After America’s most popular department store Macy’s announced that it would shut down 100 stores across the country, we knew that it was a sign that shopping malls are being killed by online shopping (Peterson, 2017). Shoppers who once spent their hours in stores trying on products and queuing in the line to pay, are now shopping online comparing prices among the competitors and choosing the most ideal time to deliver at their homes. Shopping online is not only convenient and accessible 24/7, but it also provides more options to the consumers and it is much more timesaving. According to Ram (2017), nowadays consumers are much more into shopping for experiences. Millenials have shifted their ways of spending to dining out and traveling. Furthermore, millenials are more driven by the experiences that will make the best social media content (Thompson, 2017). All in all, this group noticed how time is a luxury and prefer to order products online. Malls and retail stores need to wake up soon and realize that in order to stay relevant and grow, they need to adapt and change their strategies.
So will malls be able to overcome this trend and continue to survive? There are several things malls can do to strengthen their position in the retail industry:
- Setting up a diverse tenant mix: the once occupied spaces in malls could now be replaced with entertainments, learning zones or food hotspots (Schaefer, 2016). By housing fitness studios, medical offices, beaty salons and grocery stores in the mall, many consumers will find there are more values added in going to a mall that will contribute to their experiences.
- Creating a ‘click & collect’ concept: in order to make shopping more convenient for customers, malls could start using the ‘click and collect’ concept. This way, customers could purchase products online and then collect it later at the mall. According to ICSC (2015), consumers who participate in click and collect shopping, they tend to buy additional goods that were not part of their original purchase once they hit the store.
- Rolling out mobile apps: malls could start rolling out mobile apps, or upgrading their current apps to be more interactive and customer-focused. For instance, shoppers could use their location and find real-time parking lot spaces on the app, real-time navigations to find certain stores, finding their customer’s loyalty on the app and much more. The app could also personalize offerings and recommendations to the consumers, which in return would likely stimulate consumers to purchase more in the mall or on the app.
With these action points, malls could certainly step up their game and combat the current crisis they are in. I strongly believe that malls would not fade away entirely if they start providing more diversity of products and services within their malls and start embracing technology. Sometimes you would find me hours in a mall because they just have so much to offer: from sitting in a Ferris wheel to joining 2-hours art classes to eating at delicious restaurants. Of course, many malls (especially older and traditional ones) still have to catch up with these ideas and it will take some years before they could fully implement it. Lastly, what are your thoughts regarding malls becoming obsolete? Do you think they will disappear in the future or they will rejuvenate?
Bibliography
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Available at: http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/a-whopping-91-percent-of-holiday-shoppers-made-purchases-in-a-physical-store-according-to-new-icsc-holiday-consumer-purchasing-trends-study-300202004.html
[Accessed 26 September 2017].
Thompson, D., 2017. What in the World Is Causing the Retail Meltdown of 2017?. [Online]
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