ABSTRACT
In many major cities, significant financial and physical capital has been spent constructing shopping centers. The high profitability of commercial construction has led many developers to build large luxury shopping malls. Adding amenities, such as cinemas, cafes, restaurants, food courts, amusement parks, galleries, and exhibitions, to these malls has increased their attractiveness. The COVID-19 pandemic—which began in China in December 2019 before spreading worldwide—affected many areas of life, including people's shopping habits, especially in metropolitan areas. At the start of the pandemic, people were exhorted to maintain a social distance of 1.5 meters and avoid crowded environments as much as ppossible. These health guidelines resulted in the relatively long closure of shopping malls in cities. This study aims to investigate changes to people's shopping habits. It focuses on malls in Tehran and how the COVID-19 pandemic impacted different groups of people's habits, as a way of understanding future use and development of urban areas. The required data were collected via a survey conducted in 2021 wherein 1,071 responses from different regions in Tehran were gathered and analyzed using descriptive analysis methods. © 2023 The Authors. Regional Science Policy & Practice © 2023 Regional Science Association International.