News

Mall landlords use technology to woo shoppers

August 2, 2011

Mall owners are fighting fire with fire. According to a Bloomberg report, some of the world's largest mall owners are using online and mobile technologies to keep consumers coming to their shopping centers – the very technologies that have been eating away at the business of brick-and-mortar retailers.

From location-based shopping to virtual malls, mall owners are finding clever ways to engage and attract shoppers. According to the article, London-based mall owner Hammerson Plc is rolling out a software that tracks mall shoppers using their cellphones. U.S. mall management company Simon Property Group Inc. is promoting their malls through smartphone applications. The story says applications can help shoppers navigate their way around a shopping center, locate parking spots, alert them to promotions and provide movie listings.

“The big beasts of the jungle are showing that they are alive, ready and willing to embrace these trends,” said Joshua Bamfield, director of Newark, England-based Centre for Retail Research, in the article.

The move may be less about innovation and more about survival during tough times for mall owners. Vacancy rates are high and competition from small retail centers is keen. What's more, thanks to online shopping, retailers need fewer stores to reach their clientele. Jonathan de Mello, head of European retail at CB Richard Ellis Group Inc., told Bloomberg that retailers now need only around 90 stores to reach half of Britain’s population versus 200 in 1971. That makes them choosier about how much space they need and where the space is located.

Mall landlords see new technologies as a way to attract shoppers which in turn woos tenants to their shopping centers. Additionally, some mall landlords are using information collected on shoppers and their movements using the technology to help figure out where to place stores for maximum benefit.

Landlords aren't just interested in driving shoppers to offline locations either. Bloomberg notes that Australia's Westfield Group Ltd. has recently opened its first online virtual mall. The new service gives customers a single checkout and connects to social media networks so shoppers can give feedback.