Earlier this week, Cistri Director Jack Backen was the moderator for the discussion session: ‘[R]Evolution of Experiential Retail – What Exists and What Is Coming’ at the ULI Singapore Annual Conference.
Jack tackled the topic of experiential retail – an experience given freely by a retailer to create value for their customer – alongside experts from PGIM, Benoy Global, CapitaLand and OUE Ltd.
The discussion was wide and varied, but for those who couldn’t make it, we’ve summarised some of the key takeaways:
- The need for more experiential retail is being driven by the convergence of many factors, of which e-commerce and Instagram are just two.
- Changes in what shoppers demand are occurring at a time when the retail markets throughout the world are becoming super competitive, so a failure to provide a real experience for shoppers is a major competitive disadvantage.
- Notwithstanding the amount of data available, it is still a real challenge to really understand customers.
- Nevertheless, it has never been more important to make a real effort to not only understand the customer of today but try and prepare yourself for the customer of tomorrow.
- The mall of the future is not necessarily a mall as we know it, but an urban village, in which retail and other uses are co-mingled to create accidental experiences and a place that people will remember.
If you’d like to know more, get in touch with Jack.
The ULI Singapore Annual Conference is a chance to look at disruption and innovation in Singapore, and learn from those leading the way. Cistri was proud to sponsor the Conference and to lend its expertise to the program of events.