Mall Environment and Mall Value as Antecedents of Customer Loyalty in Shopping Malls: Evidence from Sub-Saharan Africa

Abstract

Shopping malls contribute significantly to a nation’s economic activities, as demonstrated by the significant investment in sub-Saharan Africa’s retail industry. The impact of shopping malls on communities’ socio-economic conditions cannot be overlooked, as they have implications for employment opportunities, national income, and infrastructure development. However, as the number of malls in urban areas increases, it is important for retail operators to understand the factors that attract and sustain customer loyalty. This study adopts a regression analysis approach to identify the factors influencing customer loyalty in shopping malls. Mall environment and mall values were used as predictors of customer loyalty. The study was conducted in Lagos State, Nigeria, due to the prevalence of shopping malls and the nature of the urban settlement. A survey of 300 respondents was conducted, with 277 responses found usable. The findings indicate that the mall value has a significant positive effect on customer loyalty, but the mall environment does not. However, there is a significant and positive joint effect of both the mall value and mall environment on customer loyalty. Additionally, the study finds that age plays a major role in mediating these predictive relationships. The practical implication for shopping mall investors and operators in Africa’s retail market is provided.

1. Introduction

The changing socio-economic environment and the increasing democratisation of choices necessitate that businesses should consistently commit to value creation [1,2,3]. According to [1], customers are likely to be loyal to malls that offer value through an enhanced shopping environment, which increases satisfaction and culminates in continuous patronage. Specifically, customer satisfaction and loyalty are regarded as outcomes of valuable experiences in shopping malls [1,4,5,6]. Customer loyalty has attracted much attention because of its implication on business success and consumers’ re-purchase intention [7,8,9,10,11]. Customer loyalty is also germane for organisations because of its implication in increasing profits, creating a positive brand image, and sustaining a competitive advantage [12,13]. In the retail sector, shopping malls provide organised services to customers [1]. In the context of this study, customer loyalty is conceptualised as a customer’s tendency to continue shopping with a mall, a willingness not to change, and an interest in recommending the same to others. In understanding what attracts customers to malls, factors such as the availability of the latest commodities, discount prices, and well-known brands are predicted to have significant effects on purchase preference [14]. Despite the contributions of literature to understanding the factors that influence consumer preference for shopping malls, there has been a paucity of studies on emerging and developing economies of sub-Saharan Africa.

In Africa, retail dominates as the preferred mode of transaction, with the top 25 listed retailers contributing to an estimated 5.4% of the USD 823.2 billion market size [15]. Sub-Saharan Africa has attracted more investment from local and international retailers owing to the performance of shopping malls. Among the top 25 retailing organisations, Ghana and Nigeria are the two countries represented in Western Africa, and there has been an increasing rate of retail malls.

Indeed, retailing through shopping malls has contributed to the economic growth of sub-Saharan African nations and could be enhanced through consumers’ continuous purchases and re-purchase. However, there has also been tremendous growth in e-retailing [6,16], which poses a threat to the continuous growth of offline retail malls. Nigeria accounts for a high percentage of offline retail contributions to its economy, and the changing trend towards online purchases is expected to significantly affect offline retailing [15]. Therefore, it is expedient that the essential factors that will sustain the continuous purchase of goods in shopping malls are identified. Some of these factors have been tested in studies conducted in the United Arab Emirates [1], the United States [7] and China [9], but not in multi-cultural sub-Saharan nations, such as Nigeria. Hence, this study utilises the instrument designed by [1], which examines the shopping environment, the customer’s perceived value and loyalty to determine the basic factors that influence the purchase preference of customers for shopping malls.

This study extends the frontiers of knowledge on factors that influence customers’ mall purchases based on the [1] scale of a multi-ethnic society. It assesses the probable contextual implication of the result of this study. It also provides practical strategies to sustain customers’ purchases in shopping malls in a multi-ethnic society. The multi-ethnic dimension is introduced based on studies such as [16,17,18,19,20], which found that consumer values influence purchase behaviour. These studies were conducted outside the sub-Saharan context. In the current study, more dimensions of the factors that influence customer loyalty are explored. The research questions are stated as follows:

• How does the mall environment influence customer loyalty?
• How does mall value influence customer loyalty?
• How do mall environment and mall value jointly influence customer loyalty?

In the subsequent sections of this paper, we explored the factors that determine customer purchase preferences from the available literature, after which we reviewed the literature on the customers’ perceptions of value in shopping malls. A methodological framework that guides the study was also presented, followed by the results and discussion of the findings. Lastly, we highlighted the implication of the findings for managers, followed by the conclusion and suggestions for future research.

2. Literature Review

2.1. Customer Purchase Preference

In today’s world, it is more challenging for marketers and business organisations to understand the basic needs of their customers due to the continuously changing trends in taste, fashion, and the introduction of new products and services [20,21]. However, the best way to understand the market’s diverse needs is through generational cohort analysis, which has been found to predict purchases and the choice of purchase. Ref. [22] found that millennial consumers are more prone to impulsive purchases and have an attitude of “want it all and want it now”. In [22], a study titled “Millennial (Gen Y) consumer behaviour, their shopping preferences and perceptual maps associated with brand loyalty”, variables such as price, trend, attachment to a brand (loyalty), prestige, brand, fit, quality, recommendation, advertisement, ambience, availability, variety, and service were used to examine consumers’ purchase preferences and loyalty. The study found that price, recommendation, ambience, and availability influenced customers’ purchase preferences among all generational cohorts. However, Generation Y is more influenced by trends and social media. Their prestige is tied to the purchase of trending goods and services. The study ascertained that those of Generation Y trust a recommendation from social media more than real friends.

Additionally, Ref. [23] conducted a study on consumer preference and consumption towards fast food in Malaysia and found that the preference for fast food is stimulated primarily by food taste, food safety, and the speed of delivery, while freshness, quality, cleanliness, and ease of cooking were secondary factors. Similarly, Ref. [24] examined the factors that contribute to brand preferences and found brand identity, personality, and image with self-image congruence to have a higher impact on a customer’s preference. Ref. [6] also found that customer perception of overall service quality based on service experience is a determinant of customer loyalty. The authors identified the relationship between the service provider and the customer as the most influential factor determining loyalty.

Furthermore, Ref. [25] observed that corporate social responsibility from the organisation also stimulates customers’ loyalty to the organisation. Corporate social responsibility (CSR) was categorised into CSR to the environment, CSR to the society, and CSR to the stakeholders. CSR to the stakeholders was found to have a more significant effect on brand preference and customer loyalty. In contrast, brand quality was found to mediate the relationship between CSR and customer loyalty. Furthermore, the findings of [26] indicated that a customer’s perceived value, customer knowledge, and celebrity endorsement determine consumer purchase attitudes and intentions. The findings from these studies have shown that the focus had been on the product purchase in terms of the quality it offers, satisfaction, social relations, values of the customers, and the benefits derived from the purchase.

The changing dynamics of the consumer market, from offline retailing to online sales [27], require that the scope of what influences customer purchase and loyalty is understood, particularly in a region with a high dependence on retailing. Shopping malls are part of the institutional frameworks in urban centres in sub-Saharan Africa. They account for a 1.5 trillion-naira investment in the Nigerian market, with investors spending billions of naira on the infrastructure and design of their malls [28]. This substantial capital investment raises the question of the significance of the mall environment to customers’ purchase preferences and loyalty in sub-Saharan Africa. To this end, the next section presents extant literature on the mall environment, value creation and customer loyalty.

2.2. Customer Perception of Value in Shopping Malls and Outcomes

Traditional brick-and-mortar retailing is gradually transforming as society evolves in terms of taste, fashion, and wants and needs [7]. With the high rate of technological innovations, the retail market has become more competitive, with most customers seeking convenience and quality simultaneously [23,29]. Specifically, technological innovation has enhanced e-retailing, diminishing the relevance of conventional physical malls [7,30]. Despite numerous studies, such as [1,5,7,14,31,32], there is a lack of consensus in the findings. Hence, there is a need to investigate further the changing dynamics of customer patronage in shopping malls. From the outcomes of numerous studies, the factors that attract and enhance continuous customer patronage in shopping malls are presented in

Table 1. Factors that influence continuous patronage in shopping malls.

S/N	Author and Year	Title	The Determinant of Mall Preference
1	[33]	Entertaining shopping experiences: an exploratory investigation.	Customer and retail factors determine the shopping experience. Customer factors include social, time, task, financial resources, and involvement, while retail factors are selection, prices, store environment, and salespeople. Customer factors had more impact than retail factors.
2	[34]	The influence of multiple store environment cues on perceived merchandise value and patronage intentions	Store environment influences patronage intentions.
3	[31]	Why do people choose shopping malls? The attraction theory revisited.	Product assortment, salespeople professionalism, communication from shop to shop, parking and opening hours (evening and weekend) were discovered to influence customers’ choice of shopping malls.
4	[35]	Consumer culture theory (CCT): twenty years of research	Consumers’ lives are constructed around multiple realities
5	[36]	Hedonic and utilitarian shopper types evolved and created retail agglomerations.	The hedonist makes more shopping trips, stays longer, and visits more stores than the utilitarian, depending on the agglomeration format.
6	[37]	Shopping streets versus shopping malls—determinants of agglomeration format attractiveness from the consumers’ point of view.	Atmosphere, retail tenant mix, accessibility, non-retail tenant mix.
7	[38]	The effect of store image and service quality on brand image and purchase intention for private label brand	Store image has a direct and positive effect on the purchase intention of consumers towards the private label brand.
8	[39]	Urban place marketing and retail agglomeration customers	Retail tenant mix, merchandise value, and the atmosphere influence consumer purchase.
9	[40]	Main street retail districts or shopping centres? Comparing the preferences of low-income consumers.	Stronger patronage intention for street shopping districts, while higher satisfaction exists for shopping centres.
10	[41]	Shopping well-being at the mall: construct antecedents and consequences.	Shopping well-being positively influences mall loyalty and positive word of mouth.
11	[25]	The impact of corporate social responsibility (CSR) performance and perceived brand quality on customer-based brand	Customers’ brand preference is influenced by the performance of the organisation’s corporate social responsibility.
12	[1]	An empirical study of the relationship between shopping environment, customer perceived value, satisfaction, and loyalty in the UAE malls context	The mall environment is an antecedent of the customer’s perceived value of malls (MALLVAL) and customer satisfaction. MALLVAL has a significant positive effect on both customer satisfaction and customer loyalty to malls.
13	[5]	Satisfaction of mall shoppers: A study on perceived utilitarian and hedonic shopping values	There is a relationship between shopping values and customer satisfaction.
14	[42]	The influence of shopping experience and perceived value toward customer satisfaction and their impacts on customer loyalty at minimarkets in Aceh	Shopping experience and perceived value have a significant effect on customer satisfaction and loyalty.
15	[32]	Shopping streets vs malls: preferences of low-income consumers	The “selection” and “value” affect satisfaction and patronage intention in both shopping streets and shopping malls. While “access” is the most important for shopping malls, “security” matters most for shopping streets.

Source: Authors’ compilation.

.

In addition to the findings from the authors in Table 1, Ref. [31] conducted a study on the choice of shopping malls in Alicante, Spain. The author observed that factors such as the informality of dressing, professionalism of salespersons, tranquillity experienced during purchase, cleanliness, price, and distance do not influence consumer patronage. In contrast, consumers take into consideration the parking space, opening hours and the comfort of shipping from store to store. Ref. [7] examined the shoppers’ attachment to retail stores in the United States and found customer attachment to stores and shopping malls as an antecedent of the customers’ patronage. Emotional and psychological motivation with store equity was found as a determinant of store attachment. The authors posit that the more that customers experience emotional gratification from visiting the shopping malls through positive customer emotional experiences and that there is a store–self-connection, customers will be willing to return to such shopping malls. The authors of [7] further recommend that managers of stores have the responsibility of identifying the basic store attributes that stimulate positive emotions in the customer and ensure that such attributes are present in their mall environment to enhance the customer’s bond.

Ref. [7] corroborates the study of [1], who had earlier examined the connection between the shopping environment, customer value, customer satisfaction, and customer loyalty in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Ref. [1] found that the mall environment is an antecedent of customers’ perceived values of shopping malls and satisfaction. Additionally, the customer’s perceived value of the shopping mall was discovered to have a positive effect on customer loyalty. The study found that mall value mediates the relationship between the mall environment and customer loyalty, while customer satisfaction was found to play a mediating role between mall value and customer loyalty.

Ref. [4], in a study, investigated the difference in attitudes towards mall attributes and shopping value from mall patronage across gender and generational cohorts and found that there is no significant relationship between hedonic and utilitarian shopping values by generational cohort. The study, however, found a significant relationship in their attitude towards locational convenience, hygiene factors, and entertainment features. Their findings also showed that females derive more hedonic values from shopping in malls and have a higher positive attitude toward entertainment options and hygiene factors than their male counterparts. Meanwhile, there was no difference in attitude towards locational convenience and utilitarian shopping value in males and females.

Ref. [32] compared the attractiveness and preference of shopping in the street versus shopping in malls in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and discovered that patronage intention has the same intensity in shopping malls and shopping streets. Shopping streets were defined as concentrations of unplanned retail stores in environments of lower purchasing power, while shopping malls were described as organised and planned stores that provide various needed goods. Ref. [32]’s findings showed that attractive stores, leisure, low prices, promotion, and cost benefits influence consumers’ preferences in both categories (evolved shopping street retail stores and created shopping malls) in low-income Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

In order to contribute further to the knowledge in this area of study, the current study applies the instrument of [1], which focused on the mall environment and mall value as antecedents of customer loyalty in the United Arab Emirates. Ref. [7] defines value as an outcome of the perception of a product, price, quality, and shoppers’ experience costs. For [4], value is a subjective concept dependent on the individual’s perception and shoppers’ need to have a successful shopping experience [1]. Value can be described as all forms of subjective, objective, qualitative and quantitative factors that constitute the total shopping experience of shoppers [1,4]. Therefore, the customer perception of value in shopping malls is key to enhancing continuous patronage. However, similar studies are limited in the sub-Saharan African region.

Ref. [1] conceptualised and empirically validated the mall value scale to comprise eight items: hedonic values, self-gratification, utilitarian, epistemic, social interaction, transaction, time convenience, and spatial convenience. The mall value scale by [1] is described in

Table 2. Mall Value.

S/N	Construct	Contextual Meaning
1	Hedonic values	Fun and enjoyment in the mall
2	Self-gratification	Improvement in shoppers’ well-being, which relieves stress and puts them in the right frame of mind and where they think less of their problems
3	Utilitarian	Achieving the purpose of coming to the mall by getting all that is intended to purchase
4	Epistemic	Stimulating curiosity, trending products, informativeness, the novelty of goods and assortment
5	Social interaction	Positive feelings from interacting with people in the mall, such as the mall attendants, friends, and families
6	Transaction	Customers’ perception of obtaining good bargains and deals from a mall
7	Time convenience	Perceived utility of time, extending trading hours and enclosed environment which is close to where the customers work and live
8	Spatial convenience	Ability to engage in different purchases within a minimal time on the mall premises

Source: Adapted from [1].

below.

Malls in developed nations have fundamental features, which include being open 24 h for 7 days, having a variety of stores, restaurants, entertainment facilities, and diverse goods/products that should appeal to a range of shoppers. Ref. [1] also examined the environments of the malls, which were categorised into mall recreation, mall interior, and mall staff (see

Table 3. Mall Environment measures.

S/N	Construct	Contextual Meaning
1	Mall recreation	Comfortable seats, fun and entertainment, and fun spaces for kids
2	Mall interior	Layout, design, and decoration
3	Mall staff	Friendliness, helpful, and knowledgeable

Source: Adapted from [1].

).

The key finding from [1] is that the mall value influences customer loyalty and satisfaction, while the mall environment determines the customers’ perception of the mall value. Additionally, Ref. [9] found that the mall environment and the mall design attract shoppers and promote socio-economic-development. The recommendations from these studies, such as [1,7,9,32] on the increasing role of the mall environment and mall value on customers’ preferences and loyalty, provided the foundation for this study. To this end, we propose the following hypotheses and hypothetical model as presented in Figure 1:

H1: 

Customer perception of the mall environment positively and significantly influences customer loyalty.

H2: 

Customer perception of the mall value positively and significantly influences customer loyalty.

H3: 

There is a positive and significant interaction effect of the mall value and mall environment on customer loyalty.

3. Materials and Methods

3.1. Research Sample and Measures

The study randomly sampled 300 respondents in Lagos State, Nigeria, using a cross-sectional survey. A total of 277 valid copies of the questionnaire were found usable. This indicates an adequate response rate of 92.3%. There is a huge investment from retailing in sub-Saharan Africa [15], which has made countries such as Nigeria a fertile destination for foreign direct investment. A foremost destination for the establishment of shopping malls is Lagos State, Nigeria, a commercial nerve centre with a history of urbanisation, industry, and a diverse population. Data were collected from two different areas in Lagos State, Nigeria. The basis of the selection of the study areas was the concentration of malls as well as the urban layout.

The study adopts the [1] scale with three constructs (mall recreation, mall interior, and mall staff) as measures of mall environment and five constructs (hedonic, self-gratification, epistemic, transaction, and time convenience) to measure mall value with sections and items for customer loyalty. The items on the survey instrument were close-ended, and the respondents indicated their views on a 5-point Likert scale, ranging from 1 = ‘strongly disagree’ to 5 = ‘strongly agree’.

3.2. Demographic Characteristics of Respondents

The majority of the respondents were between the ages of 21–30 years, accounting for 51.6 percent, which explains the highest percentage of students (55.8 percent) in terms of the respondents’ occupations. The majority of the respondents (48.7 percent) earn monthly incomes within the range of N 25,000 (equivalent to USD 54) to N 50,000 (equivalent to USD 108). Lastly, 64.1 percent of the respondents have a diploma and undergraduate degrees.

4. Results

The Cronbach’s alpha (CA, α) and composite reliability (CR) were used to test the internal consistency of the construct and variable [43], as indicated in

Table 4. Validity and reliability test.

Items	AVE	CR	CA
Mall Environment	0.76	0.84	0.83
Mall Value	0.74	0.86	0.85
Customer Loyalty	0.78	0.54	0.53

AVE = average variance extracted, CR = composite reliability, CA = Cronbach’s alpha.

. From the table, mall environment (ME) had a Cronbach’s alpha of 0.83 and composite reliability of 0.84; the mall value had a composite reliability of 0.86 and Cronbach’s alpha of 0.85, while customer loyalty had a composite reliability and Cronbach’s alpha of 0.54 and 0.53, respectively. The composite reliability indicates the consistency of the constructs, while Cronbach’s alpha shows the internal consistency of the overall variable; and according to [44,45], a Cronbach’s alpha above 0.70 shows the consistency of the instrument and a composite reliability with a cut-off point of 0.60 shows the consistency of the construct. Premised on this, the mall environment and mall value have a good reliability score for the study. In addition, Refs. [46,47] argued that Cronbach’s alpha with a threshold above 0.50 is acceptable yet weak. Hence, customer loyalty had 0.50 scores, which is an acceptable threshold for the test.

The average variance extracted (AVE) also measures the degree of variance attributable to the construct due to measurement errors [48,49]. According to [48], the average variance extracted should be higher than 0.50. In this study, the average variance extracted for mall environment, mall value, and customer loyalty, as seen in Table 4, is 0.76, 0.74, and 0.78, respectively. This result shows that the convergent validity of the instrument is adequate.

Discriminant validity was carried out on the data, as shown in

Table 5. Discriminant validity and correlation.

	CL	ME	MV
Customer Loyalty (CL)	0.78
Mall Environment (ME)	0.42 **	0.76
Mall Value (MV)	0.60 **	0.62 **	0.74

Note: ** Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed). The average variance extracted (AVE) is indicated on the diagonal. The table shows that the variables have a discriminant validity that fits the study. The rule guiding discriminant validity is that the AVE must be greater than the square of correlation.

.

Table 6. Factor loading.

Items		Factor Loading
Mall Environment
Mall Recreation	Comfortable seats during shopping inside that mall	0.41
	Presence of fun and entertainment programs in that mall	0.58
	Existence of fun spaces for kids and youth in that mall	0.53
Mall Interior	This mall is decorated in an attractive fashion	0.56
	The layout of that mall makes it easy to get around and reach wherever I want inside the mall	0.71
	The overall design of that mall is interesting	0.66
	Excellent ambience and facilities of malls influence my shopping for my Favourite products/services from malls (Place)	0.61
	Beautiful design and structure of malls influence my shopping for my Favourite products/services from malls	0.62
Mall Staff	The mall staff are friendly	0.64
	The mall staff are helpful	0.61
Mall Value
Hedonic	I feel a sense of joy looking at the merchandise in that mall	0.59
	It is fun to be in that mall	0.58
	I feel happy going to that mall because of its environment	0.61
Utilitarian	This mall can satisfy all family members	0.52
	Every family member can find what he/she wants in that mall	0.57
	I prefer shopping in that mall because it has a variety of activities to satisfy everyone in the family	0.66
	I prefer shopping in that mall because it has a variety of stores and products to satisfy everyone in the family	0.54
Epistemic	I like shopping in that mall to get ideas about new trends, fashion, and style	0.56
	I do shopping in that mall to see what’s interesting or innovative	0.56
	I like to go to that mall to learn interesting ways of decoration and dressing models.	0.46
	I really enjoy looking around in that mall to keep up with the newest trends and fashion	0.40
Transaction	I feel good when I get some real bargain in that mall	0.41
	I enjoy the thrill of finding that one expensive piece on sale	0.60
Time convenience	I prefer shopping in that mall because it works continuously without breaks	0.64
	Whenever I want to shop in that mall, I find it open	0.58
Customer Loyalty
	I do not like to change to another mall	0.64
	I will continue shopping in that mall in the future	0.58

Spatial convenience and social transactions were removed from the mall value scale due to their factor loading below 0.40.

shows the factor loading for each item on the scale. According to the extant literature, a factor loading of 0.4 and above is considered adequate for a sample size of 200 and above [44]. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was conducted to validate the measures used in this study. Based on the recommendation of [50], the exploratory factor analysis was carried out with principal components analysis, which includes Varimax rotation to identify the factors of the measurement in the scale. Bartlett’s test of sphericity was also applied (approx. chi-square 3849.834, df946, p.000). The significant value shown in this test indicates that there were correlations among the data set appropriate for factor analysis, which is supported by the high value of the Kaiser–Meyer–Okin (KMO)’s measure of 0.853 to indicate that the data is appropriate for factor analysis. Items with a loading less than 0.40 were removed from the scale in accordance with [51]’s provision. Some items from the hedonic value, such as social interaction and self-gratification, were removed from the scale due to their inability to meet up with the loading 0.40 that is required of the items in the study. Some items in the mall environment scale were also dropped from further analysis.

The hierarchical multiple regression analysis was performed using SPSS containing two models in order to indicate the effects of the independent variables on customer loyalty. Four variables in the analyses are labelled as control variables in order to identify other contextual and structural factors that are not captured in the research model but capable of affecting customer loyalty. Hence, the first regression model (

Table 7. Multiple regression analysis result.

	Model 1 Control Variables Only	Model 2 (Direct and Indirect Effects)
Step 1 Control variables
Sex	−0.084	−0.092
Age	0.196 **	0.132 *
Monthly Income	0.033	−0.060
Educational Qualification	0.042	0.023
Step 2 All direct and interaction effects
Mall Value		0.295 ***
Mall Environment		−0.155
Mall Value X Mall Environment		0.429 ***
Model R	0.238	0.616
Model R2	0.057	0.379
Change in R2	-	0.322
Model F	4.101 *	23.277 ***
Durbin–Watson	1.84	1.90

n = 277; standardised regression coefficients are reported. * p < 0.05; ** p < 0.01, *** p < 0.001.

) contains all the control variables, which are age, sex, monthly income, and educational qualification. The second regression model considered all the main and interaction effects in addition to the control variables. In general, two hypotheses, H₂ and H₃, are proven to be true. The findings from model 2 reveal a substantial positive relationship between mall value and customer loyalty (β = 0.295, p < 0.0.001), which confirms H₂. Therefore, we accept the second hypothesis, which states that the customer perception of mall value significantly and positively influences customer loyalty. Model 2, however, contrasts H₁ by demonstrating an insignificant relationship between the mall environment and customer loyalty. The interaction effect results from model 2 indicate that there is a significant interaction effect of mall value and mall environment on customer loyalty (β = −0.429, p < 0.0.05), confirming H₃.

With a significant value of 0.295, mall value influences customer loyalty. The interaction effects of both the mall value and mall environment had a higher effect (0.429) on customer loyalty. From models 1 and 2, all the control variables except age are insignificant. This shows that age differences could be a factor that influences customer loyalty in shopping malls. There is no indication of autocorrelation with Durbin–Watson of 1.9 because it is close to 2 [52]. The significant value of 23.277 for F shows the general suitability of model 2. The R² of 0.379 shows that the significant independent variables (mall value, the interaction effects of mall value and mall environment) and the significant control variable, which is the age in the second model, explain 37.9% of customer loyalty. The study’s mention of general statistical indicators, such as R2, R, F, and the p-value, demonstrates the model’s feasibility.

5. Discussion

Shopping malls contribute enormously to the social and economic ecosystem in Nigeria, and their proliferation is not surprising. The increase in the number of shopping malls creates intense competition for customer patronage and loyalty. Understanding the factors that determine consumers’ choice of mall patronage in the largest black nation in Africa within the most industrious city (Lagos) provides important information for managers and investors. This study contributes to the literature by assessing the effect of the mall environment and mall value on customer loyalty, which is premised on the earlier results from studies of [1,14] and a similar study in Asia [9,25] and South America [32].

The study examined [1]’s measure of mall environment, mall value, and customer loyalty in a developing nation—Nigeria—as antecedents of customer loyalty to shopping malls. The first hypothesis was centred on investigating the influence of the mall environment on customer loyalty, and the study revealed that the mall environment—mall recreation (comfortable seats, fun and entertainment, and fun spaces for kids), mall interior (layout, design, and decoration), and mall staff (friendliness, helpful, and knowledgeable)—does not influence customers’ patronage and loyalty to the mall. This finding negates the result of [1], which suggested that the mall environment implies customer loyalty and satisfaction. What this finding suggests is that investment in a mall environment based on the identified indices of mall recreation, mall interior, and well-trained mall staff does not, on its own, directly influence customer loyalty. That is, the mall environment is not sufficient solely to create a positive customer experience in shopping malls that will lead to customer loyalty. This finding contrasts the submission of previous studies on a mall’s environment and shopper attraction. For example, in the study by [9], the authors found that the mall environment and design attract shoppers around the environment, thus, aiding the sustainable development of urban areas. This study has revealed that this is not entirely true of Nigeria.

The second hypothesis tested mall value on customer loyalty and found that mall value influences customer loyalty to shopping malls [1]. This signifies that hedonic values (fun and enjoyment in the mall), utilitarian (achieving the purpose of coming to the mall by obtaining all that is intended to purchase), epistemic (stimulating curiosity, trending products, informativeness, the novelty of goods and assortment), transaction (customers’ perception of obtaining a good bargain and deals from a mall), and time convenience (perceived utility of time, extending trading hours, and enclosed environment, which is close to where the customers work and live), significantly create a satisfying experience with the mall and ensures their loyalty. This finding corroborates the position of [1,7] that shoppers’ attachment to retail stores and shopping malls is an antecedent of customer patronage. The authors suggest that the more customers receive emotional gratification from visiting the shopping malls through positive customer emotional experiences and that there is a store–self-connection, customers are willing to return to such shopping malls.

The third hypothesis reveals that when malls have both a good environment and invest in the values identified in this article, customer loyalty is stronger than when they focus on either the mall environment or mall value. Additionally, mall value has a stronger implication on customer loyalty than mall environment, though they both create a significant impact on customer loyalty. This suggests that if managers must invest in either mall value or mall environment, the former is most preferred. However, it is better to have both.

Lastly, the study identified that age implies customer purchases in shopping malls. From our data, the younger the customers are, the more chances they take at shopping malls. This is because they find the mall environment and values exciting and appealing to their needs. In the context of Nigeria, there is a natural culture of fun and enjoyment that permeates every life’s endeavour. Importantly, this is also exhibited in their attachment to malls. From our observation in this study, the indices of mall value appeal more to enjoyment and fun, which necessitates consumer loyalty, as found in this study.

6. Managerial Implications

The implication of these findings to managers of shopping malls is that there should be an investment in both mall environment—mall recreation (comfortable seats, fun and entertainment, and fun spaces for kids), mall interior (layout, design, and decoration) and mall staff (friendliness, helpful, and knowledgeable)—and mall values, including hedonic values (fun and enjoyment in the mall), utilitarian (achieving the purpose of coming to the mall by making intended purchases), epistemic (stimulating curiosity, trending products, informativeness, the novelty of goods and assortment), transaction (customers’ perception of obtaining a good bargain and deals from a mall), and time convenience (perceived utility of time, extending trading hours, and enclosed environment, which is close to where the customers work and live).

From our study, mall value has a stronger influence on shopper loyalty. It is, therefore, expedient that the mall sets in place various activities that increase shoppers’ hedonism whenever they visit the mall. Additionally, regarding utilitarian values, such as ensuring that the goods meet the customers’ needs, malls should ensure that they understand the basic needs of customers in their present environment and try to ensure the availability of the needed products. They should understand the different generational segments within their environment and know what each segment always needs. Additionally, investors seeking to have a sustainable market share in the retail sector in Nigeria through the establishment of shopping malls must create avenues for fun and enjoyment that will appeal to the majority of the shoppers.

Furthermore, epistemic attributes, such as setting up the mall to stimulate customer curiosity, making products available, and providing goods and services that are in trend, novel and informative, are important, especially as this study has shown that these factors stimulate customer loyalty. The transaction is also a variable that is considered within the context of the mall value, which the shopping malls must be cognisant of in order to enhance customer loyalty. The transaction construct involves offering a price perceived as fair by the customers for the commodity they seek. According to this study, customers will continue to patronise such malls when they perceive the prices of goods and services as affordable in a particular mall.

Lastly, among the mall value constructs that must be considered by the management of malls in sub-Saharan Africa is time convenience. Customers will be satisfied and loyal to the mall they perceive as timesaving in an enclosed environment close to where the customer works or lives and has a late closing hour, which is peculiar to urban centres. Shopping malls in urban areas will sustain the satisfaction and loyalty of their customers if they take cognisance of both the factors of mall environment and mall values discussed in this study.

7. Conclusions

This study has shown that an investment in the mall environment is insufficient without provisions of what the consumers perceive as valuable in a mall. Paying attention to the identified constructs of customer mall value can significantly enhance a customer’s loyalty to the mall. Therefore, the management of malls should focus more on mall values, such as hedonic values (fun and enjoyment in the mall), utilitarian values (achieving the purpose of going to the mall by getting all that is intended to purchase), epistemic (stimulating curiosity, trending products, informativeness, the novelty of goods and assortment), transaction (customers perception of obtaining a good bargain and deals from a mall), and time convenience (perceived utility of time, extending trading hours, and enclosed environment, which is close to where the customers work and live) to have the patronage of customers within their locality continuously.

The findings from this study have shown that understanding the values that appeal to consumers in an environment where the mall is based and developing malls to provide these values will enhance customer loyalty.

8. Limitations and Suggestions for Further Research

This study tested the mall value scale of [1] in Nigeria, a developing nation in sub-Saharan Africa. A notable gap to be explored in this study is the identification of the most significant variable that malls should invest in to optimise value creation, customer experience, and loyalty.

This study is limited to the adoption of survey research tools, such as questionnaires, and limited by a single geographical location, Lagos. This makes the generalisation of the research findings also limited in application.

Future research can investigate this dimension to extend the knowledge of customer purchase preferences in shopping malls. Additionally, researchers can undertake a cross-country study of mall value, mall environment, and customer loyalty in selected African countries, such as Ghana, Nigeria, and Cameroon. This will provide some generalisable findings, as well as a broader understanding of the contextual differences.