Shopping Centre News - May 2019

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The shopping mall is on the cusp of a major change.From being mere buildings housing stores, they are evolving into becoming an integral part of the community they belong to, places where people spend their leisure time. This is particularly true for a country like India where the weather conditions and the need to move around in a car dictate where people spend their free time! But just when the mall was settling into a routine, came a new medium of sale, in form of e-commerce. People switched over for the convenience and the comfort, the sea of choices, deep discounts and doorstep delivery. The Indian mall developer was jolted out of his comfort zone, as shoppers who once thronged malls were now ordering on phones, computers and tablets, siphoning sales from physical stores. They started facing the heat to reinvent their shopping centres. And what a reinvention it has been. From simply housing well-known chain stores, cinemas and supermarkets,the Indian mall has transformed itself into a FEC – a place where people can eat, watch movies, take part in events and activities, spend quality time in play zones with their children, and maybe shop some! Gyms, supermarkets, hotels, co-working space, pop-up stores, expanded food courts, movie theatres and event spaces are all filling up the retail space in the malls, bringing in footfalls and pulling back customers and revenue from e-commerce