Bringing physical and digital together in the shopping centre environment.
It would have seemed absurd a few years ago that we would one day be walking around the shops with mini computers in hand more powerful than the desktops we were using at the time. Yet that day has come. Today the digital experience is an integral part of a shopping trip as shoppers and retailers use mobiles and tablets to browse, post and search for offers and secure items. It’s more than a trend, it’s a permanent change in the way people live, and it shouldn’t be ignored.
Combining the traditional and digital shopping experiences offers the best of both worlds – the convenience and price comparison abilities of online, with the immediacy and theatre of a hands-on experience.
Shopping centre landlords are faced with three choices: do nothing, do the bare minimum, or really embrace digital and all of the benefits it can bring.
The challenge of combining a physical environment with a digital conversation is one that many are grappling with. Yet it offers huge opportunities for those that can offer a truly world class experience to customers, unlike any they have had before. They want the social experience of shopping, but they want to be able to combine that with the advantages that digital provides. By providing for both, landlords can drive footfall and dwell time, enhancing the customer journey and delighting shoppers and retailers alike.
As landlord, Intu has chosen an unusual and brave route of hosting our own high speed, high quality Wi-Fi network ourselves. We, rather than a third party, own the data that is generated from our customer’s digital interactions when they are within our centres. Getting to know customers better than ever is our ultimate aim as it enables us to provide a greater customer experience. It allows the relationship to be enhanced and taken to a whole new level. And of course it is the retailers that benefit from this – since sales and loyalty are boosted as a result. Retailers are also exploring and pushing the digital boundaries and need a quality platform and backbone on which they can do that.
We’re also seamlessly combining the physical and digital environments with our new transactional fashion focussed and mobile enabled website intu.co.uk, where customers can buy on line and pick up at our centres, therefore driving footfall back to the centres. This is an additional channel to market that intu is able to offer its retailers.
Combining digital and traditional keeps everyone happy but offering a digital experience that breaks new boundaries is where the real benefits lie.
For more information please visit intugroup.co.uk and look out for our transactional, fashion-focused and mobile-enabled web site intu.co.uk in the autumn. We will also be at the BCSC Showcase on 11-12 September.
Trevor Pereira, Intu
No comments yet