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Shopping centers doomed to evolve

To survive and remain relevant, shopping centers will have to evolve after COVID-19, according to Deloitte. Digital tools will be at the heart of the revival and the offer of each site will have to be redesigned in order to offer a new destination.

Deloitte published on Monday a report on the future of shopping centers, while several donors are currently juggling the restructuring of certain brands, such as Aldo, Reitmans and Frank And Oak. Some retailers also want to reduce their physical presence.

“Now more than ever, mall owners and retailers must work closely together to keep abreast of changing trends and encourage Canadian consumers to return to in-store shopping after the pandemic,” said Alexandra Genest, partner and leader in the consumer sector for Quebec at Deloitte.

One of the main challenges for donors, in order to review customers in their establishments, will be to strike a balance between security and social interactions. Among other things, it will be necessary to provide a safe, contactless environment with personalized service.

In recent months, many consumers have learned to shop online due to the Quebec break. In fact, 78% of Canadians expect to see this type of shopping gain followers and 58% expect shopping centers to lose popularity.

Already problems

The challenges for ridership did not start with the pandemic. According to Deloitte, attendance at Canada’s 10 largest shopping malls dropped 22% in 2019 from 2018. In February 2020, compared with the same month the year before, the plunge was 42%.

According to the audit firm, retailers and mall owners will need to “rethink their strategy” to sell products quickly and securely and to compete with Amazon.

During the crisis, several services gained popularity, such as self-service checkouts, click and pick up options, and curbside pickup, such as at the Best Buy retailer.

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