The Changing Face of Malls – Enhancing the Experience to Meet Changed Consumer Behaviour

Despite the challenges of the last year, the mall concept is still very strong. This is the case globally, but even more so in Dubai where we are fortunate to be more advanced in this space than many parts of the world. However, it is under a state of transition. This isn’t subject to any individual retailer or F+B outlet; rather it is subject to the consumers, and what they want; what the shopper wants. And what the shopper tells us is that they love going to malls.

While malls have seen a decrease in the number of tourists over the past year given the global travel restrictions, we have seen an increase in the frequency and number of residents at each of our properties.

It has hence become increasingly important for us to adapt and find creative solutions to encourage repeat visitation for our shoppers. 

Differentiating the offer to focus on experiences 

Whether it be for shopping, or dining out, for moments of family entertainment or simply for a social experience, they are looking for something that serves all these purposes. A combination of which that we call ‘retailtainment’.  Adding entertainment and experiences to the retail mix is the next big thing for retail and shopping centers. From museums, education, indoor amusement, sports, to virtual reality, entertainment needs to not only complement food but be a driver by itself. Malls need to find the right facilities to keep and entertain people for five to six hours, while balancing the active experiences of interacting with the brand with the more passive experiences of shopping and dining.

If we think about the shift to digital in the last few years, especially the acceleration in the last year, the best way for malls to differentiate themselves from e-commerce platforms is to provide exceptional entertainment experiences. Our role is to bring retail and entertainment brands together to co-develop new exciting concepts with the future being in concepts focused on lifestyles, health mindedness and value conscious experiences. Ultimately for us, interactivity within shopping spaces leads to increase in dwell time, repeat visits and creates more memorable experiences and in turn, brand affinity.

Catering to new tastes

With the rise of e-commerce in the retail space, the element of transactions in a mall might decrease in coming years, while food will become an even bigger focal point. Food is developing in many areas and new concepts keep coming like fresh food, food court, sit down food, entertainment food, street food, seasonal food. The basic food courts implemented to capture clients already visiting a mall are not enough anymore. Advanced food management requires a deep understanding of customer profiles and a proper segmentation.

Personalisation in the digital age

While customer interaction goes from offline to online, it is crucial that we don’t undermine the value of human and personal interaction. The digital transformation era allows consumers to demand better experiences and convenience, as well as making informed decisions on purchases as companies use data to understand and meet their customers’ evolving needs and make their shopping experience more personalized.

From a malls perspective, we use what we know about our loyal customers to connect with them directly through our digital and social channels, greet them with customized offers as they enter our Malls and reward them with incentives to encourage repeat visits. Measure footfall and sales trends against the success of our mall tenants. We have a digital network of over three million unique users that we engage with on a regular basis.

All the above, points to the fact that traditional retail is being resized, reinvented, and reimagined. This is leading to retailer restructuring with the disruption creating the inevitable opportunities for new operators and formats to emerge. The good news for the industry is that malls is a thriving business and will continue to grow – we are currently pushing ahead with our expansion into markets such as Egypt where construction continues on our Festival Avenue project which introduces new luxury brands to Cairo Festival City Mall in Egypt. The fact that people love to go to places and share their experiences will not change. And we’re excited to be part of the journey.

 Interview as published in the MECS+R Directory 2021 - Expert's Retail Reports.