The hedonic and utilitarian shopping values were adapted from the scale developed by Babin et al (1994) and the seven mall attributes were adapted from the scale used by Ahmed et al (2007). This research aimed to study the influence of hedonic and utilitarian values on consumers’ attitudes towards mall attributes that is, aesthetics, escape, flow, exploration, role-enactment, social and convenience. The smaller cities offer low entry costs as compared with saturated space in the bigger cities ( Dwivedi, 2010). The stagnating growth in metropolitan cities coupled with increased competition among mall operators has prompted retail growth in the smaller cities in India. The cheaper real estate prices in Tier II and III cities offer excellent investment opportunities to set up malls in these areas ( KPMG, 2010). The expansion of mall culture across the country has significantly affected the Indian consumers’ shopping motives. The research has combined two elements: the hedonic and utilitarian shopping values of Indian consumers and its impact on consumers’ attitudes towards malls. Holbrook and Hirschman (1982) propose that in contrast to utilitarian values, some shopping environments can add to the experiential values wherein interaction with product and services can be intrinsically fulfilling. The consumers’ shopping behaviour is a result of integrative elements and the store design and décor enhance the pleasurable components of shopping, improving the utilitarian value of the products ( Baker et al, 2002). Fiore and Kim (2007) suggest that a ‘consumer's shopping experience vacillates between or enmeshes rational and hedonic elements’.

For most consumers shopping implies more than the fulfilment of a task ( Bloch et al, 1986) and provides experiential and non-utilitarian values ( Sheth, 1983 Holbrook and Corfman, 1985 Babin et al, 1994 Buss, 1997 Wakefield and Baker, 1998 Arnold and Reynolds, 2003). They are set to revolutionize the shopping behaviour of consumers and have an impact on their lifestyle. The transition of shopping motives from only utilitarian to more of hedonic or pleasure seeking has been triggered by an exponential growth in the number of malls in India. Babin et al (1994) state that consumers can have multiple shopping motives and the primary motive is termed as utilitarian. The liberalized policies of the Indian government towards retailing and the focus on organized retailing have fuelled a major change in Indian consumers’ shopping behaviour. The traditional retail formats with limited assortments catered to the convenience and utilitarian shopping values.

Hedonic need