How Many of these Tech Trends Have You Implemented?
There were five technology trends that did some great things for retail. That’s according to the folks at RetailDIVE.com, whose year-end techno round-up focuses on artificial intelligence, chatbots, virtual reality/augmented reality, payments and personalization. RetailDIVE’s Dan O’Shea noted, “Retailers also pursued new innovations this year in the name of enabling better interactions and stronger relationships with their customers.” Have you instituted (or even heard of) any of these things? If not, check out this article and all the hyperlinks it includes. If you start now, and include this Forbes article on the same topic, you’ll be busy well into the start of 2017.
Shopping Center Developer Inks Deal with Snapchat
Scroll down about half-way in this article by the LA Times for a unique arrangement (but a growing trend) by a shopping center developer and a popular mobile app, primarily targeting younger mobile users. Once you get past the Disney–Snapchat pairing, you’ll see that Caruso has reportedly become Snapchat’s first big advertiser to go for a year-long geofilter. That’s the location technology Snapchat has so users can put attractive or goofy graphics on top of photos and videos. “Retailers could be a big target for the new offering. Snapchat noted that a recent survey of users it commissioned found that they use Snapchat more than any other social media app while shopping, with Pinterest leading the pre-shopping experience.”.
Non-tech Trends: the Peaking Popularity of Pop-Up Retail
Large retailers and small, mom-and-pop shops utilized pop-ups in 2016 more often than before. Also known as flash retailing, this phenomenon of temporary retailing has become an effective tool for retailers to increase brand awareness in different geographical locations. In New York City, for example, markets pop up for the holidays in various public areas, including Bryant Park in mid-town Manhattan, but even vendors and residents have objected to the early start some of them insist on. Gordon James Realty, a property management firm based in Washington, DC, explained to ARLnow.com that pop-ups often set up in high foot-traffic areas and “can be located in a marketplace?such as a stand at a crafts fair or farmer’s market? or inside a shopping mall that embraces pop-ups as a way to fill vacancies and keep shoppers coming back.
DMM: From Our Family to Yours? A Happy & Healthy 2017!
Thanks to all of you for a fantastic 2016. As we turn the page to 2017, we are proud to bring you the most data-rich ShoppingCenters.com ever, with almost 8,300 major shopping centers and mall listings, along with their 312,000+ associated tenants. We hope you had the chance to check out the new, mobile device data-driven products we launched in 2016, including DMM Retail Boundaries and Geofence dataset for analyzing property boundaries and proximity studies. Watch us in 2017 as we bring you even more, making Directory of Major Malls / ShoppingCenters.com the industry’s most comprehensive and accurate source for major shopping center and retail data. We wish you, your staff and families and joyous and healthy New Year!
