Malls invest in holiday attractions, but conversion is still challenge

São Paulo-After a year in which the flow of visitors in the malls retreated 3.48 percent, the shopping centres have betting with even more strength in traditional de attractions geared for children. Despite the investment, in fact, attract consumers for the runners, the big challenge is to convert this increase in sales.
"The impact on the stream actually is very large, but in terms of sales it is relative", ponders the professor at Fundação Armando Alvares Penteado (Faap) and business manager of the Tivoli Group, José Roberto Baldin. The academic Coordinator of the retail Academy, Patricia Cotti, makes a similar analysis. "In malls facing the lower the flow can grow up to 30%, but that doesn''t mean that sales will increase. The challenge is this: raise the conversion, "he says.
According to her, an important strategy in this regard is working hard on visual communication. "The consumer takes on average 2 seconds passing in front of the window of the store. The retailer needs to work a lot with this question in the window, because it is the gateway and what attracts the customer, "he says.
Another point that can contribute to greater flow turning into sales is conducting promotions and closeouts. In Shopping Taboão, for example, in addition to a series of actions directed to the children, the project will work with a settlement period (which began on day 6 of this month). "With the attractions for children received at the mall the whole family, creating great opportunities for sales for the stores. With that in mind, we enter the first week of this month in the liquidation period, "says the marketing manager of the Center, Alessandra Tiraboschi.
According to her, the Mall has invested in two special events for the period: a pool of balls in the shape of a horse-drawn carriage and a '' Knights '' Castle, both in the central square of the enterprise. On the expectations of increased flow with the actions, she points out that the expected growth is 6%, on the flow in the same period last year. "With respect to the other months, the January holidays usually have a 10% increase in the flow of visitors," he explains.
The crisis helped?
If on the one hand the economic crisis generated a 3.48% drop in the stream of visitors of shopping malls in 2016, according to the Brazilian Association of Shopping centres (Abrasce); on the other she should contribute to an increase in holiday stream. The vision is shared by both the experts heard by the DCI. "Certainly the crisis has helped. People end up not traveling as much, and families-especially the less privileged classes-are forced to opt for this type of activity, "says Baldin.
Patricia, the retail Academy, also believes that the movement in the malls in January can encourage the recession. "With the crisis the trend is that there is a high permanence in the cities. People have sought other alternatives in addition to the travel, and the Mall works very well as a leisure option, "he points out.
In line with this vision, the marketing manager of the Shopping Frei Mug, Andreia Perini, States that the Mall of fact must become an important alternative to January this year, with the crisis. Given this, the venture has invested approximately 20000 R$ in workshops of doughnuts in space Kids and hopes meet 1000 children during the school holidays. "We believe that the movement will remain on average last year," says Advincula.
Another commercial center that invested with strength in attractions for children is the Tietê River Plaza Shopping Center, which as of today (12) until the day 31 of this month will feature a '' stand '' with the youtube channel Manual in the world.
Trend
In addition to the specific actions geared to the holiday period, Baldin, Faap, points out that the transformation of the shopping malls in leisure and entertainment environments is a major trend in the industry. "On vacation those strategies earn even more relevance, but it''s a trend that we see some four years ago. Currently, the customer likes to interact and have these leisure options, and the malls have increasingly invested in this strategy, "he says.
According to him, one of the advantages of building activities in common areas is that it ends up generating greater loyalty to the enterprise. "This creates an important reminder to the client, and it comes back. Consumer loyalty. Sometimes there is a low involvement of the public-without-and this involvement eventually becomes middle and even high depending on what the mall offers attractions and activities for your consumer, "says the expert.