Driving Shopping Centre Foot Traffic: Local Communities at the Centre of the Mall

The evolving nature of shopping Centres

Shopping Centres have diversified their services and have managed to attract unique tenants. Their role has changed and so have the amenities and services they provide to consumers – health and fitness, playgrounds, libraries, theatres, fine dining, places of worships and child-care have all entered the shopping Centre game.

“Centres have become a place where consumers can go to be educated, inspired, entertained and seek cultural experiences”

Shopping Centres aren’t just a place for selling and conducting transactions but a space where cultural and community-oriented services can coexist and complement alongside other retail stores. Successful retail establishments have managed to attract consumers who not only visit the Centre to purchase specific items but also visit the Centre for the other services that they offer. This means consumers are going to Centres not because they necessarily have to but mostly because they want to.

This indicates that foot-traffic and the number of customers in a retail environment have become dependent on the level of engagement that the Centre has managed to create. – And Activations might just be a solution to the existing foot-traffic problem…

Activations: the next generation of shopping Centre engagement

The shopping Centre plays a great role for local residents. In many ways, shopping Centres act as community Centres as well. In 2018 alone, 700 community-oriented events were in Australian shopping Centres. This is the proof that shopping Centres have become an ideal location for neighbouring residents to engage in activities and events that could benefit the community. Topics such as culture, environmental concerns and sustainability are prevailing in our communities. It would only seem natural to hold events and activities that would incorporate these types of subjects.

“Our Waste Warriors Initiative is proof that many communities are engaging in the sustainability movement”

Waste Warriors is a kid environmental educational initiative that has been created by our team to promote community engagement during the school holiday period. It offers a complete activation solution, which includes sustainable workshops and other learning and educational materials that inspires creativity and thinking.

Our Waste Warrior initiative campaign aimed to increase shopping Centre foot-traffic, drive repeat visitors and encourage dwell-time and was customised for each and individual client. Waste Warrior is an ongoing initiative and will continue throughout the year and will be making a comeback shortly. This year we are expecting thousands of proud, brave and innovative little warriors.

For more information on Waste Warrior visit

https://www.engageatdisegno.com.au/projects/waste-warriors-are-here2/ 

Reinventing the Wheel of Activations

According to surveys conducted by Relationship Australia, neighbouring residents are becoming attached to their local communities.  This indicates that more and more locals are envisioning the type of community they want to live in and are shaping and moulding it throughout various stages of its growth. More and more locals are engaging in economic activities that will strengthen their community and are choosing to shop locally.

“Localism has definitely impacted on how residents work, live and…shop”

Localism can be described as a person’s preference to choose their local community. This means that many individuals prefer to shop, work and live within their own community. Localism and other developing trends in communities have changed the way shopping Centre activities are perceived. While shopping Centres remain a destination for retail and transactions, it is the communities that will most likely influence the type of services and complementary activities offered.

 

For our team at ENGAGE, it’s all about creating campaigns that lead to further consumer engagement. We understand that in a retail and shopping Centre environment, consumers are searching for social interactions and opportunities to connect with other members of their community. Communities will continue to evolve, as will the shopping Centre and our need to further design fitting activations.