Retailers should invest in e-commerce as an alternative to the decline of shopping malls

São Paulo, September 2017 – Until 2022, a quarter of American shopping malls should terminate the activities, according to Credit Suisse Bank forecast. Currently, the United States have 1,100 active shopping centres, that is, if the estimation is correct, in five years, up to 275 will cease to exist.
The main reason for the change is the transformation of consumer behavior, with the development of electronic commerce (e-commerce and marketplaces) and the growth of networks with lower prices, as the outlets.

This trend is also noted in Brazil. According to Ibope Intelligence study, 20 shopping malls opened in 2016 are with a vacancy rate of 55%. After 2013, the idleness in new establishments is 900,000 square meters, which corresponds, on average 7600 shops. Even malls have consolidated vacancy averages with variation between 8.5% and 9.1% in the period from 2015 to 2016.

For Rafa Strong, country manager of VTEX, brazilian company of cloud commerce, VTEX, the moment represents an opportunity for entrepreneurs to invest in retail. "With the increasing demand for customized products for the public, companies need to reinvent itself and offer more variety for consumers. The e-commerces and marketplaces are the best option for business with a range of endless possibilities, "says Strong.

According to the research conducted by Provokers consulting to Google Brazil, 96% of users search the internet before decide which store will buy; 92% spend more time researching a brand or product online than in a physical store; 66% buy online to withdraw in person.

"The new generation broke the barrier between the online and offline. The shopping malls should monitor this technological trend of behavior, adopting current practices to your operation as the adoption of a personalized service, with fast-loading site, physical point for online purchases and the use of social networks and Portal for immediate response-time "says Rafa Strong.

One of the predominant factors for the fall sales flow is the change of behaviour of consumers, who are looking for more convenience. The family structure reduced also modified the buying habits, expanding the search to other entertainment centers. With the migration of visits and requests for digital, in the next 10 or 15 years the shopping malls are expected to lose more strength, and could even disappear.

"Enjoy the flow of applications of the digital world to create a dispatch center products with physical stores is a solution that the shopping malls can apply to increase revenue," says Strong. Another option is to increase the stock of entertainment shopping, generating more flow of potential consumers. "Even if the flow is not ideal, because the goal is not the priority purchase, the placement of shares in strategic areas takes the consumer to traverse the whole Mall, watching the shops", he concludes.