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Small-town Shopping Centres Adapt to New Realities
For shopping centres pan India, the struggle and uncertainty phase is still on. Some cities are doing very well in terms of business as shopping malls along with cinemas, gyms and entertainment zones are allowed to open.Keeping safety and health concerns in mind, consumers are coming out not only to shop but are only utilising the entertainment and dining services as well. However, there are cities where malls are still shuttered, and that
is making things very tough for developers and the retailers present in those centres.
Adding more to this situation, leading retail brands across all categories are zeroing in on high street markets and Tier II cities for expansion across India. This was fi rst reported by Anarock and even experts from the industry believe that this situation is temporarily pushing malls to the backseat.
The July 2021 edition of Shopping Centre News brings our readers an analysis of how malls in Tier II cities are preparing themselves to deal with this challenge. The issue addresses how malls are responding to and dealing successfully, in an organised manner, with new learnings, SOPs, safety measures, and retailers’ response to changes in consumer behaviour.
High streets, e-commerce have always been a challenge for shopping centres, but this doesn’t mean that the mall culture in India will start losing its relevance. Malls have always been a shopping hub and hangout spot for varying age groups and will continue being so. Like the pandemic, this situation will also be a short lived one, as malls will forever remain relevant to the changing times and consumer behaviours.
As always, I hope you find the issue informative and benefi cial. Do log on to our website, www.indiaretailing.com to read articles, features and updates pertaining to the Shopping Centre Industry with an emphasis on India.
