Future malls should incorporate experiential engagement, says Knight Frank Malaysia

PETALING JAYA (July 27): Developers need to change how shopping malls are developed to incorporate experiential engagement with consumers, Knight Frank retail consultancy and leasing associate director Rebecca Phan told TheEdgeProperty.com.

Phan was speaking at the Malaysian Property Summit Mid-Year Review 2016 organised by the Association of Valuers, Property Managers, Estate Agents and Property Consultants in the Private Sector Malaysia (PEPS) on how consumer behaviour affects the development of shopping centres.

The Edge Malaysia and TheEdgeProperty.com are the media partners of this forum.

"Consumers want more engagement today. Shopping is no longer about a product but an experience. There is a huge influence of social media especially on the Gen Ys today who comprise most of the population in Malaysia now. Over 66% of consumers in Malaysia and Singapore are shopping online," she said.

"[However], despite us moving towards the online platform, 78% of consumers still prefer to shop in-store. Consumers purchase at shopping centres at an average of 7.5 times per month as compared to shopping at online retail websites which is at an average of 2.2 times a month. So, we really need to combine both the online and physical store experience to keep up with future shopping trends," she said.

Phan cited an example of the Westfield Searchable Mall, the first mall operator to embrace the omni-channel strategy into malls.

"Consumers can browse for the items they like on their apps and bookmark them. When they [the consumers] are in the mall itself, they will be prompted or reminded of the items they have bookmarked so that they can try them on or buy them in the mall," she said.

Meanwhile, Phan also noted that nowadays, a mall is driven by consumers unlike in the 60s to 80s where the mall dictated the taste of consumers.

"Consumers have more choices and higher expectations now. Malls are easily accessible today, unlike in the past,” she said.

"Developers cannot develop a mall just for the sake of developing it and selling a mall. They have to be innovative in bringing out the best for the retailers as it is no longer the only platform for retail," she added.

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