THE POTENTIAL OF EXPERIENTIAL MALLS IN SUBURBAN AND MAINSTREAM MALLS IN SINGAPORE

Abstract

Shopping malls are facing tremendous threats now more than ever. Changing global trends such as the shift of the consumers towards the newer and younger demographic of people such as the Millennials and the Gen Z, the rapid proliferation of online e- commerce are key drivers calling for a change to our retail landscape. Furthermore, the onset of the pandemic has only further exacerbated the problems faced by the retail industry. Thus, it is crucial to examine how shopping malls can review and re-strategize their business models for the future, in order to cushion the impact of the abovementioned trends and even benefit from them. This paper aims to analyse and discuss how experiential retail concepts can help shopping malls in Singapore to remain competitive and relevant. A case study on 2 experiential malls in Singapore, Jewel and Funan, was also conducted. A total of 90 respondents were surveyed about their perceptions of experiential retail concepts. The questions also helped to split the respondents into different demographic groups according to age and gender, which allow for a deeper analysis of how the potential of experiential retail might be affected. They were also divided into online shoppers and non-online shoppers to analyse if experiential retail will still be effective in light of the online threats. Most importantly, the respondents were surveyed on their perceptions of the potential of experiential retail in mainstream malls (Town region malls) and suburban malls (malls not in the Town region). The survey results were run through various statistical tests such as T-Test and ANOVA, and it shows that variables such as gender was not significant in affecting the shoppers’ perceptions on the potential of experiential retail. However, experiential retail concepts found in mainstream malls showed more potential when it comes to attracting shoppers, as opposed to suburban malls. These findings provide understanding to how experiential retail can be the future of shopping in Singapore and also redefine future shopping experiences.