This study sought to contribute to the understanding of how class C consumers consume malls. Firstly, in order to achieve this goal, literature on Consumer Culture Theory was reviewed to provide context to the analysis. Then, consumption by the low-income segment, specifically the New Middle Class (class C), according to Neri (2008), was studied and its implications on consumer behavior. In addition, available literature regarding the behavior of low-income consumers, specifically of class C consumers, with respect to shopping malls was analyzed. A total of 22 in-depth interviews were conducted with respondents in four shopping malls in the metropolitan area of Rio de Janeiro, all having as main target segment low-income consumers. In data analysis, interviews from class C consumers were studied and encoded using the Atlas-ti software. The themes and reports were related to the contextual theory to then arrive at interpretations of the meanings of such accounts. The main findings were: visiting the mall was more important than buying in the malls, as purchase intent in street retail environments was higher than in malls despite the preference for shopping environment; the internet has influenced changes in class C consumer behavior with respect to shopping malls; and even though the expectation of consumers is that their mall visitation frequency will not be reduced as a result of a decrease in income, class C consumers ended up reducing the amount of visits to the mall after an actual income reduction.