While overall mall patronage in the United States has been declining for several years, U.S. adolescents still enjoy going to the mall. Adolescents comprise the fastest growing segment of the U.S. population, they make 40% more trips to the mall than other age groups, and they spend (or influence parents' spending on) billions of dollars a year. Adolescent girls in particular have a tremendous impact on markets, especially in terms of clothing purchases. However, adolescents often complain about unrewarding mall experiences.

In order to gain a rich understanding of adolescent girls' mall experiences, we conducted a qualitative study using depth interviews of 24 girls ranging in age from 12-19. They told us, in their own words, about the specific factors that influence their mall experiences. Our analysis of the interviews uncovered a number of different experience-related variables that we categorized into three broad themes; individual characteristics of the girls, situational influences and perceived mall characteristics. Based on our findings, and in conjunction with previous quantitative mall research, we developed a conceptual model that captures the uniqueness of the young girls' mall experiences.

Two individual characteristics influenced how the participants perceived their mall experiences. First, education cohort (i.e., middle school, high school and college) determined how often an individual would visit a mall, which mall she would visit, and the activities she engaged in while in the mall. Second, we identified a "trend consciousness" characteristic, defined as an ongoing desire to be familiar with the most up-to-date merchandise. High trend conscious girls want to look at a large number of products and to search out something new during every mall trip, while those low on this characteristic typically went to the mall only out of necessity.

There were five perceived mall characteristics that we observed the girls mentioned as determinants of their favorite mall(s). A feeling of comfort at the mall, both physically and psychologically, was important. A related concern was safety, including parking lots and exterior surroundings. Retail mix, including number and types of stores, food court choices and entertainment venues was a key factor related to mall experience. The ease with which the girls perceived they could get into and out of the mall, find their way in the mall and easily shop their favorite stores were what we termed accessibility issues. Finally, the general atmosphere of a mall, including architecture, lighting, music, color and cleanliness were mentioned as important aspects of the mall experience.

Situational influences that influenced the girls mall experiences included who their shopping companions were, and their motivations for going to the mall. We categorized motivations into two groups: Hedonic (i.e., social, freedom and fantasy) and utilitarian (task and general).

Our study was qualitative in nature - designed to gain depth in understanding adolescent girls' mall experiences rather than to collect and statistically analyze quantitative data from a large sample of girls. However, several intriguing findings from our study may offer insights to help guide mall designers and managers. Our data suggests that all adolescent girls are not alike, and the three education cohorts we identified appear to be a promising way to differentiate segments. Trend consciousness - a variable not heretofore included in mall studies - may also be an effective way to segment the female adolescent market. Mall owners and managers interested in attracting and retaining adolescent girls as customers may need to ensure mall comfort, safety and accessibility. Information about who accompanies adolescent girls to the mall, and those companions' roles in the mall experience has the potential to be important for developing marketing strategies. Particularly, understanding the key role that their mothers play in the mall experience for girls in all education cohorts would suggest a marketing effort focusing on this shopping dyad. Finally, those gathering data on adolescent girls' motivations should attempt to capture the multiple motives this group seems to have for visiting a mall, and which motives operate during any given mall experience.