An Investigation of Avoidancebehavior in Mall-Intercept Market Research

Much of the research focusing on the efficiency of the mall-intercept form of market data collection has been concentrated in three areas. These studies address themselves to developing an understanding of the personal/demographic characteristics of mall shoppers, studying shopping behavior of individuals who may participate in mall-surveys, and improving the procedures employed in mall-intercept research. However, there has been no detailed research investigating the personal/demographic characteristics, stated shopping behavior, and mall survey perceptions of those who choose not to participate in a given mall-intercept survey or who actively avoid being approached. A mail survey was sent to 966 households with a cover letter requesting the primary shopper to complete it. A total of 407 surveys were returned. The results showed that 33 percent of the general population saw themselves as “avoiders” when faced with a mall-intercept survey and that these “avoiders” possess somewhat unique characteristics when compared with “responders”. The implications of these findings indicate that the sample likely to be obtained in a given mall-intercept research situation may be biased away from the types of individual consumers from which the researchers hope to gain information.