Suburban Regional Shopping Malls: Can the Magic Be Restored?

1. Imagine yourself as the manager of a struggling local suburban regional shopping mall. What do you think the mall should do to improve its performance? To keep a local suburban regional shopping mall from reaching its decline, there are a few things that must be done to keep your mall relevant in today’s society. One must spend time and money during the maturity phase to keep with today’s trends. Getting more or newer department or anchor stores may help to draw in business. Then fill the other empty spaces with specialty stores, offering products that consumers can’t get anywhere else. Another option for managers is to find a niche in the community that will draw consumers in. A suggestion that was used in the book was to adjust the overall feel, layout, or architecture to add entertainment to the center of the mall. The entertainment can be anything from holiday shows, occasional concerts, a playground for kids, or even just an open area with comfortable resting spots where customers can relax and de-stress. A perfect type of idea would be a small coffee house type of area that serves coffee and soda with waitresses on staff to cater to each patron’s needs. Especially during the holiday season, this would be a great relaxing way for customers to rest their feet and collect their thoughts before heading to the next store on the list. Another change that would need to be made is changing store configurations, referred to as zonal merchandising. This is where you group together stores that serve the same basic need and draw the same basic shoppers. A prime example of such a thing is the food court. This will help those shoppers that come to the mall to purchase a specific product, like shoes. How wonderful would it be if you could go to the mall and head directly to the “shoe-court” and have 10 different stores to shop in without walking all over the place (and likely giving up without ever visiting many of the store options).

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