While brick-and-mortar stores are often considered the low-tech counterpart to online shopping, mall operators and retailers in China need to embrace new technologies to attract customers, says Hong Kong developer Sun Hung Kai Properties.
Touch-screen platforms, e-signage and video walls have emerged as key elements in shopping malls, while interactive activities involving mobile devices enable stores to gather data and enhance the consumer experience, according to Maureen Fung Sau-yim, a director at Sun Hung Kai Development (China), a wholly owned subsidiary of Sun Hung Kai Properties (SHKP).
Shopping malls in China are using a mix of digitally enabled strategies that leverage mobile, social platforms and big data together with traditional marketing approaches, she said,
Fung said Sun Hung Kai Properties’ two major shopping malls in China – Shanghai ifc and iapm – have also adopted technology to improve sales and service.
With iBeacon, a protocol developed by Apple, the malls can identify the exact location of shoppers within a store and transmit highly contextual messages, promotions, merchant offers and advertising directly to their smartphones.
The overall retail market is being pressured by the large number of new malls in the pipeline, according to a research report by Mizuho Securities.
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