Examining the effect of mall entertainment in predicting consumer behaviour: the parallel mediation of escapism and leisure relaxational satisfaction

Purpose Drawing on self-determination theory (SDT), this study aims to investigate the effect of mall entertainment elements in predicting consumer behaviour. In addition, it examines the mediating effect of escapism and leisure relaxational satisfaction on the impact of mall entertainment on revisit intention. Design/methodology/approach The study data were collected from 405 respondents from six major shopping malls in Delhi-NCR, India, using a self-administered questionnaire. Partial least squares path modelling was employed to test the hypothesised model. Findings The results reveal that mall entertainment has a significant influence on revisit intention, escapism and leisure relaxational satisfaction. Further, escapism and leisure relaxational satisfaction have a significant influence on revisit intention. Furthermore, escapism and leisure relaxational satisfaction partially mediate the relationship between mall entertainment and revisit intention. Practical implications The study exhibits the importance of mall entertainment and its impact on escapism, leisure relaxational satisfaction and revisit intention that may stimulate mall managers and operators to build retail strategies to reinforce repeat customer visits to shopping malls. Originality/value There is a lack of prior studies consider entertainment as a unified construct encompassing the overall entertainment offerings. This study is among the first to investigate the impact of entertainment as a holistic construct on specific behavioural responses. Moreover, by incorporating escapism and leisure relaxational satisfaction as parallel mediators, it imparts new theoretical insights into the psychological procedure of linking entertainment and consumer behaviour. Therefore, this study adds to the literature by integrating the aforementioned constructs together, which is based on the methodical conceptual model that uses SDT.