Khaleej Times: Five key steps that can help attract shoppers
Parking during peak periods is always in short supply
The purpose of a shopping centre is to ensure that the highest quality traffic is delivered to the retailers over and over. To keep them coming back. When the right segment of customer is attracted to the retailers throughout the retail environment sales happen.
The following five steps will help you to keep them coming back!!
Retail is detail
Keep reviewing the public access roads for ease of entry and exit to your retail environment. When we fail to review the simplest of actions with fresh eyes we sometimes miss the easiest and most profound adjustments. Recently I visited a shopping centre which I was very familiar with three years ago. Visiting again for the first time in years, I noticed the public access roads had no signage. Arrows on the road were worn away. Paint on the walls of the entry tunnel into the parking garage were scuffed and peeling. Retail is detail. Keeping everything looking perfect from the first impression as you enter the shopping centre counts.
Park them
Parking during peak periods is always in short supply. Nothing will turn away customers from a shopping trip more quickly than a problem when finding suitable parking. When the world’s best performing shopping centres have upwards of five parking stalls per 100 square metres of leasable area, if your shopping centre parking offers significantly less parking, then keeping them coming back may become a huge challenge.
Signs and wonders
Way finding signage must evolve. Retailers move. New concepts are created. Signage must keep up. Digital signage is the most flexible form of signage today. Where an electrical outlet exists, digital signage can exist in a shopping environment.
Lease it
Keeping the retailer mix fresh. Many times in the industry you hear the following statement ‘it’s the same retailers in every shopping centre, when will we have some new brands?’ Basic business principles of finance in the shopping centre industry generally means that many of the same successful retailers are relied upon globally to keep the revenue flowing for the shopping centre owners. Approximately 15 per cent of the retailer space in a shopping centre should be made available to new brands, apparel concepts, food and beverage concepts and specialty retailers. These new retailers joining the mix will enliven the retail experience. Finding these retailers is not a simple chore. The leasing team must be experienced, focused, driven and always looking for what is new or trending.
Embrace change
The experience must be notable in a very positive way. People do not normally go shopping just to purchase things. People look for the quality of the experience they have when they purchase anything. More so now than ever, millennials seek a unique experience when they look to acquire anything. Starting with online research on their mobile phone set to the acquisition on-line or in-store the purchasing experience must be seamless and positive.
Over the course of my 35+ year career in the retail industry one thing has remained constant and that is the continual need to embrace change. When you ignore change or stop welcoming change, you and your team will inevitably move backwards.
By David Macadam – Khaleej Times
Link to Article: http://khaleejtimes.com/business/retail/five-key-steps-that-can-help-attract-shoppers