This article by Marco Ettorre, Executive General Manager, Retail at Dexus, forms part of our ‘Activating Retail Precincts’ feature published in the latest edition of Shopping Centre News. 

Australia’s retail precincts have responded with innovation and creativity as our CBDs find a renewed energy in a post pandemic era.

We have been able to leverage our strong Dexus CBD presence to evolve with the needs and expectations of our diverse customers, delivering compelling activations that not only drive retail sales but also contribute to the vibrancy that our CBDs have long been known for.

An invested audience
CBD precincts have always been able to benefit from access to diverse customer groups: office workers who rely on amenity that supports their workday, day-trippers who are looking for a premium, destinational retail mix, and domestic and international tourists who visit our cities to experience some of our most celebrated locations. Post-COVID, we are finding that all customer groups are seeking experiences that they are unable to access from behind a screen or online, and our CBD retail precincts are proving to be the perfect platform for this.

Set up for scale
The allure of a CBD’s retail offer remains compelling, but it is no longer the only reason to visit, especially for locals who are looking for reasons to venture from beyond the suburbs.

With investment in infrastructure making our CBDs even more accessible, those CBD retail assets that have invested in redefining their offering are benefitting from increased visitation. An example is 25 Martin Place, which has transformed into a day and night entertainment and leisure destination underpinned by a strong retail offering, in this case a luxury retail offering.

We have seen the experience economy grow over the years and in a post-COVID landscape, this has accelerated with experiences being a key driver for visitation into the city, highlighted by the steady growth of the weekend and night-time economies.

Effective use of data allows us to be granular around the usage of our precincts to ensure we deliver activations relevant to the use type and time of day. Our office worker can also be our day tripper, so we take an integrated approach to how we message, market and activate across our customer segments to allow us to tailor to the right audience type at the right time – and by using our rich data, we can amplify to drive sales and foot traffic in our precincts.

Activations across multiple precincts
Collaboration is emerging as a key ingredient for a successful CBD. We have seen cities take a deliberate and inclusive approach to connecting multiple precincts to stage bigger and better activations.

At Dexus, we have been able to take full advantage of the opportunity that the retail, restaurants and bars can collectively bring to the experience. Ultimately, this is a win for our customers.

The redevelopment of 25 Martin Place was purposely designed to create a public platform that could be adapted to multiple events and activations throughout the year. The design of communal space enabled us to host the biggest Melbourne Cup event in Sydney’s CBD, offering a complimentary experience to customers.

An Aperol Spritz pop-up bar, live entertainment and a big stadium-sized screen to watch the race attracted a huge crowd and ultimately raised awareness of the new restaurants and bars that had recently launched.

Already in 2023, we have seen global events that have put Sydney on the world stage.

Dexus’s Gateway centre was involved in the ‘Big Gay Aussie Brekky’ hosted by the City of Sydney as part of WorldPride 2023. A WorldPride highlight was the lighting up of six iconic buildings that stretched from Gateway at Circular Quay through to Australia Square, 25 Martin Place and Sydney Tower in the CBD in the colours of the pride flag.

At Gateway we celebrated kids and their diverse families, hosting family-friendly entertainment and giveaways including food vouchers for kids to redeem at our retailers, and Quay Quarter Tower and Quay Quarter Lanes hosted markets and a pop-up entertainment stage. The success of these activations was made possible through the engagement of our retailers and their widespread participation in this event. Giveaways and activations meant customers could discover retailers that they might not have otherwise visited.

‘Big Gay Aussie Brekky’ at Gateway Sydney

Seasonal occasions and beyond
After the success of the Melbourne Cup activation at 25 Martin Place, many of the restaurants reported that they were fully booked leading into Christmas. For the festive season, a spectacular 11-metre tall Christmas tree adorned with gold and platinum medallions inspired by the architecture of Harry Seidler’s iconic destination took up residence in the forecourt. The space was further activated through a Perrier-Jouët pop-up Champagne bar and a nightly line-up of live music. However, it was the astroturf and communal furniture that was one of the greatest hits, with customers enjoying the atmosphere and beautiful weather from early in the day into the evening.

In Melbourne, Lunar New Year came to life at QV Melbourne. With the City of Melbourne reinstating their festival for the first time since the pandemic, QV leveraged the influx of visitors seeking out Lunar New Year experiences in the CBD. These initiatives encouraged visitation from customer groups broadly, with traffic comparable to the Christmas period, and was covered by Seven Network’s Weekend Sunrise.

There is a lot ahead to be excited about when it comes to our CBD precincts. We will continue to evolve our activations to meet the growing influx of customers to our CBD retail precincts which are currently enjoying a renaissance.