Every shopping mall has its unique way of serving

consumers and visitors – some malls may be more

traditional in their offerings while others more modern,

innovative in how they woo visitors. Some malls work

on bringing in better brands – both homegrown as

well as international, others concentrate on providing

entertainment and food offerings and yet others use

technology to keep themselves ahead of the rest.

Suffice to say fierce competition, the age of

digitisation and Omnichannelisation is drawing malls

out of their comfort zones, getting them to try the

unique at regular intervals to rake in consumers. One

sure shot method to bring in the footfalls is selling

experiences. The new-age consumer has enough

disposable income, lack of time, a plethora of mediums

to shop on and food tech platforms bringing the best of

cuisines to his doorstep. The only thing which can add

more value to this already well-served customer’s mall

visit is serving him experiences.

This theory is supported by a study by Walker, a

customer intelligence consulting firm, which reveals

that customer experience will overtake price and

product as the key brand differentiator by the year

2020. Malls today are providing a wide range of

services and experiences including discounts, offers,

exclusive events like midnight sales, buy online and

pick at store facilities, waiting lounges, 24*7 helpdesks,

digital screens and robotics manuals to guide shoppers.

Shopping Centre News’ November issue brings

you a detailed analyses of the need for consumer

engagement, and case studies on how malls have

prospered after implementing more services. The issue

also brings readers a feature on the role and impact of

Visual Merchandising in malls, how it is responsible for

more footfalls and eventually more conversions, and

why it plays a key role in deciding the brand’s fate by

attracting more shoppers.

As always, we hope you find the issue

informed and beneficial. Do log on

to our website, www.indiaretailing.

com to read more informative

articles and analyses on the

stage of the global retail and

shopping centre industry

with an emphasis on India