How digital opportunity is reshaping SA’s shopping centres
Technology is helping shopping centres serve their customers better than ever before, says Ken Reynolds of Nedbank CIB
In the fiercely competitive South African retail environment, technology is a game-changer for shopping centres. Online shopping was initially tipped to be a cruel competitor for bricks-and-mortar retail, luring customers and their spend away from malls. Yet shopping centres remain the first port of call for most South African shoppers, and in deep rural markets the impact of online shopping is barely noticeable. Today, malls have embraced the changing dynamics and are using technology to their advantage and innovating to adjust to the ever-evolving needs of consumers. With the power of social media, big data and the internet of things, shopping centres can now understand and serve their customers better than ever before. They are also using new digital tools and data to make better leasing, operations and marketing decisions. Internet videos of “dead” malls in the US do not reflect the future of South African malls, says Ken Reynolds, divisional executive: property finance at Nedba...
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