Shopping mall operators must take into account consumers' food-service preferences as malls are redeveloped in the current economic landscape. A new study from the Cornell Center for Hospitality Research connects customer demographics to consumers' preferences for the arrangement and types of food outlets at shopping malls. The study, "Customer Preferences for Restaurant Brands, Cuisine, and Food Court Configurations in Shopping Centers," by Wayne J. Taylor and Rohit Verma, analyzes the mall restaurant preferences of a national sample of 1,737 U.S. residents. The report is available at no charge from the CHR at .

"We know that shopping centers must respond to local and regional preferences, but our national sample does two things. First, it highlights trends in restaurant preferences, and, second, it demonstrates how to study those trends," said Verma, a professor at the Cornell School of Hotel Administration. "Our approach was to compare six specific mall food-service configurations to see which one was most popular."

Verma and Taylor found that the most popular configuration combined a moderate-size food court with several casual and fast-casual restaurants. Least popular was an arrangement that had only table-service restaurants and no food court.

"We were able to isolate different demographic groups based on our respondents' cuisine and restaurant preferences," added Taylor, a marketing analyst for the Venetian Resort Hotel Casino. "For instance, we found one group that heavily patronized quick-service restaurants (QSR), but another group strongly preferred casual and quick-casual restaurant concepts, rather than the QSRs."

Verma and Taylor note that America's shopping malls are being reinvented to attract customers by mixing greater opportunities for entertainment along with retail concepts. Because this was a national sample, familiar national restaurant brands were highest rated. Thus, the authors suggest that local and regional mall operators research which restaurant concepts to offer in their own mall, based on their customers' demographics and preferences. With that analysis, mall operators can determine their best mix of local and national restaurants, QSR and table-service concepts, and the configuration of those restaurants.

Meet and interact with Professor Verma, an active member of the executive education faculty at the School of Hotel Administration, when he presents sessions in the Professional Development Program: .

Thanks to the support of the CHR partners listed below, all publications posted on the center's website are available free of charge, at .

About the Center for Hospitality Research

The purpose of the Center for Hospitality Research is to enable and conduct research of significance to the global hospitality and related service industries. CHR also works to improve the connections between academe and industry, continuing the School of Hotel Administration's long-standing tradition of service to the hospitality industry. Founded in 1992, CHR remains the industry's foremost creator and distributor of timely research, all of which is posted at no charge for all to use. In addition to its industry advisory board, CHR convenes several industry roundtables each year for the purpose of identifying new issues affecting the hospitality industry.

Center Members: Accenture • Access Point Financial, Inc. • Barclaycard US • Cvent • Davis & Gilbert LLP • Deloitte & Touche USA LLP • DerbySoft • Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts • Fox Rothschild LLP • Hilton Worldwide • Host Hotels & Resorts • Hyatt Hotels Corporation • IDeaS Revenue Solutions • InterContinental Hotels Group • Jumeirah Group • Marriott International • NTT DATA • Preferred Hotels & Resorts • priceline.com • PwC • The Rainmaker Group • RateGain • ReviewPro • Revinate • Sabre Hospitality Solutions • STR • Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces • Tata Consultancy Services • Wipro EcoEnergy • Wyndham Hotel Group

Glenn Withiam
607.255.3025
CHR