Retailers Sell Experience As Shoppers Pursue Memories

Ice skating rinks, animal adoption agencies and trampoline parks are cropping up between Piercing Pagodas and H&Ms across the country. As shoppers have limitless options, both online and in stores, retailers and property management companies have shifted their strategies accordingly.

Enter open-air plazas with fire pits that people can gather around in the winter, and stages where bands can play live music in the spring and summer.

Northeast of Baltimore, a shiny new ice skating rink was installed the week before Thanksgiving on The Avenue at White Marsh, an open-air shopping center. Its grand opening coincided with a holiday tree lighting, complete with a sleigh where children could speak with Santa and Mrs. Claus.

The ice rink and large Christmas tree are nestled among a gourmet pizzeria and two pubs, across from the newly updated AMC Theatre. Stores like Bath & Body Works and Barnes & Noble are within a stone's throw.

In Alpharetta, Georgia, "Avalon on Ice" also opened the week before Thanksgiving for the season. Within the mixed-use shopping center that includes Anthropologie, apartments, an Apple store and Whole Foods, people can skate on what Avalon describes as a rink the size of Rockefeller Center.

At Tysons Corner in Virginia, Santa's workshop has been sponsored this year by HGTV, and an ice rink has been installed near the National Geographic exploration area for children.

In the past 20 years, there has been a 70 percent increase in spending on experiential activities, according to a survey by Harris Interactive and Eventbrite. The survey also found that among millenials, who represent the largest population in the U.S., 78 percent would rather spend money on an experience than a material object.

At Palisades Center, the second largest mall in New York, there are reasons for crowds to come in addition to traditional retailers like Victoria's Secret and American Eagle. The mall in West Nyack offers the tallest indoor ropes course in the U.S., along with a Ferris wheel, bowling alley, ice rink and comedy club.

"Usually the idea of a weekend mall trip sounds boring and the last place I want to be with my family during our together time. This mall, with all its outlets and activities, is the exception to that rule," one New Jersey Patch reader reported after a visit to Palisades. "Families with children of all ages will have plenty to do. The bonus is you can share your favorite experience of the day with them on the ride home."

While some malls evolve and add offerings, about 20 to 25 percent of malls are projected to close in the next five years, financial services company Credit Suisse reported in May.

In Maryland, the White Flint Mall in Montgomery County and Owings Mills Mall in Baltimore County both shuttered in the past two years and have been demolished.

Owings Mills Mall, which opened in 1986, was in its heyday a busy retail hub anchored by Saks Fifth Avenue that lost business once Saks moved elsewhere and other malls came into the regional mix.

This week, more than two years after the Owings Mills Mall locked its doors for good, developers announced that a new open-air shopping center would be built in its place.

"Gone are hundreds of thousands of feet of shuttered storefronts, empty escalators and vacant spaces. In its place: 575,000 square feet of restaurants, shops and green space, with ample parking and pedestrian walkways throughout the site and connecting to nearby businesses and homes," owner Kimco Realty said in a statement this week about "Mill Station," the next iteration for the property that is more than 15 miles west of Baltimore.

_{Rendering of Mill Station courtesy of Baltimore County government.}

• Costco To Anchor Mill Station In Owings Mills

Other malls that have closed in the area are headed for similar future.

The Howard Hughes Corporation purchased the ailing Landmark Mall this year and plans an open-air rebirth in Alexandria, Virginia.

The new development will feature plazas, green spaces, outdoor seating, public art installations, a luxury cinema, updated transit center and a variety of dining options.

_{Rendering of Landmark shopping center courtesy of Howard Hughes Corporation}

• Alexandria's Landmark Mall Stores Closing By End Of January 2017

In response to the Credit Suisse forecast that malls will shutter, a spokesperson for Simon Properties told USA Today that it found the "opinion report amusing and inaccurate." According to USA Today, Simon is the largest mall operator in the U.S. and has a more than 95 percent occupancy rate.

For enclosed malls that continue to thrive, analysts say there must be something special that transcends the physical space and keeps up with current trends.

At Kate Spade, sales associates are trained to be "muses," who can inspire patrons, according to Stores magazine.

At Simon's Northlake Mall in Charlotte, North Carolina, a "VIP lounge" was unveiled on Black Friday for holiday shoppers who enroll in the mall's rewards program. At the lounge, customers can relax with coffee and holiday movies.

Westfield Mall has been using a loyalty program that provides messages and deals for app users connected to its shopping centers. When it detects a customer inside the mall, it may say something like: "Welcome back! Go to guest services for a free bottle of wine," according to the National Retail Federation.

"It’s these little things that can help give a push over to inspire them to buy during the holiday season,” Janet Sherlock, chief information office for Ralph Lauren, said in a statement.

Malls have become more social, keeping their Facebook pages updated and staffers accessible to respond to inquiries in real time.

And where there used to be stores selling solely material goods, many malls are adding travel agencies and adoptable animals to the mix. At this store in the White Marsh Mall in Maryland, staffers said on Nov. 17 that only two cats were left at the end of the day at the SPCA's satellite adoption office.

Phones have created opportunities for retailers to see where their customers are going and what challenges they may face, from parking lot congestion to store questions.

“The only mall that is dead is the one that doesn’t change with the times and stay relevant,” Maureen Bausch of Mall of America told the NRF. “Today technology is very much a part of [customers'] lives. You have to inject your mall into their way of life.”

In The Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota, the social media team was contacted by a customer who had lost a gift card in the mall, and met her in the mall with a new one, the National Retail Federation reported. According to Bausch, the combination of technology plus trained staff provided a winning combination.

"We were able to say, ‘Wait where you are’ [and run] up with a gift card for her and her friend," Bausch told the NRF. "It’s a way to surprise and delight, offering a higher level of service....They’ll be our customers forever..."

Photos by Elizabeth Janney.

Editor's note: This article has been updated.