Mall Owners Fight Internet Erosion With Technology

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The world’s largest mall owners are harnessing digital technology to stem an erosion in their tenant base by online retailing and to keep shoppers coming to their centers.

London-based Hammerson Plc plans to use software that tracks visitors to its malls using the signal from their mobile phones. Australia’s Westfield Group Ltd. has set up a virtual mall and landlords Simon Property Group of Indianapolis and Paris-based Unibail-Rodamco SE, are encouraging shoppers to add new and more sophisticated smartphone applications. “The big beasts of the jungle are showing that they are alive, ready and willing to embrace these trends,” said Joshua Bamfield, director of Newark, England-based Centre for Retail Research. For some town-center shopping streets and smaller retail centers, “it’s another nail in the coffin.” Online shopping is helping retailers reach their customers with fewer stores, making them pickier about the amount of space they lease and where shops are located. Mall landlords, seeking to grow rental income and raise property values, are using technology to attract more visitors and track the habits and movements of shoppers to better meet the needs of their increasingly selective tenants.


Mall Owners Fight Internet Erosion With Technology