The other night, when I tuned in the national news I heard an alarming statistic. In a piece about the downturn in retail spending the anchor announced that analysts are estimating that between two to three thousand malls across America will either shut down or go out of business by June 2009.
Wow, now that’s some gloomy news if you are a small retailer. If the malls can’t stay open, well … it makes me (again for about the ten thousandth time), thank goodness that I’ve moved my retailing onto the Internet. If you are an Internet retailer, you probably feel the same way too. If you’re not, it’s time that you expand into the internet retail world.
As for those many malls that will shut down. I have a suggestion. Visit to the Puget Sound. We have two malls that faced the same fate during the last economic downturn. The traffic to these malls dwindled; they lost their anchor stores to more popular – larger malls. The outlook for these neighborhood destinations looked pretty bleak.
Maybe it’s because of the rain here in Seattle but we sure love a place to hang out and drink coffee. All that caffeine helps us make it through the short, dark rainy winter days. And, if there are books or newspapers to read or things to do, we love it even more. One local developer understood that. This developer changed the shopping malls atmosphere from a place where the main focus was to shop – to a place where people could gather – hang out, enjoy a meal, play a game of chess or watch a local band play music, or artist recite poetry. One store front was converted into a play area with a ball room for children. Parents can book the room for birthday parties and celebrations.
These malls now include space for the public library, with free Wi-Fi access. One shopping center features ongoing chess games – with a monster chess set with pieces almost life size, where challengers can face their opponents, and senior citizens play teenagers on sets brought from home. The food booths are not the normal mall fare, cooked fresh by local restaurants instead of chains.
The result – busy malls – yes, busy malls full of eager buyers who come to purchase their products in a familiar place. Someplace where the customer may have won their first game of chess – or watched their child in a local performance. Our local eBay group has our regular monthly meeting and lunch in the food court afterwards. Many of us detour into the malls bookstore for a quick tour down the aisles before we return to work, and few of us leave without a purchase.
If the B&M retailer hopes to stay in business – they too will have to learn what we Internet retailers are learning. We must provide our customers a place to engage, play and learn before they will open up their wallets.
One Response
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I’ve taken the same principle to my web site. My site is not just a cold place like a mall to purchase items. It’s a place to purchase, but it’s also a place to see personal photos of interest to my target audience, it’s a place to read articles, again of interest to my target audience and a place to get free information, like recipes (pertinent to my target audience).
I guess the key is “target audience”. Know who they are and what they want. You are absolutely correct when you say: “We must provide our customers a place to engage, play and learn before they will open their wallets”.
I’d also like to state that the information in your blog posts, articles and e-mails have been one the greatest factors in the success of my business. Thank you for all your wisdom and knowledge. And especially thank you for sharing it.
Sincerely,
Paula Bidwell
Native Talisman Art