Shopping malls are officially defined as buildings that form a complex of shops where visitors walk from one unit to the other through interconnected walkways, with origins dating back to the post-WWII United States, and now changes in global trends are leading to a revamp of the roles they play.
Experience UK writes:
Shopping malls today are not just about shopping. When people visit malls today, they expect leisure facilities and other experiences that are beyond shopping. The increase in urbanisation and changing demographics are the main factors for changing consumer habits. With an ever-increasing urbanisation rate, the need for a safe public space where people can socialise has been increased. Shopping malls cater to this need by providing visitors with a multifunctional space where people can shop, dine, and engage in entertainment facilities at one spot. This serves as an excellent recreational spot, especially for the growing middle class in Asia and Latin America, as they demand more engaging shopping experiences. In addition to this, the revolutions in e-commerce and digital technologies have reshaped the expectations of consumers.
Moreover, online shopping provides consumers with an endless array of product selection to choose from with the ease of shopping while sitting in their homes. On the other hand, malls would never be able to compete with this nature of product selection and ease. These challenges drive the need for malls to stay relevant and be efficient for consumers.
Changing Trends in Shopping Malls
Today, shopping malls are successfully incorporating elements that create value and revamp the mall as a recreational centre, including concerts, fitness clubs, spas, and other entertainment facilities. For instance, the Xanadu shopping mall provides a unique facility for parents to have quality time with their kids by featuring a ski slope, balloon rides, bowling, and other amusement facilities.
The Mall of America has gone out of its way by featuring an underwater aquarium, a dinosaur museum, and a theme park for entertaining its visitors. Many countries are now focusing on the leisure and entertainment sector as the revenue coming into the malls from these facilities is ever increasing.
In addition, fine dining and events are also significantly contributing to make malls a hub for the local community. For instance, the Crystal Cove shopping centre in Newport Beach has several upscale restaurants that provide a place to share quality time with family and friends.
Moreover, innovative malls are also making use of the available space most favourably by featuring showrooms, pop-up stores, and setting up various kiosks to provide visitors with unexpected facilities.
Few malls go the extra mile to provide their specific consumer segments with their separate zones within the mall. For instance, the Dubai Mall features a ‘Fashion Avenue,’ which is an area that is fully dedicated to only luxury and high-end brands targeting upscale consumers. Besides, it also features a separate outside entrance and parking area to make their special visitors feel valued.
Ways in Which Malls are Integrating Technology
Using Social Media to Engage Consumers
The shopping malls create compelling content on social media sites and apps that include loyalty programs to entice their consumers. It helps create a buzz and also get ideas from consumers about new features the mall can incorporate. Many malls use the Facebook communication feature to talk to different communities.
Moreover, loyalty programs help to create direct relationships with customers. The location-based marketing can help with targeted advertising and also help shoppers to scan their purchase receipts using their smartphones. Customers can also use these receipts to gain points that can be redeemed for discount vouchers, concert tickets, and so on.
To incorporate the element of e-commerce in the shopping malls, Twentieth Century Fox partnered with Taubman to put a virtual storefront in 18 luxury malls. This has enabled shoppers to purchase movie tickets by scanning a QR code with their smartphones.
Parking Lot Sensors
Malls are continually finding ways to improve customer satisfaction by decreasing customer pain points and adding delight points. Adding sensors to detect how many slots are left in the parking lot is one way to address one of the greatest issues of the shoppers. In addition to this, mobile apps can offer visitors a quick guide to find what they are looking for at large malls.
Introducing New Commercial Real Estate Opportunities
Innovative malls today incorporate mix-used real estate to provide an atmosphere of a town centre to its visitors. These open-air malls built in urban areas are fully integrated with beautiful landscapes. For instance, the Cabot Circus Shopping Centre in Bristol has a shell-shaped glass roof that is as big as one-and-a-half football fields. The mall also incorporates environmental sustainability and features a rainwater harvesting system. Moreover, many malls today have also included trees, wooden floors, and walls and waterfalls inside them.
The world of retail is changing radically, and shopping malls have a central role to play, especially in urban societies. It is the need of the hour for malls to expand their horizons and cater to changing consumer habits.
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