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To what extend are shopping malls less attractive in Germany compared to the US?

Black Friday is the perfect day to buy your favorite pieces for a better price. While it‘s freezing outside, the warmed-up shopping mall invites you to loiter in its impressive halls. Wherever you go, there is something new to explore. Whatever you lay your eyes on, is there to admire. Then, of course, you would argue about all the people gathered in this colossal building, wondering what they are up to. Teenagers eat at McDonald‘s while parents wait for their children to finish playing in the amusement section. Next to you is an elderly couple sitting on a bench and appreciating the glass ceiling decorated with Christmas lights. You on the other hand are heading to your favorite shop to purchase the heavily discounted coat of your dreams. All in all, a perfectly coordinated place in which everything has its own value. 

 

 

This scene could have occurred in Bloomington, specifically in the largest shopping mall of the United States of America. It could have also taken place in the capital city of Germany, Berlin. While you would find shopping malls almost everywhere in the United States, In Germany, they are not as widespread. Facts show that in Germany, shopping malls are built less than in the United States. Therefore, the question of why there is such a drastic difference arises. 

 

This article will compare and contrast why shopping malls aren’t as attractive for Germans. First, we will examine cultural aspects. Secondly, we will look at the location of shopping malls in Germany and the United States. Moreover, the attitudes of German and American consumers will be examined as well. Lastly, we will investigate whether this assumption is valid with the help of a survey we conducted.

 

Cultural aspects 

Germans prefer downtown over malls, while Americans like going to malls.Although Germany and the United States of America are not considered crucially unconnected, they still have some cultural differences. For example, most cities in Germany have a distinct city center, also referred to as downtown. There, you‘ll find many shops, bars, and restaurants. However, the capital city of Berlin, for instance, doesn‘t only have one downtown but two dedicated to the former east and west side of the town. Generally speaking, downtowns in Germany are the key to each city where people can gather, stroll out, and socialize.

Methodology and Data 

As the research topic/guiding question does not offer much in terms of secondary sources a survey including central questions which will be used as a reference point in the following main paragraph. In total, 4 questions were constructed which could be answered with yes or no, sometimes more elaborated and sometimes with an added third option whenever a more specific answer was needed for the question. The questions listed were the central survey questions: (1) Do you like going to shopping malls?,(2) Would you go for dinner at the mall?, (3) Would you like to have more shopping malls in your surroundings?, (4) Do you prefer downtown over shopping malls?. The last two questions, question (3) & (4) were the three-option questions. The reason for the third option for question (3) was the assumption that shopping malls, due to their presumed unpopular status in Germany, will not necessarily elicit a particular opinion among the respondents, which is why the option I don't care was added next to yes and no. The thought process for the last question was that there will most likely be those who cannot decide whether they like downtown or malls more, which is why the option I like both was ultimately added in order to avoid receiving a compulsory answer. After completing the survey, the link was forwarded via email and social media to various groups in order to have a broad number of participants and not just a particular group such as only students. After a period of 2 weeks, the results of the survey were evaluated and summarized.

 

The results were as follows:

Do you like going to shopping malls?  

→ 46x Yes (88.5%), 6x No (11.5%)

Would you go for dinner at the mall? (e.g. date)

→ 31x Yes, why not? (59,26%), 21x No (40,74%)

Would you like to have more shopping malls in your surroundings?

→ 29x yes (55,77%), 12x no (23,08%), 11x I, don’t care (21,15%). 

Do you prefer downtown over shopping malls?

→ 21x Yes, i like to stroll out ( 40, 38%), 22x I like both ways of shopping (42,3%), 9x No, i prefer everything in one place (17,3%)

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Since the survey will be a part of the main paragraph, the results will remain as they are and will be elaborated on in the subsequent section. 

Unlike the United States, where shopping malls are the places most people, especially teenagers, go to get together. Downtowns nowadays are empty and rather dangerous. 

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 But is this the only reason shopping malls are less attractive to Germans than Americans? To answer this question, it is necessary to look at the facts. According to Statistica, in 2017, around 116,000 shopping malls were spread across the United States compared to 1970, with only 30,000 shopping malls. On the contrary, Germany counted 493 shopping malls in 2022, and only two in 1965. Due to this high number of malls, Americans are less interested in downtowns as shopping malls are reached quickly and unite everything in one place. Dining in malls is very common in the United States, whereas Germans prefer more elegant restaurants that are also found in the lively city center. Given these points, German shopping malls aren‘t as widespread because Germany's downtowns are still lively, offering a wide range of shopping and dining possibilities.

Location

Shopping malls are located all over the United States, while in Germany, they are centered in the downtown area.

 

What does it take to build a shopping mall in Germany, and how are the procedures different from the ones in the United States? This question is essential for investigating why shopping malls aren‘t as widespread in Germany. Building a shopping mall requires many considerations. In Germany, local communities decide whether or not to build malls whereas in the United States, private developers have the authority to build one. While private developers can afford to build a mall in America, the process is not as it is in Germany.  

Firstly, the local district has to be aware of the existing number of shopping malls in a city. Secondly, the community determines if the supply and demand are balanced and what can be added to something missing in an existing shopping mall. Most important, however, is the location of a shopping mall. Shopping malls can be either located in the city‘s rural area or in the city center. The question of where to build a shopping mall is tied to a city‘s scape, structure and population. 

 

If a community decides to build a shopping mall in rural areas, traffic connections must allow people to reach the mall. Germans use more public transportation than Americans, so they need more shopping malls in the city center as they can reach them more easily. That‘s why most shopping malls in Germany are located downtown. Americans, on the other hand, are a car dependent society, so the location matters less to them. Consequently, many shopping malls in the United States are located in rural areas. 

 

Moreover, the target audience is also essential when picking a location. Rural areas require different retail services that city centers, for instance. Furthermore, demographic evolution is something that can be used to decide whether a new shopping mall is beneficial or not. All in all, for German shopping malls to be built, many bureaucratic procedures have to be fulfilled first. The whole local community is involved, while in the United States, a private developer with the proper budget is enough to build a in a suitable area.

Attitudes towards shopping

People's attitude towards malls is determined by their view of shopping or spending time in malls in particular. The general assumption is that people from Germany see malls as something less prestigious, while for Americans it is part of their daily lives. America is mostly associated with the term consumer culture, however one cannot claim the same about Germany. America is living in a fast culture when it comes to fashion and food in particular whereas this way of living is not part of German life.

Fast food chains originated in America which is why the shopping malls are not only filled with fast food chains but they are also popular among Americans. In contrast to this fast food culture, Germany has far fewer fast food chains although some are also prominent in Germany and mostly part of big malls as well with a whole food area like in the malls CENTRO in Oberhausen or in the Europagalerie in Saarbrücken. Nevertheless, those are mostly only utilized when one goes shopping and grabs food afterwards or in between. These chains are rarely considered as a dining place in Germany while in America it is quite common to dine in a mall.

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Another significant difference that could function as an explanation for the less popular status of malls in Germany is that Germans are more or less known for the principle “less is more” whereas Americans are known for being over the top in many aspects. The big malls with plenty of shops and entertainment possibilities is nothing that excites Germans as they are more subtle and simple in that sense while Americans are perceived as liking everything overdramatic and extravagant. This point also applies to the food factor as it´s the quality that keeps Germans away from dining in malls.

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This goes to show that malls for Germans are rather an experience that is liked but not something that needs to be part of their lives all the time.

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Another very important point in terms of attitudes towards shopping is the fact that Americans are used to going shopping at all times during the day. Be it day or night, Americans are seen in shops throughout the whole day which in Germany is not at all common. The major reason for that are the opening hours. After 8pm you will not be able to find any big shops open in Germany. There are some shops open until 9 when they are located in bigger cities or they are open on a special day but it is not at all usual. In America on the contrary, many shops are open longer and on holidays too which is due to the fact that the society has a different attitude towards shopping. This can also be one of the reasons why there are so few malls in Germany and why the attitude towards malls is so different, as shopping as such has a relatively different and smaller role in Germany than in America.

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Overall, the points above show that the attitudes towards shopping are indeed very different in Germany and America and can therefore be used as an argument to answer the guiding question.

Survey Results

As the survey could only be conducted in Germany, the results were not directly included in the main body parts above, therefore we will look at the results in the following part and compare the results with the assumptions we as the researchers had. Firstly, when we created the question (1) Who likes going to shopping malls, we expected the majority to say no; however; it was the other way around with a clear result of 88.5% to 11.5%, which goes to show that our assumption was not fully correct as there are indeed a lot of people who like going to malls and only 6/52 said no.

The same occurred with the second question where we expected the majority to say no to dine in a mall as we ourselves have not heard about people going for a date in a mall. 31/52 answered the question with yes while only 21/52 said no. Nevertheless, we had the perception that some of the questioned participants did not understand the question fully and might have given a false answer but still it cannot be proven so we will accept the results.

Question (3) and (4) were answered as we anticipated as it seemed the most logical to us to answer the question with either yes or I don’t care as most people would love to have a mall nearby rather than only in the CBD. Equally for question (4) from a German point of view, it was very clear that the majority was going to answer in favor of strolling out rather than having everything in the same place as we are not used to malls like Americans.

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Overall, the answers demonstrate that malls are also liked in Germany and maybe also liked as a place to have dinner at. Furthermore, most of the participants answered in favor of shopping malls but at the same time also indicated liking strolling out in downtown areas more than only in a mall.

As we can see, the results of the survey are all over the place supporting but also opposing the statement from above. In the conclusion, a better summary and result using all evidence will be given.

For these reasons mentioned above, shopping malls are less widespread in Germany than in the United States. Firstly, cultural aspects play a significant role in the establishment of a “mall culture.“ On the one hand, Germany's city center is still lively compared to the downtown in the US. On the other hand, Germans still enjoy both ways of shopping, as shown in our survey. Surprisingly, most participants were positive about shopping in a mall, with 88.5% to 11.5%. While we assumed that most participants don’t like shopping malls, the opposite was proven. Therefore, the survey opposes the statement that shopping malls are less attractive to Germans. 

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Nonetheless, shopping malls are less widespread in Germany compared to the United States.

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Sources: 

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  • Dijksterhuis, A. and Smith, P.K., “The unconscious consumer: effects of environment on consumer behavior”, Journal of Consumer Psychology, Vol. 15 No. 3 (2005): 193-202

 

 

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  • Mitchell Schwarzer, “Downtown: A Short History of American Urban Exceptionalism,” Places Journal, February 2016. https://doi.org/10.22269/160216. Accessed 12 Dec 2022.

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  • Smith, Rachel, et al. "Cross-cultural examination of online shopping behavior: A comparison of Norway, Germany, and the United States." Journal of Business Research 66.3 (2013): 328-335.

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  • Walsh, G., Mitchell, V.W. and Hennig-Thurau, T., “German consumer decision- making styles”, Journal of Consumer Behavior, Vol. 3 No. 4 (2001):  331-346.

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