SUPPORTING YOUR GROWTH

The success of a mall is no longer limited to footfall and tenants present at a shopping centre, but is also increasingly being determined by support or allied service. That’s because a mall caters

to a wide section of consumers in a catchment including young children, specially-abled and senior citizens, and they may require an array of services like wheelchair or concierge, in a bid to gain a complete experience.

It’s no surprise that leading developers across the country are paying special emphasis to support services right from the design stage, and centres  feature baby and toddler care rooms, resting rooms for senior citizens, designated parking areas for differently-abled and women, amongst others. 

Malls typically provide such services complementary, but a growing number of them are charging Rs 50 per hour for wheelchair and related services. However, the contribution to overall revenues of a shopping centre from support services
is negligible.

Kishore Bhatija, CEO, Inorbit Malls, emphasised that support services help to build “goodwill” with the target audience, and over the long-term it helps to improve the customer-friendly positioning of a mall.

Striking a similar view, Yogeshwar Sharma, COO, Select Citywalk, said, “Such services help a wider section of consumers to access a mall.”

A suitable design

Support services typically account for about five per
cent of total space in a shopping centre, and a majority of these facilities are located on the ground floor. Experts also stressed that these facilities
need to be easily accessible, which would considerably
assist senior citizens and
mothers of young children, to avail of these facilities.

In addition, malls often
work in co-ordination with
their tenants to ensure optimum utilisation of these facilities, but the overall responsibility for maintaining suitable standards rests with the management of centres.

Sonal Shrivastav,
Head – Design Development, Pioneer Property Zone, said, “The scope of support services has expanded over the years, and a mall layout should offer flexibility to suitably incorporate emerging trends.” Summing up, Rajendra Kalkar, Senior Centre Director - West, Phoenix Mills, said, “Support services are crucial for long-term growth of organised retail.”