Read the February 2016
DMM e-News – Issue #79
Spotlight Listing:
Eastpoint Mall –
Baltimore, MD
Think Amazon is the Mall’s Enemy? Think Again.
Retail is all abuzz over the prospect that Amazon is set to open hundreds of stores across the country. Reports in The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal and elsewhere have speculated about the prospect following a conference call by a mall development company, but Amazon’s lips have thus far been sealed. Adweek has consulted with a bunch of experts and came up with six reasons the move would make sense for Amazon, previously considered the anti-brick and mortar company. One consultant suggested the reason Amazon needs stores is to lure customers to its own technologies by presenting it to them in-person. “Bookstores are merely a convenient Trojan horse to get [its devices, i.e. Kindle Fire] into people’s hands. These devices are the ultimate gateway to all that Amazon has to offer,” said Doug Stephens, founder, Retail Prophet.
Related: Simon says More E-tailers Should be in Malls
Meanwhile, Mikael Thygesen, Chief Marketing Officer for Simon Property Group, wants to lure online-only e-tailers into malls using showrooms, pop-up shops and full-retail stores. Thygesen told the online media publication Digiday.com, that online-only companies including Baublebar, Blue Nile, Warby Parker and Bonobos have made their presence known in the physical world, and he believes there are many others who want to do the same. It’s a strategy that just makes sense. “These young companies need organic traffic to sustain growth, and one of the ways to do that is to have a physical presence. It reminds people of your brand and lets them experience it in a way you can’t online,” Thygesen said.
Retail Consultants Offer Alternative Predictions for 2016
Everyone’s predicting mobile technology growth for retail. Everyone’s predicting interactivity. So what aren’t people prognosticating? Retail consultant Andrea Wasserman and VP of Performance Marketing at Redbubble, Seth Berman, co-authored a post on LinkedIn that has people talking. Among the predictions in their article, “2016 Retail & E-Commerce Predictions You Haven’t Heard From Everyone Else” are “Facebook will challenge Google’s dominance in retail advertising” and “Pinterest Buyable Pins gain traction.” What do you think of these and their four other predictions? Let us know via Twitter!
DMM Partners with UberMedia and B.I. Spatial to Deliver Mobile Location Data-powered Analysis for Shopping Centers
We are proud to announce a new partnership with UberMedia, developer of UberRetail, the leading mobile data platform for location decisions and B. I. Spatial, a geospatial business intelligence consultancy. This strategic alliance will deliver trade analysis for shopping centers and malls for a more accurate understanding of retail trade areas using the precision of mobile device GPS data. Finding the right retail space that connects with a store’s customers is essential for success. What retailers look for is the right data and technology to make the most informed decisions to invest in a site. This alliance will provide a quick and more relevant set of data and tools utilizing proprietary algorithms to be employed against billions of points of data without the intrusion or cost of customer intercept studies.
