Photo: YIT
Digital Dynamite
Still, the retail experts insist that shopping centres can really reach new heights, if they’ re willing to steal a trick or two from the digital world. This could mean a more engaging visit to your favourite store, for example, with your smartphone app earning you VIP points for just spending time there. And as the app learns what you enjoy, there will be plenty of special offers, promotions and the like – the best of both worlds, digital and physical, all rolled into one.
Heli Marjanen, Professor for the University of Turku, says that online shopping
20 Nordicum is such a strong phenomenon that almost all retail players are now busy trying to“ go digital”. Nevertheless, Marjanen points out that according to numerous studies brickand-mortar stores are not going anywhere.
“ And neither are shopping centres,” she adds.
Change You Must
That doesn’ t mean that the shopping centres can remain the way they are, however. Having studied shopping centers for many years, Marjanen is puzzled by the fact that most shopping centers still lack a solid presence online.
“ Nobody is really providing the kind of specific, localised information that the shopping center patron is interested in,” she says.
Then there are the more advanced concepts, such as gamification, which are causing waves in retail industry. Marjanen observes that introducing games into the shopping centre environment holds definite potential: going on a store-to-store treasure hunt, for instance, would allow the patron to get better acquainted with the offering.
“ Simply walking around the shop-