At a time when online shopping is booming, shopping malls are attacking to make up some of the lost ground. At the annual meeting of Mipim, the trade fair for the sector which took place in Cannes, operators discussed the possibility of offering services impossible to obtain on the Net, such as health services and government offices. According to experts, in fact, malls should become all-round community centers if they are to survive online competition.
"The days of shopping malls consisting only of stores are over," commented David Roberts, chief executive of the Aedas architecture firm, one of the largest in the world. The company has been involved in the development of large-scale projects in Europe, Asia and the Middle East. "In twenty years - continued Roberts - the shops that sell books or DVDs will be replaced by places that will lead people to frequent again the malls: art galleries, educational centers and beauty centres”.
The trend has already started. Florencio Beccar, fund manager of the CBRE Global Investors European shopping center fund, cited the recent purchase of a shopping center in Germany, arguing that the fact that the complex included a medical center was a "plus". “In Brazil – he later said – I saw a clinic in a shopping centre. Customers were equipped with a device that informed them when it was their turn. In the meantime they were free to go shopping. With the aging of the European population this could be a winning solution also in the Old Continent”.
Mall owners, such as Land Securities, Intu, Westfield and Klepierre have increased the number of restaurants and cinemas to persuade shoppers to stay longer. Meanwhile, recent data from Axa indicate that 90% of retail growth in France, Great Britain and Germany between 2012 and 2016 will come from Internet sales.
