Companion shopping: the influence on mall brand experiences

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the influence of a shopping companion on mall brand experience. Design/methodology/approach The quantitative multi-group structural equation model study contrasts three shopper types: those shopping alone; those shopping with friends; and those shopping with family. Two categories are shoppers in a group. Nine hypotheses evaluate the impact of shopping with a companion. Findings The results show that companions enhance the emotional brand experience. Further, shoppers with family companions are most able to enhance brand evaluation from mall brand experience. Shopping companions help co-create the shopping brand experience. Research limitations/implications The findings are limited to Australian shoppers and contrast with Canadian studies, emphasizing friends. Alone shoppers place priority on price and only the alone shoppers are price-sensitive. The findings help address the gap in the literature, namely, understanding focal retail consumers in a group situation. Practical implications Retailers and mall managers in planned shopping centers could consider developing different retail strategies and brand experiences, which address the specific types of customer groups or alone shoppers. Social implications The paper is explicitly about social influences. Originality/value This original research contributes new perspectives to understanding the role of companion shoppers as co-creators of the focal shopper's mall brand experience.