Spaces that help women relax are the strongest form of commercial design

By YL Lum

For decades, shopping mall design has followed a familiar and predictable process. Drawings are prepared by engineers and consultants, reviewed in technical meetings, optimised through value engineering based on construction costs and finally approved according to compliance, efficiency and cost control. On paper, everything works. Pedestrian flow meets standards, turning radii comply with regulations, vertical circulation is theoretically sufficient and the project is delivered within budget.

Yet once many malls open, they struggle with low foot traffic, short dwell times and few repeat visitors. Shoppers either quietly endure or openly complain that malls feel stressful, inconvenient or even unpleasant.

The disconnect between design intent and user reality is often blamed on market conditions, tenant mix or changing consumer trends. Rarely is the design philosophy itself questioned. Some malls react quickly and manage to recover because customers notice improvements and are willing to return, but by then, the damage has already been done.

One uncomfortable truth deserves reflection. Many malls are still designed from the perspective of meeting rooms, not from the perspective of shoppers. They reflect how contractors, engineers or architects think people should move, rather than how real people actually behave in public spaces.

Understanding shoppers means understanding women

When discussing shopper behaviour, it is impossible not to mention Paco Underhill, one of the few retail anthropologists who spent decades observing how people truly shop. Through extensive field research and influential books, he challenged many long-held assumptions in retail design. His 1999 book Why We Buy remains a foundational text in retail anthropology.

One of Underhill’s most important observations concerns the role of women in purchasing decisions. Women are the primary decision-makers in shopping, influencing or directly controlling roughly 70% to 80% of household spending.

This influence extends far beyond groceries and children’s products, reaching healthcare, clothing, gifts and increasingly major purchases such as cars and property.

Modern women no longer shop blindly or impulsively. They are highly sensitive to context and acutely aware of environmental details. Crowding, poor lighting, lack of cleanliness, confusing layouts and narrow aisles all undermine the shopping experience. One well-documented behavioural response is known as the butt-brush effect: When women are accidentally bumped or touched while browsing, they instinctively stop interacting with the merchandise and may abandon the purchase altogether.

Women also tend to spend more time shopping in a thoughtful and purposeful manner. They browse, compare, read labels and respond positively to discovery, storytelling and brand narratives when the environment supports unhurried exploration.

Designs that work for women

This engagement, however, is fragile. Long or unclear checkout queues, confusing layouts or tense atmospheres can quickly lead to abandoned purchases.

Compounding this, many women shop while juggling handbags, children, strollers or companions, yet store layouts often ignore turning radii, resting areas and temporary parking spaces.

Underhill’s field research repeatedly found that providing seating increases sales rather than reducing them. When women are more comfortable, they stay longer while their companions also have a place to rest.

This is not about gender stereotypes. Underhill’s core message is simple: design that works for women also works for everyone.

Spend less with brain, spend more with heart

By contrast, men’s shopping behaviour tends to be more task-oriented. Men often enter malls with a get-in and get-out mindset, preferring direct environments with clear signage, logical circulation and fast checkout.

They generally tolerate simpler, even industrial settings, with good lighting and minimal interaction. Their purchases are quicker and narrower in scope, with less impulse buying and less cross-category browsing.

In many shopping trips, men also play the role of companions, usually as waiting husbands or boyfriends. Without seating, cafés or lounges, impatience builds, reducing overall shopping comfort.

It is also worth noting that the shopping mall industry itself—including architects, builders, consultants and contractors—is still largely male-dominated, which helps explain why truly great malls are so rare.

A good mall is not defined by flashy architecture or expensive finishes, but by intuitive layouts, thoughtful facilities and common-sense circulation. Design should come from empathy, not pure logic.

Simply put: When you shop with your brain, you spend less and when you shop with your heart, you spend more. At the core of the problem lies a cost-driven construction mindset.

Success is measured by whether a mall is delivered on time, on budget and defect-free—important goals but ones that do not guarantee a successful retail experience.

Shoppers will not adapt to bad design. When faced with friction, they choose to leave rather than learn to cope. After all, a mall is not an office or a factory. It is not a necessity but a choice. Shoppers can leave at any moment, shorten their visit or never return.

Modern consumers, in particular, have extremely low tolerance for inconvenience. With alternatives always within reach, even small design frustrations can translate into major commercial losses.

Bad driveways kill spending desire

First impressions often fail before shoppers even step inside. The shopping experience begins not at the storefront but at the driveway entrance.

From an engineering perspective, sharp turning radii or narrow parking ramps may comply with codes and optimise costs. On drawings, they work.

But from a shopper’s perspective, tight turns, poor sightlines and confusing parking routes immediately generate stress. Emotional state upon arrival directly affects shopping behaviour. Stress before entering the mall reduces browsing time and spending intent. If parking feels like a battle, the mall has already lost momentum before the journey even begins.

Great malls are not born from drawings, budgets or technical meetings. They are born from listening—listening to discomfort, listening to frustration, and listening to how women actually shop.

To build better malls, men do not need better formulas. They need better ears. When men learn to listen to women, shopping spaces regain their humanity. And when spaces become humane, good malls naturally follow.

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