THE SOCIAL MILIEUS OF 2 NORTH LONDON SHOPPING-CENTERS

As part of a larger project involving both quantitative and qualitativ e research, this paper discusses the findings of a questionnaire surve y at Brent Cross and Wood Green concerning the social use of two north London shopping centres. Combined with focus group and ethnographic r esearch (reported elsewhere), the survey results provide fresh empiric al evidence about the nature of consumption as a social process, exten ding well beyond the point of sale. The paper demonstrates that 'regio nal' centres (like Brent Cross) have a surprisingly 'local' clientele; that shoppers at the two centres differ less markedly in terms of con ventional measures of social class than might have been expected; but that there are significant perceived differences in the social charact er of the two centres. It is also suggested that looking (and other so cial aspects of shopping) may be as important as buying for many consu mers and that 'family shopping' is better understood as a convenient m arketing metaphor rather than as an accurate description of most peopl e's shopping practices and preferences. The paper highlights the need to gain a more thorough understanding of the views of ordinary consume rs in everyday places (like Wood Green and Brent Cross) in order to pr ovide a more grounded analysis of the nature of contemporary consumpti on. Copyright (C) 1996 Elsevier Science Ltd