This article by Melissa Prpic, Head of Digital & Marketing, Retail, The GPT Group, forms part of our ‘Activating Retail Precincts’ feature published in the latest edition of Shopping Centre News. 

While retail has evolved from ancient bartering times and market stalls, one thing has remained true – the theatre of retail; how it makes customers feel and how it connects and embeds in communities has only grown in importance. Gone are the days a retailer could rely on good banter and fluid pricing to keep customers returning and purchasing more. In a post-COVID world, with the rise of hybrid shopping experiences, that is shopping across not only omni channel but also social commerce, liquid expectations from customers is driving marketing to imagine a new wave of retail experiences – one that addresses the needs and wants of a complex customer and cuts through the noise. Easy, right?

Liquid expectations was coined by sociologist and philosopher Zygmunt Bauman to describe a phenomenon where people’s expectations are shaped by their experiences across different contexts, leading to a constant state of flux and adaptability. In a retail sense, it refers to the notion that customers now expect brands to seamlessly integrate their experiences across all touchpoints, both online, social and offline, in a way that feels natural. Not only that, but experience design is applied across categories – meaning we are not only competing with retail activations and experiences but also any experiences with a brand that a customer has had. Essentially, customers expect a consistent and connected experience with a brand, retail or shopping centre regardless of where or how they interact with it.

Overlay how time-poor customers are, which only intensifies their expectations from their experiences, combined with their everchanging expectations and what they want from a brand is leading to a new phenomenon – the ‘Me Customer’: They want experiences that differ and address what they want, when they want it: Entertain me, Surprise me, Educate me, Connect me, Leave me alone (Discovery), make it easy and let me do it on my terms, on a channel of my choosing. This customer does not suffer fools.

What does this mean for shopping centre digital and marketing teams? This is undoubtedly the most complex and exciting time in retail and marketing! Never before have we had access to as much customer behaviour, consumption and psychometric data. Data that informs the creation of experiences that are more targeted than ever before. Data that pushes teams to be creative, test new platforms, social experiences and drive first-to-market physical activations all while connecting with our communities and enhancing productivity for our retailers. So, let us entertain you!

Pacific Fair’s Skatefest activation

Entertain me
School holidays can bring dread for some parents. Deep down, we are clutching for new and exciting experiences that keep the little ones happy, off devices and are cool (is that even a word I can use anymore? Am I showing my age?). Solution – combine retail therapy and skateboarding – Hello Skatefest.

Pacific Fair’s Skatefest returned for its sixth consecutive year in 2023 for ten days over the January school holidays, where a car park transformed into a skateboarder’s paradise! Complete with everything a skater could wish for – ramps, rails, ledges and a massive half pipe – the skatepark was the only fully undercover option on the Gold Coast during the tropical and unpredictable January weather.

This year, the team introduced different skill levels of skate lessons catering for beginner, intermediate and advanced masterclasses. Not into skateboarding? Mural art workshops and skate deck painting provided an outlet for creatively inclined kids, hosted by renowned artist Sonny Day. Masterclasses were designed to provide advanced skaters with coaching from some of the Gold Coast’s finest skateboarders, including Olympian Tommy Fynn and pro skateboarder Dennis Durrant. More than 2,500 young people participated in Skatefest, earning widespread recognition across the Gold Coast and beyond.

Pink Palm Pacific Fair: an insta-worthy café with six pink-themed photography rooms opened its doors at Pacific Fair’s Summer Shopping Weekend in mid-September last year. The activation boasted on-trend photography spaces, and a café serving PF branded barista coffee and loaded croissants in partnership with retailer, Le Bon Choix Bakery.

Pink Palm created on-trend experiences to drive visitation and excitement while encouraging spend in the centre. The pop-up was leaked to market as a secret pink café with clues dropped to the Gold Coast in the lead-up, building hype to gain local media coverage. An influencer program was critical to driving awareness, including a Pink Palm Instagram account gaining 1,300 followers in the few weeks it was operating.

The pop-up café pre-advertising campaign drove awareness and built anticipation for the café. The campaign achieved a PR reach of more than 9.15 million and an influencer audience of more than 1.4 million. Overall traffic for the weekend was up 26% on the same period the prior year, and more than 1,900 redemptions were made during the weekend, achieving an average spend of $349.

Surprise me
There is one time a year when everyone has the hopeful anticipation of what lies ahead – what will the new year bring?

Rouse Hill Town Centre has a reputation for creating engaging community activations. Recognising the role the centre has within the community, the team created a night to remember for New Year’s Eve. With more than 50,000 people in attendance, this event achieved double-digit food spend growth on the same day last year and phenomenal social media engagement – NYE @ RH was a night to remember!

Malvern Central took a different approach to rewarding customers for Black Friday with a bespoke cocktail range – playing on the affluence of the area, the tongue-in-cheek ‘reward’ struck a chord with shoppers. The spend and get reward activation had allocations exhausted in a day rather than the anticipated three. There were many customers enjoying an East Side Espresso Martini while revelling in their Black Friday purchases.

Malvern Central – Black Friday

Educate me
Sustainability is not just a trend; it is the future of fashion. Understanding what is important and emerging to the Melbourne Central customer ensures relevancy in a noisy consumer world.

The negative impacts of fast fashion and overconsumption has become a concern among younger audiences, and, as a result, more consumers are making a conscious switch towards responsible consumption. But what does this mean in a shopping centre environment? It’s about bringing a conversation that is important to our customers to the forefront, and we need to be part of that discussion.

With the resale market thriving, there has never been a more opportune time to amplify the circular shopping experience and present Melbourne Central as a key player within the move towards sustainable fashion.

Teaming up with online ‘recommerce’ platform Rntr. on a pop-up experience as part of Paypal Melbourne Fashion Festival, Melbourne Central invited shoppers to discover the circular economy through renting. The pop-up provided a unique opportunity to hand select, try on and book from a curated collection of vintage, archive and made-to-order pieces using Rntr.’s technology. As the re-commerce market becomes the solution for 77% of Millennials and Gen Z, the initiative gave shoppers the ability to mix up wardrobes with coveted pieces while reducing their impact on the planet.

Discovery
Leave me alone or help me, but let me guide you. Highpoint Close up.

Highpoint is the leading beauty destination in the trade area, home to an impressive beauty precinct featuring MECCA, Sephora, Dior Beauty, Chanel Beauty & Fragrance, Priceline, L’Occitane, Lush and more leading brands. ‘Close Up’ program was a showcase – all about what you can’t find online, the tactile, the education, the discovery and the excitement of seeing, touching and being in real life. Integrating brands and experiences, this ten-day event was designed to engage a wider audience of beauty, skincare and wellness consumers, and create a festival experience, beyond simply masterclasses. It maximised opportunities for retailer participation both in-store and via activations and expand programming to include teens and male skincare, alongside beauty and fragrances.

Highpoint Close Up

Connect me
Karrinyup Shopping Centre in Perth knows the importance of connecting with its community in an authentic way, celebrating diversity and inclusion across a broad cultural and community program. The cultural program spans across our Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) initiatives, Lunar New Year, Ramadan, Diwali, Advocacy and Awareness.

Working with local Windi Woman and acclaimed indigenous author Joan Martin, the centre is proud to showcase more than 46 pieces of art that have never been seen before – celebrating and embedding our First Nations people into large-scale art projections, commissioned art pieces, integrated design into our team uniforms, and workshops that encourage community and staff to better appreciate the land on which the centre stands on and the communities it serves.

Karrinyup Shopping Centre, WA

In a world where we are time-poor, have content overload and are intricately opinionated about aligning with a brand that holds the same values as we do, understanding how our customers tick, what motivates them and what drives participation is key.

Retail activations are particularly important in today’s highly competitive retail landscape, where customers have countless options at their fingertips and are constantly seeking out new and exciting experiences with brands. By delivering inspiring, diverse and connected experiences, big or small, across all touchpoints, we can build loyalty and attract the attention of new and emerging target customers.