DMM Retail Industry e-News Issue #188
Malls, Municipal Shopping Districts, Bring Open-Air Shopping, Dining to Customers
Americans are adjusting to their new (temporary) reality and municipalities and their shopping centers are doing what they can to safely bring them the experiences that are helping them thorough. Many towns and village around the country have been doing what the city of Palo Alto, California, has been doing. There, according to Palo Alto Online, the City Council decided unanimously to continue the city’s “Summer Streets” program, which blocked local avenues to traffic so pedestrians could eat and sidewalk-shop local businesses and adhere to social distancing guidelines, at least until winter. In San Jose, two South Bay malls similarly turned to the outdoors to help keep their retailers up and running. The Westfield-owned Valley Fair and Oakridge malls recently set up pop-up tents in their outdoor spaces to create open-air markets. “Participating retailers are thrilled because it keeps guests thinking about their brand. Everyone’s trying to do the best we can to service the customer and keep businesses going,” Sue Newsom, senior general manager at Westfield Valley Fair, told the Silicon Valley Business Journal.
Forget the A/C, the Future of Retail May Be in the Open
Weather is still a factor when it comes to eating and dining outdoors, but many retailers and restaurants are clearly embracing the outdoors as much as possible these days. Fashion website Glossy cited data recently from research firm Placer.ai that showed outdoor shopping centers attendance was doing better than indoor centers. Shoppers could find themselves getting used to that, at least while the weather cooperates. “Open-air malls provide a safe space for people to congregate. The future of outdoor malls is very bright,” said Stenn Parton, chief retail officer at developer DJM, which manages open-air malls in Southern California and Texas. Bringing shoppers out, and away from their computers and mobile devices, bodes well for indoor malls as well.
‘Streetail’ the New Norm for Southern CA Shopping, Entertainment
As much as he would like to, your humble e-newsletter editor cannot take credit for coining the term “Streetail” (and kudos also for the word “Streateries”) but that appears to go to San Diego, at least for bringing the term into the mainstream in our new world. The San Diego Union-Tribune says One Paseo got creative: they took the empty top floor of a parking garage and turned it into an outdoor gym space for fitness tenant SoulCycle to set up and hold classes. “As landlords, we needed unique solutions to the challenges of our tenants,” said Brian Lewis, vice president of One Paseo. Over at Westfield Mission Valley, they’re holding a two-month event called “Dine Al Fresco,” encouraging diners to “bring your own blanket” and picnic on the mall’s grounds.
E-Newsletter Archive Available on ShoppingCenters.com
You’re reading our twice-monthly e-newsletter right now, and we thank you for that and hope it provides you with some helpful (and sometimes entertaining) information. Did you know we also have a collection of previous editions right on our website? Head on over to ShoppingCenters.com and click on “e-News Archive” for previous issues. If there’s something you’d like us to cover, contact us directly by using our new chat feature, or talk to us the “old-fashioned” way.
DMM e-News - Issue #188
