Executive Summary: Make Pratt Local Vision

The socioeconomic significance of malls is seen through visual culture, where the mall has become a place to meet up with friends and family, on any day of the week – weekends being the busiest. Hence “the mall has become a centre of life, where the most memorable moments, holidays and birthdays are spent, dinners are held all under one roof” (Stokrocki 80). In Toronto the two largest malls I explored were the Toronto Eaton’s Centre and Yorkdale Mall – both of which included over 200 stores, eateries, rainforest cafés, and a movie theatre. However what was evident about these two malls apart from the rest included anti social behaviours despite families being grouped together. Although people were together, the sense of togetherness was plastic just like the manikins of store displays. It appeared as though families were shopping just as an excuse to go out as a “family” even though children, teens and adults would disperse into the stores of their choice and meet up at the end for a takeout meal, contacting each other through their phones. In addition to this observation included the fact that families shopping with other families or family friends were more of an exploitation of social and economic class. People being able to spend at stores like Michael Kors, Coach, Tory Burch, Abercrombie & Fitch, Lululemon, Kate Spade and many more, without worrying about going over budget meant being affluent. What really needs to be questioned is the idea that if these people spend at

Ever wonder why the windows of stores are captivating that give you that desire to purchase their item? According to Malcolm Gladwell’s “The Science of Shopping,” individual named Paco Underhill studies the behavior of millions of American shoppers by looking at statistics and recorded footages inside the stores. Consumer researcher Paco helps increase the income of the retailers by providing a false sense of public space inside a shopping area by tracing the behavior of shoppers through the lens.

Norton, Anne. “The Signs of Shopping.” Signs of Life in the U.S.A.: Readings on Popular

In Anne Norton’s, "The Signs of Shopping", Anne Norton, a Political Science Professor at the University of Pennsylvania determines the ways in which malls, catalogs, and home shopping networks create our sense of “identity”. In the first part of her essay, “Shopping at the mall”, Anne analyzes the ways in which malls and catalogs “tell you who you are by selling you what they want.” Anne first states what she believes the mall was created to be; she believes it was created to be an impulsive gathering place and place of centralized public activity. Anne then goes on to state how she believes the mall has come to exploit the lifestyles and identities of people, especially those of young women. Anne makes the claim that the mall appears to be

The Hudson’s Bay Company is higher end department store that offers high quality items. In Winnipeg, there are 3 locations; one in St. Vital which is known for their middle class shoppers. The second location is the Downtown location which is popular among the downtown workers who shop during their lunch break or after their work day is over. The downtown location was the largest location in Winnipeg, over the past few years, they have begun to diminution the size on their store, slowing decreasing the amount of floors they occupied. The third location is the Polo Park location which is located in an upper class shopping center. All of the three locations serve to a slightly different target market. The location that this paper will focus on is the Polo Park Hudson’s Bay. Polo Park Hudson’s Bay is located in an upper scale shopping mall. The shopping mall includes many upscale shopping stores. Polo Park Hudson’s Bay target is female shoppers with higher incomes. “The majority of our shoppers are females in who live in the River Heights area.”

I noticed the fluorescent green of the leaves of 16th street mall turned to a vomit yellow as my friends and I shopped. Malls have never really been my place to hangout the the obligation that I usually have to speak to people I don’t know very well. Nevertheless, my friends dragged me along for an adventure into the depths of sales at Kohl 's and Macy 's (because who would want to miss out on that, right?). As we sat at the drinking hole known as “the food court”, I saw something I will never

The spatial design of a store may seem like something unimportant, but in it carries the many secrets that get customers coming back. Paco Underhill is a retail anthropologist who’s many strategies to get shoppers to buy more is laid out in Malcom Gladwell’s article The Science Of Shopping. The way in which we walk into a store, look at items, and more are all analyzed to create a perfect shopping experience. By putting Paco’s strategies to use, as well as some of their own, my local Aldi in Hackensack, creates an effective shopping experience.

Pointing and sprinting from store to store, bags in hand and wallet held tight. The sounds of screaming, laughing, and talking fill the space. Cash registers beaming and cards being swiped. There’s just no other place like this; a shopping mall. Today, buying clothes or items of interest is highly popular. All of one’s favorite stores feet away from each other, this ritual is composed of elements that might not seem very evident without looking close enough. At the International Plaza in beautiful Tampa Florida, I conducted observations and my own experiences as well to analysis this ritual as a cultural phenomenon. Through this research, we can understand the true meaning of a shopping mall.

In “Enclosed. Encyclopedic. Endured: The Mall of America” David Gueterson spoke about the idea behind the creation of the Mall and his journey as a reporter inside it. For instance, he talked about how the mall not only intended to attract Minnesotan, but also to appeal to tourist from everywhere. Because of it enormous size and diverse activities, the mall is like the mecca of shoppers. He also mentioned that, Some people got engaged and some even got their marriage ceremony at the mall. After all he described the mall as a success, and the companies behind the mall are even thinking about building similar malls around the world. (161-72). Such marketing strategies stated above are embodied in many businesses today, with the intention not only to bring people in, but also to make them spend money and come back again.

Brick and mortar shopping still exists due to consumer demand and desires. Consumers still enjoy the shopping experience of seeing and touching the merchandise before making a purchase. Also, consumers like mingling and communicating with other shoppers. One can conclude that shopping at a brick and mortar business on the weekends or holidays remains part of the American past time. Nontraditional channels have given marketers multiple ways to sale and advertise several products at once (Ferrell & Hartline, 2014, p. 178). What seems to hurt most brick and mortar businesses in small towns is mega stores like a Super Walmart. These types of stores immediately dominate and take a market share of a small town’s business by offering multiple products for less value.

The existence of our business motivates the youth in the community to be all they can be!

National brands like Target, Trader Joes and Office Depot have their found their niches in the area. And more than 1300 private enterprise businesses are part of this urban community environment, offering after work and weekend events with several amenities and commuting options for local and suburban residents.

Throughout the last decade, malls have consciously begun the trend of failing. Mark Dery’s Dawn of the Dead Mall was written in hopes of persuading change in the environment f malls. By making changes, malls will hopefully begin to thrive once again. Malls, to most, are the best places in America. They “have provided an architecture of elegance and pleasure” (Dery, 2012, p. 3). Creating new malls with an aesthetic appeal, yet still containing the architect many love, would improve the amount of dead malls compared to thriving malls. Dery includes the opinions and ideas of others to further validate his thesis.

In the case of the Camberwell shopping strip, the bargaining power of buyers is medium/low. Our analysis found the streets to be busy with customers, even on weekdays and the car parks remained full throughout the day and night. Without doubt, it is a popular area for shoppers.

'We will create profitable conditions where everyone can, with dignity, be what they want to be: where integrity, empathy and fun are our guides. We will create and cherish a