How malls are taking the entertainment route to counter e-tailer threat
As e-commerce continues to eat into traditional retail including modern trade, shopping malls are remodelling and rearranging themselves as recreation centres offering a 'shopentertainment' experience to customers, say industry experts.
According to Knight Frank, since technology savvy millennials prefer the online platform to meet their shopping needs, malls cannot let themselves be a mere aggregation of fancy stores but they need to evolve and reflect the changing aspirations and lifestyle, if they have to survive.
A recent JLL survey reveals that net absorption of retail space in H1 2018 increased over 75 per cent, recording a total absorption of 1.9 million sq ft.
For the second half, it expects fresh supplies of 3.7 million sq ft in the top seven cities.
According to industry experts, F&B (food and beverage) entertainment, including music, movies, activities, is claiming more space in malls today and its contribution is likely to increase to around 30 per cent ..