If you have ever visited malls in the West, you

would see that they are extremely different from

their Indian counterparts. There is something

trendy everywhere you look, new innovations

implemented cleverly and successfully. One trend

which has come from the West is the Concept Store.

Originally, found on high streets, concept stores

are today the core of shopping malls all over the

world. In India, with the explosion of e-commerce

on the retail scene, malls use these re-imagined

and re-engineered as a means to improvise their

offerings and to rake in the footfalls.

Malls or Consumer Engagement Spaces invest in

experiential retail through concept stores, which

are all about discovery and experience – selling a

carefully curated, unique selection of products that

connect to an overarching theme.

Concept stores began small, with only apparel

stores investing in them, but now almost every

segment of the industry is experimenting. Be it F&B

outlets, apparel & accessories, sports equipment

stores, homewares, and even hypermarts and

supermarts, they all use concept stores to test

innovative ideas which optimise the customer’s

journey. They offer experimental elements such as

a cafés or exhibition spaces, enhancing their appeal to shoppers seeking a particular lifestyle.

The August edition of the Shopping Centre News

studies the impact and growth of concept stores in

the Indian Shopping Mall Industry. The issue talks

about mall developers’ definition of the concept

store and the kind of outlets they offer to attract

local shoppers.

Aside from this, the edition talks about Corporate

Social Responsibility and what malls are doing to

abide by it since the mandatory introduction of

spending on CSR brought on by the Companies Act

2013. The feature also discusses how this medium

of helping society is actually becoming a consumer

engagement tool, increasing brand awareness for

the mall.

As always, we hope you find the issue informative

and valuable to your business. Do log on to our

website, www.indiaretailing.com to read more

useful articles and analyses on innovative trends

and developments in the shopping centre industry

on a global stage with an emphasis on India