Location intelligence is a key tool that shopping center managers should use since, via people’s location and mobility data, they gain valuable insights such as how much time consumers spend in stores and how often they visit.
Shopping centers can use this technology to collect geospatial data sets, transaction history, and point-of-sale data, as well as other business processes for in-depth geographic analysis by providing demographic data on adjacent businesses, including competitors.
POI characterization through Big Data has become more frequent as it allows the implementation of strategies and site selection solutions within the various business sectors.
Leaders use these techniques to make more efficient and concise decisions that generate greater profitability by maximizing revenues and optimizing costs.
Case Study: Visitor profiling at Perisur, one of the most exclusive shopping malls in Mexico City.
Designing or adapting properties to be of mixed use, offering more entertainment options and mixing in an adequate way the type of tenants to whom the premises will be rented, are strategies that could give a new boost to shopping centers.
The pandemic drove consumers away from shopping centers, as government home quarantines in the region, the rise of e-commerce, and bans on people from visiting these facilities significantly affected mall operations.
The change in consumer habits resulting from the boom in e-commerce and the preference for avoiding visits to physical stores, has forced some large commercial surfaces to be transformed into storage and logistics areas.
The covid-19 outbreak caused the emergence of a new commercial reality, in which consumers are less willing to go to physical stores to make certain purchases and prefer to store online.
The opportunities derived from the habit of buying online, together with the current business scenario, are creating an environment where the offer of different brands of clothing and restaurants are brought together in virtual platforms.
With the spread of covid-19, social distancing measures were decreed in the region's markets, a situation that led to radical changes in consumption habits and shopping methods.
How many people live around a shopping center, how old they are, what is their consumption level and what products or services they are looking for, are some of the questions that can be answered with the new geomarketing tools.
Measuring the potential demand of micro markets, based on the evaluation of the environment of a shopping center and its comparison with other similar sales points, has become essential to design adequate commercial strategies.
Using technology to measure the flow of visitors, reducing the furniture available in the food courts and implementing product deliveries in the parking area are part of the changes that the region's shopping centers must apply in this new reality.
Because of the threat of the spread of covid-19, since mid-March in Central America, the authorities agreed to close the shopping centers.
Between February 2020 and Easter Week, visits to shops decreased between 40% and 90% in Central American countries, but since April 13 a change in the trend has been observed, reflecting a greater movement of people to shops and other businesses.
According to the "Information System for the Impact Analysis of Covid-19 on Business", prepared by the Trade Intelligence Unit of CentralAmericaData, Costa Rica is the country with the most pronounced change in trend, since as of April 12th the reported drop in physical visits to stores was 79%, while on April 17th the reported reduction was 57% from the levels prior to the health crisis.
Between the end of February 2020 and Easter Week, visits for shopping or recreational activities fell between 40% and 90% in Central American countries, with Panama recording the largest drop and Nicaragua the smallest.
Since the effects of the crisis generated by the spread of the covid-19 in Central America began to be felt, and more specifically, since mobility restriction measures were tightened, visits to shops in Central American countries have fallen dramatically.
The closure of shopping centers, bars and discotheques, and the suspension of public transport, are some of the measures that began to take effect in the country on March 17, with the aim of containing the spread of covid-19.
The provisions are mandatory and will be in force from March 17 at 00:00 hours until March 31 this year at 24:00 hours, details the presidential agreement published in the Diario de Centroamerica.
Traditional shopping centers must be reinvented to remain competitive, as globally consumers tend to spend more on experience than on products.
Although consumers look for experiences in the shopping centers they choose to make their purchases, the development of this concept is beginning in Central American countries.
On March 14 and 15, an international convention will be held in Panama City, focusing on issues related to the evolution of shopping centers in Latin America and the Caribbean.
The event called " 1st International Congress of Shopping Centers" is organized by the Panamanian Association of Shopping Centers (APACECOM) and aims to discuss issues related to the relevance of customer loyalty through knowledge and digital engagement, how to create successful stores from the perspective of visual merchandising, exploring the impact of shopping centers in intermediate cities, among others.
A growing trend in online shopping is forcing malls to rethink their business models and renew their strategies for attracting customers.
While Internet shopping trends in Central American countries are still a long way behind more developed markets such as the United States, businesses are already starting to feel the effects of increased consumer interest in online shopping.
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