Malls are anticipating increased foot traffic this winter as customers are itching to get out of their homes and enjoy the social benefits of shopping and dining in person. Both Centennial Real Estate and Trademark Property Company are especially eager to roll out the bells and whistles in order to lure customers to their shopping centers, and both are revving up special offerings to their shoppers to make the season extra jolly.
The Centennial malls will be gearing up for the holiday season through its MyPerks Loyalty Program, accessed through a free membership app, and utilized in five of its properties: MainPlace Mall in Santa Ana, Calif., Fox Valley Mall in Naperville, Ill., Hawthorn Mall in Vernon Hills, Ill., Connecticut Post Mall in Milford, Conn., and Vancouver Mall in Vancouver, Wash. Customers have access to special promotions and offers, as well the ability to enter the MyPerks Lounge, a special inline space in the mall devoted to MyPerks members only. The lounges — the most recent opened this month at MainPlace Mall — offer elegant furnishings and provide features such as complimentary holiday gift wrapping.
Also, the Centennial malls will continue utilizing the ShopNow feature, an e-commerce platform that was introduced last year, and that allows consumers to browse the mall’s retailers. The service is expected to continue to be popular, especially if COVID-19 flare ups occur this winter. The e-commerce platform can curate “gift guides” and allows customers to pre-plan their wish lists by viewing what’s in stock before arriving at the mall. With all of the supply chain issues expected to dampen holiday shopping, Centennial anticipates that ShopNow, which allows customers to not only browse new products, but directly see the available in-store inventory, will be a lifesaver to those hoping to purchase special sought-after holiday items. As of late spring, MainPlace Mall debuted its Phase 2 element of ShopNow, which lets customers purchase items online from multiple retailers with one single cart checkout. All of the purchased items can then be available for either same-day delivery or pick up.
The Trademark Property Company malls will also feature a similar hospitality concept, called Elevate, which is being utilized at the Galleria Dallas and Watters Creek in Allen, Texas. It is a concierge program that allows customers to pick up orders from several tenants at once, thanks to an Elevate customer service representative who brings the orders directly to the customer’s car. This has helped with staffing shortages in retail stores, as the pick-up option is completely handled by Elevate team members. Trademark hopes to adopt the program into more of its malls in the near future.
Embracing the season of charitable giving, Trademark will be having a new event this year at its mixed-use property, Market Street, at The Woodlands, Texas, called “Yes to Youth Christmas Tree Holiday Pop-Up.” The event will feature 20 designer trees that will be donated and placed throughout the property, and guests can bid on each tree using an online auction format, accessed through a QR code. All funds raised will benefit the Yes to Youth Organization, a local youth services program. Additionally, Galleria Dallas will partner with the Salvation Army during the holidays to launch a special retail space display in order for customers to make donations to the nonprofit organization.
Trademark expects its malls to benefit from its special holiday extras, especially its social media activations that the mall owner anticipates will attract the millennial and Gen Z audience. Its Galleria Dallas mall will once again have its special SnowDay Dallas multi-room feature, in which guests can pay to walk through at least ten different winter/Christmas-themed installation rooms for photo ops. Last year, the SnowDay installation attracted 16,000 people from more than the 770 zip codes. Trademark’s Zona Rosa mall in Kansas City, Mo., opened Fresh Factory KC, a local-branded pop up selfie/video room experience, in May, and the tenant will also feature special holiday-themed rooms this winter. The Zona Rosa Mall will also have its “Drive Thru With Mrs. Claus,” in which guests can literally drive through an area outside of the mall and be given milk and cookies.
