Marketing for Shopping Malls

Today’s shopping malls have essentially become centres designed to satisfy visitors’ leisure requirements. In a world where retail formats are constantly being reinvented, nobody can be sure how long these types of spaces will remain active, nor where the sector is heading in the future.

Shopping centres and malls are a global business that is basically controlled by investment funds and large multinationals with converging interests. They normally operate in the real estate sector, as the sole value attributable to retail space was its location in relation to size and territory.

For many years, the key concern of shopping mall owners was to lease their premises: a search for retailers and franchisees that would hang their signs in their spaces.

However, in recent decades the goalposts have moved: the rapid growth of online shopping has forced shopping mall owners to seek ways of increasing traffic to their spaces, which often implies a considerable financial outlay.

Shopping mall managers and their marketing staff are responsible for handling these large amounts of money, faced with the challenge of obtaining measurable results in terms of traffic flows.

This is a complex task, as they must ensure that a single action is not only capable of improving consumers’ experience in the centre, but also of satisfying the metric demands set by the owners and executive teams.

Enjoying the experience

New consumers are looking for experiences as well as the mere acquisition of goods. The traditional transactions involved in acquiring products or services is easier online. However, digital environments are unable to generate the sensation of “having enjoyed an experience”, which is why consumers are eager to purchase experiences and demand courses in nutrition and cookery, health and wellbeing, or even makeup workshops.

Being part of something​

Consumers no longer need to leave their homes to shop; they do so in order to interact with society and to generate a sense of belonging. In this sense, malls should focus less on the notion of ‘shopping’ and more on their function as centres for socialising and culture. In line with this, marketing actions should be tailored towards attracting the general public through musical, artistic and social events.

Sustainability

Today’s customers, particularly the younger segments, are beginning to demand social commitment as well as low prices. As a result, shopping malls have also begun to centre their attention on corporate social responsibility, launching initiatives related to responsible consumption, environmental impact, health and proximity.

Personalisation​

Consumers are beginning to prioritise personalisation over standardisation. The fast fashion retail giants continue to be the driving forces for shopping malls, but it is the small operators, with their exclusive and unique offers that are obtaining the best results. Popup stores selling differentiated products for a short period of time, are one of the possible options.

Can you picture a performance by the Cirque du Soleil in your shopping mall? Or an exhibition featuring the most famous MotoGP bikes of the last ten years? There are shopping malls in the Persian Gulf, Malaysia, China or Indonesia where setting up F1 race tracks, ski slopes or performances by world famous artists are regular occurrences that draw the wealthiest customers to their luxury stores.

It is clear that the challenge facing shopping malls is to offer exciting, first class quality entertainment, yet that at the same time is in line with the budget of the ‘average’ Spanish shopping centre. Attempting to set up a good exhibition, workshop or live event requires planning, a strategy and a team of professionals capable of making things happen.

However, before embarking on such actions, it is important to identify the shopping centre’s commercial mix and take time to gain an insight into consumer demographics, studying the interests and needs that must be met. What’s more, the events should also generate satisfaction among retailers and operators. It is therefore advisable to work closely with them in order to create campaigns and events that will produce notoriety, traffic to stores and partnerships that will contribute value to their products.

How about organising a Carnival makeup workshop in collaboration with the mall’s hairdressing salon? The operator provides the materials and staff in return for brand recognition. Or a Zumba session in the shopping mall given by the fitness centre monitors? Or a fair featuring food products organised jointly with the supermarket?

Customer service / Information desks

Small and medium size shopping malls do not offer this service. The information desk must be staffed by experts in customer service, capable of assuming the responsibilities involved and delivering effective solutions.

Social media

Digital channels are another key form of communication with shopping mall users. Keeping social media channels active and maintaining an ongoing dialogue is essential in order to guarantee customer satisfaction.

Another crucial aspect is to ensure that the same message is transmitted on all platforms. The brand must always send out the same message, regardless of where consumers may be looking.

The tone of the shopping mall’s online communication is perceived in every blog post, Instagram photo and Facebook text. Using the right language for each shopping centre is a complex task, because there is a big difference between communications from a shopping mall in a large city targeting customers with a high purchasing power and those focused on young people in the suburbs or target markets in rural settings.

What’s more, each age group has its own favourite digital tool. Younger, more dynamic segments use Instagram on their mobile phones, whilst the adult population prefers Facebook. That’s why it is so important to entrust your digital communication to the professionals, rather than simply lumping it all together.