Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to explore the influence of time convenience on shopping behaviour in the light of a time scarcity phenomenon that is reported to have reached epidemic proportions in many markets. Design/methodology/approach - The paper begins with a survey of consumer households, examining the importance shoppers assign to time convenience. This is followed by a supply-side comparison of malls and shopping strips against the attributes of time convenience. Findings - The results indicate that time convenience has a salient influence on consumers' patronage behaviour, and that malls and strips differ in their provision of this key attribute. Practical implications - Retail planners must give serious thought to creating retail environments that allow shoppers to "buy" time. Providing time convenience via one-stop shopping, extended trading hours, proximity to home or work and enclosure offers one such strategy for the shopping mall and shopping strip. Originality/value - The focus on convenience provides practitioners with a strategic alternative to hedonic strategies. It is also one of the first studies to investigate retail centre patronage from both a demand-and supply-side perspective
