Like most facets of retail, shopping centres were hard hit during the peak of the pandemic. From consumers being literally locked out of stores, to new health and safety precautions becoming mandatory for stores to remain open, property firms had a raft of changes to accommodate in order to stay afloat. During the pandemic, for example, Westfield launched Westfield Direct – a temporary centre-wide click-and-collect option that allowed people to shop from multiple retailers in one transaction a
n and pick them up through a contactless drive-through location – convenient for both retailers and customers.
However, with the peak of the pandemic thankfully behind us, shopping centres are fast filling back up with consumers, and property firms are now looking to the future to decide how to evolve in order to best service a customer with different expectations.
Property firm Mirvac has launched two new initiatives in the past couple of weeks – WeShow and WeMake – both seeking to deliver new experiences for customers while further differentiating Mirvac centres from others.
WeShow is a modular fit-out solution that allows brands to take up space in Mirvac’s East Village Shopping Centre in Sydney with less initial cost and time, while WeMake at Rhodes will turn vacant tenancy space into maker-style studios, which will house DIY workshops run by brands, organisations, or community leaders.
Electronics retailer Jaycar is among the first retailers to utilise the WeMake platform, hosting hands-on workshops to teach customers the skills of robotics, soldering and block coding, and potentially to drive these makers to shop at Jaycar again in future.
Together, the two initiatives were born from customer research performed by the Mirvac innovation team, Hatch.
“WeShow and WeMake enables multi-channel solutions that drive product interaction, in term, delivering value to both our partners and our community of shoppers,” Mirvac national manager of commercialisation Michael Hariz told Inside Retail.
“Both [offers] have been structured and built with a vision to deliver rapid expansion across the Mirvac portfolio.
“[They] also support local entrepreneurs and start-ups that are looking to enter into the physical retail space and connect with a new audience.”
Fashion brand Hills & West is one of the first brands to utilise Mirvac’s WeShow program.
And in a year where the debate around the cost of rent has hit new highs, a method to lower the barrier of entry for brands to make a bricks-and-mortar space their own will be welcome.
Baker Consulting founder Michael Baker believes initiatives such as these will help shopping centres to bring a fresh coat of paint to their offering, rather than relying on the old names we’re all familiar with seeing.
Customers can attend many different styles of workshops at WeMake.
However, even with shopping beginning to pick up and restrictions eased, the chances of another golden era of shopping centres isn’t much better than 50 per cent, Baker said, with the true test coming when customers feel comfortable returning to ‘normal’ shopping.
“The answer to whether things will return to the status quo lies in the realm of psychology, not economics, which is quite a different situation to past recessions,” Baker told Inside Retail.
“This time, I don’t think we know what’s going to happen. Until the government scare campaigns and social distancing are over, the economics of shopping centres are going to be severely impaired.
“Shopping centres are set up for growth, for activity, for social interaction and congestion. Not for distancing.”