Real-life stories<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\nWhile people go to malls for brands and experiences, it\u2019s ultimately how they feel about the experiences that will get them to talk and share with others. It\u2019s not just about the merchandise that people buy but the stories behind the merchandise and how they relate to their lives. It is all about the shoppers\u2019 story time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When people dine at DC Comics Superheroes Cafe, they can share the stories of these superheroes, put them up on Facebook and let thousands of others know their stories of how, when and who they dine with.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When people queue to buy Crossover shoes, it is because of the desire to own the limited edition as well their stories in owning these limited editions. Likewise, when people queue overnight during an Apple product launch, it\u2019s because of the novel excitement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
All these real-life experiences and stories will permeate across social media and may create viral effects that attract more and more people to shop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
People are buying into \u201cwhy\u201d now. It is a trend of \u201cshowrooming\u201d, a trend of shopping for review before buying. Hence, having the key winning retail brands that know how to create more why\u2019s and unique stories will have the advantage to draw more crowd.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Decoration in shopping malls, especially during festive seasons, is a common expectation of shoppers. Hence, it is gradually a norm for mall operators to invest on creative festive decorations with to draw the crowds and create publicity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some of the classic festive decora- tive elements include giant Christmas trees with snowfall during Christmas, a majestic palace surrounded by cherry blossoms during Chinese New Year, kampung houses with nostalgic displays during Hari Raya, colourful kolam <\/em>with unique patterns during Deepavali, dazzling street lightings during year-end celebrations and more.<\/p>\n\n\n\nShoppers\u2019 lifestyles<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\nMall decorations also present shoppers with plenty of photographic opportuni- ties to share and remember. Malls are capitalising on the lifestyles of shoppers\u2019 postings on social media to further create word-of-mouth publicity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mural arts that are reflective of today\u2019s local lifestyle or past history, and<\/p>\n\n\n\n
3D art corners are some examples that can be created which locals and tourists are also very fond of.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Characters parading in theme parks and promoters walking about with unique costumes and appearances are also tactical to offer pleasant surprises and wholesome values that shoppers will remember for a long time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Shopping malls are also preferred destinations for events with celebrities and artistes\u2019 appearances, music enter- tainment, food fest, sports, licensed characters and community gatherings as major draws.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Surprising shoppers or bringing something unique to the community is a great opportunity to differentiate one mall from another, and works well in drawing crowds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Shopping rewards<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\nIt is important to note that the conven- tional value marketing still plays an key role in drawing crowds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While enjoying the new shopping experience, many are still attracted<\/p>\n\n\n\n
by shopping rewards such as gift redemptions, special discounts, contest prizes, anniversary sales and loyalty programmes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Creative promotions and offerings are important to entice spending and improve sales conversion. The impact is more significant, especially during the economic slowdown when people are more cautious in their spending and always on the lookout for value for money.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Marketers \u00a0know that\u00a0 a great experience \u00a0beyond \u00a0expectation will build emotional touch \u00a0and \u00a0drive\u00a0 loyalty. Hence,\u00a0 for all the good efforts that are done, malls should never forget to close the loop with superior customer care.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Well-trained and friendly frontliners including concierge assistants, security personnel, mall ambassadors, car park attendants, foreign language translators and sales assistants play roles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Showing genuine care to customers is key to great customer experience. Pos- itive and regular customer engagement will lead to customer satisfaction and hence drives frequent visitations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nPhang Sau Lian is the Assistant Secretary of the Malaysia Shopping Malls Association and the General Manager of Sunway Putra Mall<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
There\u2019s no magical spell that drives shoppers into malls. Instead, operators need to have a good understanding of what their malls offer and the type of catchment they want to attract. And no single formula applies to all malls. Rather, the adage \u201cdifferent strokes for different folks\u201d aptly describes what malls should be doing. The […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_themeisle_gutenberg_block_has_review":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"class_list":["post-2875","writers-corner","type-writers-corner","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ppkm.org.my\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/writers-corner\/2875"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ppkm.org.my\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/writers-corner"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ppkm.org.my\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/writers-corner"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.ppkm.org.my\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/writers-corner\/2875\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ppkm.org.my\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2875"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}