SELLING THE EXPERIENCE
Mall owners and retailers take heed
Today’s consumer is less into buying things and more into sharing experiences
In many countries — SA included — shopping centre vacancies are ticking up. The reason: depressed sales, coupled with rising competition from e-commerce, force retailers to consolidate space and close underperforming stores. Understandably, mall owners and retailers are increasingly grappling with the question of how to stay relevant amid the fast-changing habits of fickle shoppers. Speaking at the annual congress of the SA Council of Shopping Centres (SACSC) in Cape Town last month, a number of international panellists warned that landlords and retailers will have to become far more innovative in their tenant mix and products if they want to curb rising mall vacancies and falling trading densities (turnover per square metre).Herculano Rodrigues, associate director of UK-based retail strategy consultant Javelin Group, said the global retail landscape will change more over the next 10 years than it has over the past 40 years. One of the key industry challenges, said Rodrigues, will b...
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