Objectives: Information required. Research should be driven by some consideration of the behavioral aspects that are crucial in peoples' shopping behavior. Consumer behavior is not random; people are driven by specific motives and goals. It is the role of the business manager to ensure that these motives or benefits are delivered. The role of the research phase is to think conceptually about the issues and develop a model of the influences in the decision-making process. For example, some of the issues that need explanation are: How do people decide where they will shop? Are there patterns to shopping behavior? How do people perceive shopping centers and strip shopping areas? What barriers are there to the use of a shopping area? What features of an area act as facilitators in the shopping experience? Are there particular segments of the market that should be the primary target for a strip shopping center? Should this target relate to frequency of shopping activity? Should programs aim at increasing the frequency of visits by the 'infrequent shopper' or should they encourage the 'current customer' to spend more of their funds on eachvisit