Ibrahim Ibrahim seeks retail nirvana among the region's malls
With the correct mix of ingredients and some careful planning, however, malls could be an exciting and engaging shopping and entertainment experience. However, only a few manage to achieve this retail nirvana. In more cases than not, customer expectations are not met and consequently the retail opportunity is not maximized.
Luckily, the Middle East is in the position of being able to learn from the retail mistakes of the past and is equipped with the vision and imagination to translate this energy into reality.
Today's shopping malls should try to emulate the vibrancy, human interaction and 'soul' commonly found in traditional markets and souks.
Contemporary malls should be organic, animated and ever-changing experiences and should not be seen as some static commercial edifice. Like a favorite magazine, with its familiar, trusted masthead supporting regularly changing editorial content and features and its regularly renewed punchy and dramatic front cover attracting attention and stopping people in their tracks, so shopping malls should also provide a mix of constant and fluid elements, interactivity, a changing calendar of events to keep them relevant and reactive to peoples' needs. They also have the opportunity to be seen as a portal into a bigger world of shopping, entertainment and informal learning. If hotels and airports can be regional and national icons, why not shopping malls?
Today in our increasingly affluent and globalize world, we worry more about lack of time rather than lack of money and so savoring time is now a luxury. Similarly, in this tele-visual world image is everything, shoppers are promiscuous and spoilt for choice, they are constantly looking for ideas. They are adrenaline-driven and increasingly demand entertainment and learning experiences. So the lines between retail, entertainment and learning are becoming increasingly blurred and each is deploying tricks and tactics from the other.
As shopping malls in the Middle East have developed in size and aspiration so their entertainment element has increased. However, most shopping malls in the region to date have largely been based on themed environments interspersed with shops, cafs and restaurants.
With so much energy and enthusiasm in the Middle East for creating benchmark retail developments, there is the danger that some developments end up being an exercise in architectural ego tripping where bad planning and 'stick on' theming tend to hinder the efficient functioning of the shopping malls, making the customer experience confusing and disorientating. Also, public space theming often tends to have little connectivity to the retail and catering offer, and often these spaces are just too large, 'souless' and uninviting.
The lack of clear and engaging signage and way-finding creates further disorientation and a feeling of being under-whelmed.
Once the initial "wow" response to the surroundings has been experienced, if the design does not go further to incorporate clear navigation and true interactive experiences, the visitor will no longer be engaged. This does nothing to encourage repeat visits or set the mall apart from others.
Like any business (ad)venture, the key to success is ensuring that some basic principles and rules are observed and adhered from the outset. In terms of mall developments, commercial planning, clarity, orientation and circulation are the basic foundations on which a compelling customer experience can only be delivered.
It is critical to plan and design shopping malls that encourage natural orientation. Signage only instructs customers where to go, however, wayfinding must aim to create a series of mini exploratory journeys that are interactive and build a cognitive map for the customer. This is where wayfinding merges with architecture and environmental design. It cannot be an element that is 'stuck on' afterwards it has to be part of the strategic planning of the mall to create the natural connectivity between the public realm and tenant space. Only then can we ensure that we create a clear and engaging customer journey with maximum exposure to all tenant frontages.
Therefore great strides need to be taken to address customer orientation and creation of a sense of exploration. It is vital that the environment and offer is customer centric this means looking at developments through the eyes of the end user i.e. the shopper and understanding their need for clarity and interest at every step of the (customer) journey. This is achieved through effective communication and wayfinding and by delivering an environment that is energizing and inspiring while meeting and exceeding customers' shopping requirements and making it time well spent in every sense of the word.
Ibrahim Ibrahim, is managing director of Portland Design, London
© Gulf Marketing Review 2006
