Keeping the Mall Alive? Identifying the Drivers of Shopping Mall Satisfaction and Closure from Customer Reviews
(A2025-126417)

AUTHORS

David de Jong, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam; Christoph Teller, Institute for Retailing, Sales and Marketing; Dennis Herhausen, VU Amsterdam; Stephan Ludwig, Monash University; Francisco Javier Villarroel Ordenes, University of Bologna; Dhruv Grewal, Babson College

ABSTRACT

The transformation of the retail landscape and rise of online retailers have redefined customer expectations for malls. While many face closure, others thrive, emphasizing the need for strategic resource allocation to enhance experiences. This study uses customer reviews and introduce aspect-based sentiment analysis to explore how experiences with retail mix instruments—accessibility, advertising, atmosphere, pricing, products, services, and tenants—impact satisfaction and mall survival. The findings reveal that negative experiences outweigh positive ones in shaping satisfaction, with positive experiences from attractive instruments having a stronger effect than those from must-have instruments. Additionally, the authors uncover mall-specific heterogeneity and the relationships between customers’ experiences and malls’ survival. These findings offer practical guidance for focusing efforts and resources strategically across retail mix instruments to ensure malls’ long-term success.