Real Estate Investor Magazine South Africa November 2019 | Page 45

T
he CTICC received more than 1400 delegates from
over 500 companies at the start of the highly antici-
pated 23rd South African Council of Shopping Centres’
Annual Congress. A major focus of this year’s SACSC Annual
Congress is the industry’s ability to respond to the constant
evolution in its economic and technological arenas. The
SACSC Annual Congress has become an event that not only
brings up-to-date information and industry networking, it
also celebrates the country’s retail, shopping centre and as-
sociated industries. are, how consumers shop at them, and even the core economic
model for revenue needs to be profoundly reinvented, he
argues Changes are sure to affect not only retailers large and
small but any business with a stake in the global retail industry.”
A common thought running through many of the
presentations at the SACSC Congress was the need to deliver
highly relevant experiences, integrated across channels and
interactions, to customers. The need to integrate shopping
centres with digital technology to create a great customer
experience is verified by research. Consumers say that
the physical store remains an important element of both
researching and purchasing, though they are increasingly
preferring to research online. Yet many still want to go a store to
make their final purchase. With the convergence of offline and
online shopping, digital has become the avenue for growth. This does not mean that physical stores will disappear,
as online retailers Amazon and Alibaba are themselves
both investing in physical stores. However, the purpose of
physical stores will evolve as they increasingly become a
media channel, while on the other hand digital marketing has
become expensive as it needs to compete for attention with
many people.
This was echoed in the presentation by retail futurist
Doug Stephens, he maintains that shopping centres need to
investigate and invest in the mechanics of offering consumers
a truly great experience. Stephens offered the following five tips:
Engagement: “Have deeper level of engagement
with the minds and bodies of consumers, by not
just selling product but creating stories/experiences.
The experience should be less about products, more
about ‘productions’; less about inventory, more
about inspiration; less about commerce, more about
community (that reflects their values).” He gave the
example of the Collier stores.
“Create unique experiences by changing the script,
such as in the case of Nordstrom (an American chain of
luxury department stores) as well as Alibaba in China.”
Personalisation: “Retailing and manufacturing needs
to become less focused on mass production and
rather embrace the ‘age of me’, as typified by Nike’s
hyper personalisation whereby customers can design
their own shoes.”
Surprise: “Great brands engineer great surprises - but
they must be unusual,” says Stephens, giving the
examples of Camp store and Suffrages stores, where
the latter built a skateboard in the store.
Repeatability: “It must be possible to execute the
experiences time and again.”

A true ‘customer experience’ is one which surprises the
consumer. Today’s Gen Y and Gen Z are critical consumers who
operate in the currency of ‘Where I am and Who I’m with’ - they
believe that the value of experience is more important. This
year’s SACSC Congress is delving into how it as an industry
needs to evolve to keep ahead; how it needs to do things
differently; That to survive and ensure sustainability, businesses
must realise that evolution is no longer a ‘nice to have’.
Stephens cautioned that change in the global retail sector
has accelerated beyond even the boldest forecasts. This was
evidenced by online giants growing at a “dizzying pace”, while
hundreds of renowned brick-and-mortar retailers have closed
down. Brands and retailers across categories had failed to
respond to the online threat as they struggled to understand
the shifting needs and expectations of a new consumer. From
online to bricks-and-mortar, the entire concept of what stores
In South Africa, e-commerce volumes increased 15%
in 2018, with online retailers such as Amazon particularly
interested in the local market due to the young average age of
the population at 27-years, and with 80% being online due to
ownership of mobile phones.
91%
will be more likely to
shop if you recognise &
remember them
79%
believe that the retailer
needs to actively show
they care & understand
them
70%
say understanding
their individual needs
drives their loyalty
80%
are more likely to buy
when they are offered
personalised experience
15%
increase in e-commerce
in South Africa
SOURCE South African Shopping Council of Shopping Centres
SA Real Estate Investor Magazine NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2019
43