Recently I vacationed in Waikiki Beach with my husband. It was his first visit to this island. After honeymooning in Maui, he thought Honolulu was going to be like the quiet resorts in Wailea. Once we arrived and settled into our cab, we made our way to the Westin, located in the center of the craziest retail, luxury hub in the country. We passed three Louis Vuitton stores, Gucci, Chanel, Harry Winston, Tiffany, David Yurman, Fendi, Furla and the list goes on. I looked at him and said, “obviously Waikiki is not experiencing a retail slowdown.” The streets were crazy with tourists carrying bags with every retailer imaginable, from mega luxury to ABC stores who offer super deals from water to Sommelier quality wine. I quickly found myself getting a buzz in the designers’ showrooms. How could I leave without a Louis Vuitton luggage tag with a gold embossed pineapple?

“Malls are not dying; they are simply changing.”

This made me think about the recent SCT (Shopping Centers Today) articles highlighting why malls are not dying; they are simply changing. Less big box, more lifestyle. E-commerce has taken a bite out of all brick and mortar, but the proof is out there that when you offer consumers what they are looking for they still prefer tactile experiences. Malls aren’t going extinct – they’re changing, sometimes by healthy natural selection. While store closures are painful, often they represent a Darwinian moment, allowing a shopping center to refresh its mix by adding a grocery market or Apple store. The saying Location, Experience, Location, Experience is the mantra for bringing the shoppers to your shopping center.

Now a days when we go out shopping, we may stop by a luxury brand store to purchase a designer bag or shoes and then have a fine dining experience. Maybe we get a lab test and grab groceries afterwards. The mix is all about services, experiences and features to visit such as selfie stations, ice skating rinks, Santa visits, children’s play areas, an outdoor garden with shaded seating or free Wi-Fi to sneak in a little work time.

For many retailers, changes begin once they acknowledge that shoppers’ time and attention is limited, and that their stores need to say more with less. Retailers want smaller spaces to showcase their products then send customers to their online stores to guide them to the exact product that suits them. They can feel the exact fabric they are ordering to get a clear vision of the true color and overall feel for the product. They can have that tactile experience and have confidence in what they are ordering online. This is a BOPIS (buy-online-pick-up-in-store). The on-site store receives credit for the sale and the customer leaves feeling great about their experience. The typical space size, according to ICSC, for a soft good retailer is 1,800 square feet, about half the size they were looking for 10 years ago.

“Location, Experience, Location, Experience ”

Consumers have been “showrooming” for years, basically looking at mall locations and trying products first. Small spaces, pop-ups with shorter leases, temporary deals instead of long-term deals with landlords. I recently found a pop-up Lululemon in Portland, Oregon that had a line of Menswear that had not been launched in stores, only online. I purchased three items that I took back to the hotel and my husband quickly put them on and loved everything. He isn’t a yoga guy or a Lululemon shopper, in fact he didn’t know they carried menswear. He is a fan now.

When my clients ask what they might add to their shopping centers to increase sales and keep customers on-site longer, we always suggest free Wi-Fi with hotspots throughout the property. They need to be equipped with charging stations and seating. We also recommend yoga studios, soul cycle, Pilates and fresh juice bars. A must-have in California is electric vehicle stations that dispense coupons at each location with shopping center directories and QR-codes that direct the customer to events, restaurants and stores while they wait for their car to charge.

“Consumers have been ‘showrooming’ for years, basically looking at mall locations and trying products first.”

So, Gurus, the customer doesn’t want to feel trapped and confined in an indoor mall like they used to. They want an experience. They want to see outside and be outside. They want to drive by and enjoy the street façade and feel like they are part of the party. They crave seeing and being seen. The next time you want to know what leasing is up to; I bet they are looking for Lifestyle tenants, breweries, fitness, hair salons, small cafés, bakeries and pop-up designers. We still love community and people watching. You can’t get that in a keyboard.

Source: SCT Magazine, Fortune, Flipboard, BOF