Shopping Centers Today is the news magazine of the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC)
Issue link: https://sct.epubxp.com/i/462841
M a r c h 2 0 1 5 / S C T 43 augmented- reality systems will lead to profound changes in the shopping ex- perience. In marketing too, big data, social media and location-based mobile services will open up opportunities. Perhaps the greatest challenge facing managers is a fairly standard one: coping with the fickle consumer. Heinemann says product cycles are shorter than they used to be, and this has translated into a faster rise and fall in the popularity of many stores as well. Ultimately, the work of future man- agers may look a lot like Roger Wade's as CEO of Boxpark, in the Shoreditch section of East London. Built in an industrial chic style, out of recycled shipping containers, this popup mall has lease durations as short as a week, creating a huge management challenge. "You've got to react," said Wade. "It's no longer a straightforward, 'I've got a building, I lease it to my tenant, end of that.' It's a lot more complex." The biggest imperative for Wade is getting people through the door. "You really have to drive footfall, and it's beyond just having a winter ice rink," said Wade. "It's getting involved with social-media programs, getting actively involved with email databases and WiFi data-capture details. It's about a conversation that we have with our cus- tomer." At Boxpark, at least, this means the manager's role has evolved almost into that of an impresario rather than a landlord. "Retail is entertainment," Wade said. "We've got to entertain the customer, and that means all the opera- tions have to reflect that." At ECE, too, managers are think- ing of the shopping center as not only a place to buy things, but also as a meet- ing point and an entertainment district. "This philosophy hasn't changed since I started in ECE," said Oertel, "but I think it's getting more and more im- portant as products are comparable everywhere and shops are comparable everywhere and prices are comparable everywhere." To succeed now, "you need to make people feel at home. They need to want to go there in their free time, meet friends and spend time together. A mall needs to be a place where that's possible." SCT icsc.org/sctlive Join the editors of Shopping Centers Today as they travel the globe talking to today's top players about the industry's most important trends. Attend in person to meet the speakers and network with other industry professionals, or listen in via podcast from anywhere in the world with your computer or smartphone. ICSC presents LIVE F A C E T I M E W I T H T O D A Y ' S N E W S M A K E R S 2015 "There needs to be greater understanding of how logistics ties into a retailer's business and can help drive revenue and profitability."