THE SOCIAL IMPACTS OF INTELLIGENT FACILITIES: A PILOT STUDY OF CHANGES IN HUMAN SOCIAL INTERACTION AND WELL-BEING BROUGHT ABOUT BY SMART SHOPPING MALLS IN SINGAPORE

Abstract

In line with the vision of Singapore being a Smart Nation, Smart Buildings (SB) that provide advanced technological environment for people to “live comfortably” in is the chief target the nation is aiming for. Regarding the built industry, the adoption of SB needs to be extensively studied and accurately applied. More assiduous attention can be drawn to smart shopping malls since these are places where we most likely see the intelligent facilities “in our daily living” and “in our communities” (Lee Hsien Loong, 2014). At the current stage, there have yet to be a fair number of researches on Smart Shopping Malls (SSM) in Singapore, nor have there been studies touching on the social impacts brought about by the adoption of it. Therefore, this pilot study is conducted to analyze the social impacts that SSM have on mall visitors and propose a list of intelligent facilities enhancing human well-being and social interaction. As a result, the retail industry players and designers may use this preliminary study as a useful reference for their decision-making process in the future. The objective is achieved by performing a comprehensive Literature Review, whereby social impacts of shopping malls are identified, and implementing a survey whose questionnaires examine the existence of social impacts caused by the use of particular intelligent facilities. Descriptive statistics and one-tailed T-test were employed to conclude that smart facilities of shopping malls do enhance the social interaction and well-being of the shoppers. With reference to the research findings, a future SSM concept in Singapore is proposed. The concept highlights the coherence of technology and building users, where networks of sensors and smart devices enable people to live comfortably and connect to one another intensely. Illustrative scenarios are provided for easy understanding and visualization. The value as well as limitations of research are discussed in order to open up opportunities for more in-depth research.