Who Shops at Factory Outlets and Why?: An Exploratory Study

In the last decade, factory outlets have grown at over ten percent per year and have become an attractive distribution channel for manufacturers. However, there is little academic research on factory outlets. In this study, the patronage behavior of outlet mall shoppers is investigated. Data are collected from 182 shoppers at a factory outlet mall in northeastern United States. Four different reasons for shopping at outlet malls are identified using factor analysis—price/value, merchandise, recreational, and time saving and deal seeking reasons. The relationship between these four reasons for shopping at outlet malls and eighteen variables representing attitude toward shopping, shopping behaviour patterns, importance of outlet mall attributes, and demographics is studied. Using canonical correlation analysis, three types of outlet mall shoppers are identified—recreational shoppers, serious economic shoppers, and time conscious deal prone shoppers. Based upon the findings, implications for retailers and directions for future research are drawn.