food courts each one with different restaurants. The north food court has the Chinese palace, Pizza Hut, KFC and several others that serve fast food, Chinese and Arabian food. The other south food court has Panda, Taco Bell, Somo and other restaurants. The problem is that the two are located on one side of the mall, north and south, so what if a family wants restraints that exist in both. Other than the food courts there are restaurants located at some entrance to the mall like Tony Romas that is located at the main entrance. Unlike Festival city and Dubai mall, Mirdif city center does not have an outdoor dining area but has almost the same variety of restaurants.
Dubai mall has a wide variety of restaurants located at the food courts and different areas of the mall. There is a food court in the lower ground level and a large one in the second level unlike Mirdif city center that has the two courts on one level. Both courts have outdoor areas so that people can enjoy the weather in the winter. The food court in the lower ground level is located near star atrium and the one in the second level is located near Reel cinema. Other restaurants are available in different areas of the mall especially in the lower ground level where people can sit in the restaurant to eat or smoke shisha and enjoy the fountain.
In festival city the food courts are located in the first level. These courts offer a variety of restaurants from different countries with an outdoor area similar to Dubai mall. What is different in this mall is that most of the restaurants are located on one level except for some restaurants near the canal. The food courts offer fast food from restaurants like Windeys, Hardees, and KFC. Other varieties include Aracian, Chinese and Indian. One major disadvantage in Festival city is that the pedestrian area in front of the restaurants is very narrow and gets crowded easily.
Coffee shops:-
Coffee shops are becoming the place where people like to spend their time drinking beverages and socializing. Each mall has a number of coffee shops at different locations to attract the shoppers. For this criterion Mirdif city center scored 9, Dubai mall scored 8 and festival city scored 7.
In Mirdif city center there was almost a coffee shop at every corner. The people can shop and drink coffee at anytime anywhere. Also, there was a book shop called borders with a coffee shop included for the shop visitors. Each coffee shop had the same offering but not similar decors. Similar to Dubai mall there are several coffee shops. However, in Mirdif city center none of the coffee shops served shisha and all were similar to Starbucks.
Since Dubai mall is large it has several coffee shops at different locations. Some of the coffee shops included in Dubai mall are Armani coffee shop, café blanc, café Havana and several others. These coffee shop do not vary by their offerings they vary by the atmospheric sense they provide. Armani coffee shop is located in front of Armani store in the middle of an area filled with fashion stores. This provides the shopper with a luxurious feeling, and Caribou coffee is a
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