The science behind the construction of shops, malls, outlets goes beyond creating something which is aesthetically pleasing. It must be designed in a manner in which it appeals to the core audience’s, emotional, psychological, functional, and social needs.
Simply put, it must create an artificial demand so that people buy more. That means everything from the store layout to the placement of elevators to its maintenance must be done in such a manner that inspires people to spend their money.
Today, the shopping malls are facing some major challenges in dealing with increasing competition in the form of online portals which are cheap and can easily gain the consumer’s attention by looking at the browsing history and showing them relevant results. Thus, it is but obvious that now is the time the malls must rethink their design and how they will maintain and gain more consumers.
In this article, we offer design perspectives that could lead to more customers and also state the ways in which modern technology and architectural advancements like BIM Services, facility management, etc. can be useful for increasing customer satisfaction.
Focus On Customer Experience
As stated above the online shopping experience can offer advantages that the malls could never match up to like endless product range, instant price comparisons, and the convenience of being available irrespective of time and place. So instead of focusing on that, the malls need to start creating experiences that would hold some undeniable appeal to the consumers.
This could be in terms of the mall designs like in the case of the Harrods in London with its iconic Egyptian Escalator or the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II in Milan with its spectacular glass roof. Then they can also add interactive elements like the water channels in the Grand Canal Shoppes in Las Vegas or The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands in Singapore. Then there is the aquarium in the Dubai mall or the indoor floating market in ICONSIAM mall. All of these larger than life installations bring in more consumers who end up shopping.
It is understandable that these are some big malls which are renowned across the world and it is not possible for all the malls to have over-the-top and outlandish design elements. They could however offer art centers, game zones, indoor ski or golf concerts, art centers, fitness clubs, and farmer’s markets.
Malls could also have a curated mix of novelty shops that offer more localized products that are not available online. All of these should be strategically located so the consumer must pass by shops to actually reach there.
Design To Increase Impulsive Buying
The next thing that malls can focus on to drive people is to focus on their layout to increase impulsive buying. According to one study, approximately 40% of the shopping done by consumers is unplanned and the architecture of the mall can play a significant role. In the 20th century, it was Victor Gruen who first used light and space to dramatically stage goods in the storefront, attracting customers and motivating them to buy more.
Today it is known as the Gruen Effect and it happens when the mall takes the consumer from shopping for a particular item to shopping for shopping’s sake. This is particularly used by huge brands like Ikea, Walmart, Target, etc. to drive consumers to shop. Ikea is the most notable example that takes the layout of the store and utilizes it to drive consumer satisfaction and ultimately their sales. The focus is not to drive consumers to shop based on logic or requirements but on emotional needs. This means that everything must be considered like how the products are presented and how the floor space is designed.
Grid layouts can emphasize speed and convenience wherein the consumer might simply grab what he wants and leave. The freeform layout on the other hand means that the consumer will explore, meaning the more the area traveled more items are exposed to the consumers. Finally, there are the racetrack designs that expose the consumers to certain paths motiving them, again and again, to go to a certain section. The same goes for product placement. There is a great deal of thought that goes into placing one item next to another.
May it be arranging the products by price, requirements, or small items like flowers, magazines, or packets of gum near the checkout counter so that the customer ends up buying it while waiting in line.
Leveraging Technology
Though it has been a source of constant competition, technology could also offer some benefits for the consumers. First, they could use technology to elevate before and after experiences. Social Media can be used to create engaging content and compel customers. They can also be used to create a buzz about events or new shops or sales.
Loyalty programs can be made which can attract repeat clients. However, here the malls need to first get access to customer information. They can do this by strategically placing kiosks where scanned purchase receipts from smartphones can be traded for coupons, movie tickets, etc. Additionally, technologies like face recognition, location-based mobile ads, etc. can be implemented to target consumers.
Malls can also use prevailing technology to improve customer satisfaction. Point Cloud to BIM Services can be used to firstly scan the existing malls following which the data can be used to create an as-is intelligent 3D model. This model has all the information that would be not just required for effective maintenance of the mall but can be combined with modern technologies to provide enhanced customer satisfaction. For example, BIM can be combined with VR to create a virtual 3D mall wherein the consumer can right at the onset get an idea of the mall’s layout and what is where.
Another way to create apps that have the digital maps of the malls enabling ease in understanding the bigger multi-leveled malls. Sensors could be placed in parking slots which provide information on how many spots are available and also give visual locators to spot the empty parking space. Similarly, when combined with AI it can be used to control temperatures, lights, etc. which could lead to better comfort levels.
Conclusion
Thus the impact of architectural design on the consumer’s behavior and as a result of the success of the mall is momentous. The malls must take these redesign and reinvent in order to meet with changing demands of the urban and suburban societies and to stay relevant in the world of online shoppers.
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