The perceived outdoor comfort of urban municipal marketplaces significantly influences the consumers&rsquo overall shopping experience in the retail landscape. The design characteristics, such as layout, attributes, etc. for both natural elements, such as vegetation and open spaces and man-made elements such as, such as seating spaces, kiosks, drinking water stations, advertisement boards/displays, sidewalks, street lights, garbage bins, local food, and public toilets, have been observed to contribute to the perceived comfort of the retail environments, which can subsequently play a crucial role in enhancing the utilitarian and hedonic shopping value in urban marketplaces.
The present study combines both qualitative and quantitative methods to explore a framework which can be utilized for the design and development of marketplaces focusing on enhanced perceived comfort of the shoppers. First, based on the existing literature, direct field observation, user interviews, and activity mapping, the present study identifies the natural and man-made elements and their associated attributes (or characteristics) that can potentially influence the consumers&rsquo perception of outdoor comfort in the retail landscape. Next, through expert opinion survey and user perception surveys, the study identifies the most prioritized elements and attributes contributing to a comfortable outdoor shopping experience in the selected urban municipal marketplaces based on the importance and satisfaction ratings obtained from the residents of Faridabad (Haryana).
The present study also explores if the prioritization of the identified natural and man-made elements varies according to the marketplaces' spatial organizations (centralized or linear) and the catchment populations' socio-economic characteristics.