The malls in India are rebooting the shopping experience to woo the modern-day customer by deploying latest technologies. The bottom line is clear: Malls and the stores within have to meet customers where they are, instead of endlessly waiting for them to come to them.
In a bid to stay relevant, malls are tapping into every click, every swipe and every purchase which is leaving behind a digital footprint – a treasure trove of data waiting to unlock the secrets of consumer behaviour.
The country’s largest developer DLF, for instance, is reworking its loyalty app where mall shoppers get vouchers for the purchases they have made. As part of the rejig, it is also working on guiding shoppers to the next store that has special offers and discounts and is evaluating face recognition to get demographic data.
Meet Nikesh Arora, Indian-origin IIT alumnus who gets higher salary than Google CEO Sundar Pichai, Meta chief Mark Zuckerberg
Microsoft Bing issue takes down Copilot, ChatGPT search; users report widespread outage
Sony Bravia 2 series launched in India; gaming focused S25 4K models start at Rs 74,990
Realme GT 6T — top specs, features, India price, everything else to know
“We are rebooting our loyalty programme and trying to convince tenants to join it,” said Pushpa Bector, senior executive director and business head -retail at DLF, which operates Mall of India in Noida, DLF Emporio in Delhi among others in the national capital region.
DLF has also installed automatic number plate recognition at malls for easy parking and digital navigation tools for easy navigation of vehicles.
Forum Malls, the malls company of Prestige Estates, uses retail GPT, an AI-driven platform that has interactive chats for real time assistance and information on demand, retail insights for retailers and customer support. It also has a way finding app and WhatsApp Chatbot, an interactive tool available through WhatsApp, which can be activated by scanning a QR code or clicking a link. It also uses robot as a service, wherein smart robots deliver food orders to customers’ tables, said V Muhammad Ali, CEO-retail, Forum Malls.
Some are also geofencing and sending targeted messaging to consumers’ phones once they enter a certain parameter within the mall.
Oberoi Mall in Mumbai’s Goregaon encourages shoppers to upload their invoices on its Club Uno app, its reward programme. The mall also reaches out to shoppers through Instagram, Facebook and so on about its activations, offers, new store openings and so on . “By doing this, we create appetite among buyers so that they come back to the mall for shopping, dining and so on, ” said Sameep Pathak, CEO-malls at Oberoi Realty.
In R City Mall in Ghatkopar, some retail outlets offer online fulfilment of orders to reduce delivery time, and ensure that customers receive their purchases swiftly. The mall has also installed EV charging points to support sustainable transportation and FASTag-enabled boom barriers to provide seamless and automated parking access for a efficient parking experience. Its website provides real-time information about mall events, exclusive offers, and helps shoppers navigate the mall with ease, said Rima Kirtikar, chief marketing officer, Runwal . In addition, the mall has introduced interactive directories to assist its customers in locating stores, amenities and services swiftly.
Research from Accenture has found that more than half of the consumers will divulge personal information if it means they get a more customised offer. And this data can also go a long way to improving safety and enabling the smooth running of a shopping centre’s daily operations. For example, sensors installed in shopping centre parking lots can monitor traffic levels and help direct shoppers to less congested areas during peak hours. This use of technology can make parking easier and faster, allowing consumers to spend more time in restaurants and stores.
Gulam Zia, senior executive director, Knight Frank India, lists Infinity, Inorbit Malad, Oberoi Mall, Goregaon and R City — all in Mumbai — which have kept on reinventing themselves by bringing new brands, gave better facilities and changed design frequently to attract shoppers. “Customers want newness. Older malls struggled with reinventing and revalidating themselves,” he said.
Sriram Khattar , vice chairman and MD (rental business), DLF said the company clearly changed with the times in mall business. He said DLF understands that zoning, a diverse retail mix and unique experiences are the secret ingredients that draw shoppers in and keep them coming back.
“The shopper is continuously evolving. We have witnessed trends such as F&B becoming the new fashion a few years ago and athleisure becoming a buzzword post-Covid. Our success lies in our agility and foresight to proactively read and respond to these trends, ensuring our malls not only attract shoppers but continue to thrive,” he said. DLF, he added, is leveraging technology for research, data analytics, and forecasting, to maintain an instant connection with shoppers.
This is a far cry from the malls in the past which were just shopping hubs with a cluster of few branded stores coupled with a few restaurants and cafes tucked into one corner of the mall. But now, they have turned into places where shopping is more than a mere transaction.