Attractions move into Vacant Retail Spaces.

I read an article by Jim Furtell which describes the change in retail and the growth of attraction based entertainment over shopping based retail.  I pasted in the link below (of course with Jim Furtell’s permission).

The synapsis and added critical thinking from myself is that while shopping malls are really having a hard time keeping their model alive, the habits of people and consumption choices have changed.  1 in 3 americans prefer to consume experiences over the purchase of products.  That means that 1/3 would rather spend money towards an experience than over a product.  Now for shopping malls, this is part of the inherent doomsday “the apocalypse of retail” people are referring to.  If you have 20,000m2 of retail space that sells products and less than 5% of that is catered to providing entertainment & new experiences (say Cinema, kids playgrounds, interactive retail concepts), then customers will opt to find their entertainment elsewhere.   Makes sense right?

“Ten years ago, mall developers needed a lot of persuading to accept an attraction,” says Michael Collins, senior partner at consultant Leisure Development Partners (LDP). “The first question landlords used to ask was, ‘How much rent can you pay?’ But attractions generally cannot afford retail rent, so the conversation was short. But the power has shifted; increasingly attractions operators are saying, ‘How much TI (tenant improvement allowance) can you give me?’” //quoted from Tim Furtell, link at the bottom of the article.

But they key is, top positioned shopping malls, the one main one in each city, may be able to ride-out this diminish in traditional retail consumption.  But there are plenty of B malls, in non central locations which can provide incredible opportunities for new entertainment attractions to enter into.  They have parking, lots of available space, and the rent is lower than in well situated A malls.  If the concept and experience is right, people are willing to move.  This is in no way, a ‘new concept’ or a preposition that you need to spend money to change consumers habits.  If a big brand name creates something new, and is within 1 hour driving distance (statistics are saying 1.5 hours, but lets keep things simple), then there is a good chance you will visit it, and, if you love it, you will become a repeat visitor.

Now, click on the link to the article below, make yourself a coffee, or whatever you drink these days and let Jim break it down in his own way..  Cheers to Jim.

How attractions can benefit from available retail space

This article first appeared on August 1 2020 in the IAAPA website (the global association for the attractions industry).