Globalisation, Western-style malls and consumerism in the Accra-Tema city-region, Ghana

Abstract

Over the last two decades, a number of Western-style malls have been built in various sub-Saharan African cities. Accra-Tema city-region (ATCR) currently has six such malls that have been built mostly with South African capital. Malls are a creation of the global core and their emergence is associated with cultural changes that manifest in consumerism, the formation of a middle class, advertising and the growth of local manufacturing. We ask whether the malls in ATCR are following the formation trajectory of malls in the global core. Using a methodology involving surveys and interviews of mall users and managers respectively, we answer this question by mapping the geography and history of ATCR’s malls. Superficially, ATCR’s malls are following the formation trajectory of malls in the global core but there are major differences due to globalisation. Superfluously, the expansion of semi-peripheral (South African) capital into Ghana and the importation of goods from outside Ghana means ATCR’s malls are different from those of the global core. Our findings have implications for the sustainability of malls in sub-Saharan Africa under globalisation.

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