High-end, futuristic malls in China and parts of the US are upgrading technology, hoping to attract customers with “smart” shopping centers.
“In the US, the malls look exactly the same they did 20 year ago,” Deborah Weinswig, executive director at Fung Business Intelligence Centre, said recently in a talk at a JDA Executive Luncheon. “We’ve got to make it more exciting, and more fun, and more experiential.”
Changing consumer tastes and the rise of e-commerce means shoppers are visiting malls less and less, with Weinswig reporting that the average American now visits a mall three to four times a year, as opposed to five to six. To compete with online shopping, malls need to match e-commerce in convenience and create experiential reasons to visit the mall that you cannot find online.
Here the one factor that we need to consider in this concept. China doesn’t face the same level of suicide bombings, lone wolf terrorist attacks as the west does. And, how much was factor into the equation of part of the reason why folks don’t like enclosed malls is because of the terrorist attacks plus all of those past mass mall shootings that we use to see so much of. Personally, I believe one needs to factor these into their assessment and investment decision around this. Also, many folks in the US like buying online because it is a hassle to drive to the mall due to traffic and/ or distance. And, online was way better as a result.