The Retail Merchandising Unit is a great way for retail start-ups to trial their format and products at relatively low-cost. Can landlords do more to encourage entrepreneurs?

New research reveals brand attitudes towards UK shopping centre. Big brands are looking to use shopping centre promotional activity in order to target “picky” consumers left feeling the pinch in the current economic climate, according to recent research findings published by out-of-home media owner, Brandspace.

The first Legoland Discovery Centre opened in Berlin in 2007, with another two following in Duisberg and Chicago in 2008. “Chicago was the first to be based in a shopping centre, and it was the most successful of the three,” says marketing manager Rachael Lockitt, who works specifically on the UK’s first Legoland Discovery Centre.
When choosing a location, the brief – “a key city centre mall location where retail and leisure work well together” – led the team to The Trafford Centre. With a wide range of shops and leisure activities, free parking and numerous transport links to Manchester city centre, it ticked all the right boxes.
“We’ve been working with The Trafford Centre since early 2009,” says Neil Crittenden, general manager of Manchester’s Legoland Discovery Centre which opened on March 22. “There were a lot of places to choose from, but we wanted one that would work for us and for the shopping centre.” The Trafford Centre is a destination in its own right, with outdoor leisure activities and a hotel nearby.
And it had one more vital attribute: 37,500 sq ft going spare. The adjoining Barton Square opened in 2008 and was originally reserved for homeware brands like Next Home, Habitat and Mark & Spencer Home. As with any retail park, an empty unit leaves a lot of space to fill. Luckily, the Legoland Discovery Centre stepped in to broaden Barton Square’s offering and occupy some vacant space.
“Since it opened, Barton Square has been strictly a purchase destination,” says Lockitt, meaning that people only came to browse the shops and then leave. “But our key demographic is 3-12 year olds so we’ll help pull a different market of families into Barton Square. Dads can take the kids to the Discovery Centre while mums shop.”
Inside the Centre, a lift takes visitors from the entrance up to a Lego-building factory, where children are encouraged to jump about to get the factory working. Parents participate too, either with building and racing model cars or taking in the MINILAND: iconic Northern landmarks made out of Lego. “There’s Blackpool Pleasure Beach, the set of Coronation Street and The Trafford Centre itself – things adults will instantly recognise,” explains Crittenden.
Annual tickets at £27.50 per child (£75 for a family pass) encourage return visits to The Trafford Centre, not just for an afternoon shopping but for the whole day or even a weekend. “The Trafford Centre already gets 35 million visitors a year and we’ll only add to that,” says Crittenden. “There’s a Laser Quest and dry ski slopes here, and the Lake District is only a couple of hours’ drive away so there’s something for everyone. What we’d love is for people to come to The Trafford Centre for an entire weekend, with a visit to the Legoland Discovery Centre being part of that.”
As well as school groups and birthday parties – both designed to maintain the flow of visitors to the Discovery Centre during term time – there’s also a shop inside the unit that stays open all year round. “The shop has a separate exit so we can keep it open longer,” explains Lockitt. “From September onwards, the main Discovery Centre will close for winter and we’ll promote ourselves as a Lego retailer instead. It will be strange to switch comms half way through the year, but it means we can stay flexible.”

Popping up
Flexibility is a major bonus, judging by the recent popularity surge of the pop-up store. But as with any long-standing concept, creativity and innovation is needed to keep things fresh and draw people in. Sarah Jenkinson holds a similar view in her role as marketing manager at Pavilions Shopping Centre, Birmingham. Here, a pop-up shop selling locally produced contemporary arts and designer crafts was a hit for five days over the Easter period, reinforcing the idea that shoppers want to see something a bit different.
“The pop-up shop concept gives customers a lot more choice,” agrees Jenkinson. “There’s something new every time they come in.” Crucially the products on sale were unique one-offs, hand made by up-and-coming artists from around the city. Pavilions teamed up with a locally based feltmaker, Jamie Lewis, to create the five-day Pop Up Arts Shop selling gifts, jewellery, arts and homewares.
“We wanted it to appeal to a wide range of people,” Jenkinson explains. “There were things for £5 which would make perfect little Easter gifts, and for those really into their art there were the £500 pieces.”
A pop-up shop selling items up to £500 marks a complete transformation from those flimsy units of old that centres quickly threw up to fill space. Even the fit-out was creative: featured artists made display plinths to such a high standard that Jenkinson is keen to use them again in the future. “Pop-up stores used to be stark and rather tacky, but there’s a lot more effort going into them now because, for the occupiers, this is their first real step into retail. The benefit to us is that it makes the centre look a lot fuller.”
And with designer products made by renowned architects, glassmakers and illustrators, an entirely new sector was being catered for at Pavilions. “We had a different audience accessing the centre, keen to buy designer art for hundreds of pounds. Once we get that type of shopper in, they can see what else we’ve got on offer here and make return visits,” says Jenkinson.
However, despite the obvious advantages to such a shift in core demographic, Jenkinson insists this was simply a happy by-product of an innovative and unique commercialisation project. “The overall objective and aim was to put a vacant unit to creative use and increase footfall. Getting high spenders in is an added bonus.”
By turning to local markets first, Pavilions avoided complaints by in-line tenants selling similar products. The bespoke quality of the jewellery and crafts didn’t cause conflict with major brands’ offerings. Peter Preddy, director of the Retail Property Management team at DTZ, is a firm advocator of a wide range of choice in shopping centres. “We work with centre managers to fully utilise the local angle. One criticism of shopping centres is that they’re all the same, so we bring in local arts groups; something a bit different that brings life in to the centre,” he says.
Not only does this ensure in-line retailers are kept happy – “You don’t want to upset tenants by selling the same products throughout the mall” – but a range of unique items add to the credibility of the overall offer. “What managers need to focus on is the ambience and attractiveness of the shopping centre as a whole. The appeal of a pop-up shop and the appeal of the shopping centre shouldn’t be seen as distinct – they are inextricably tied together and demand a coordinated approach,” argues Preddy.
Although the pop-up store is a short-term solution to vacant space, more successful retailers can often move on to longer leases of two or three years. This, according to Preddy, is the aim for the future: “Better and more diverse occupiers across the centre as a whole”.
Clare Andrew, managing director of Shoppertainment, is also adamant that occupiers of RMUs and pop-up stores follow the same strict guidelines as in-line retailers.
“We ensure that the RMUs, and all income generating events, meet the highest levels expected by ourselves, the centre management team and the shoppers. We also need to make sure that the promotions do not have an adverse impact on the tenants,” says Andrew, meaning that they must be attractive and appealing to shoppers, and that their products don’t clash with anything currently being sold at the centre.
“It is extremely important in the current climate to keep all parties happy, as it is vital within a centre that not only are the tenants satisfied with marketing and promotions but that they also encourage shoppers to spend more time there and show their loyalty by returning to the centre,” Andrew concludes.

past and future
Taunton High Street has recently embraced local culture with an empty shop project called ‘Our Place, Your Place: Taunton’. The project opened for six weeks on 8 February in the former Peter Briggs shoe shop – right on the edge of a hub of shopping activity. This wasn’t ideal,  but despite its location project leader Jan Horrell is pleased with the scheme’s success. “Initially we were quite concerned about the unit we ended up with. We wanted something more central. The only things we had going for us was a department store and a nearby car park,” says Horrell. “But Taunton is full of small shop units, and small businesses looking to start up fit them perfectly.”
The scheme aimed to engage adults in an informal learning experience that was both fun and educational. Funded by the National Institute of Adult Continuing Education (NIACE) and the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council, which focuses on the access of culture and heritage in the community, the aim of the project was to bring residents together to learn about Taunton’s past, present and future.
“There was a combination of all sorts of things,” says Horrell, including workshops, talks on local history, guided walks and researching family trees. One of the main partners was Project Taunton, the team responsible for the regeneration of the town centre. A big aspect of the initiative was involving residents in plans for the future: “People came in specifically to look at the regeneration plans.”
“They were invited to contribute to a memory board and participate in discussions about environment issues and heritage. The aim wasn’t to feed people with information, but to have them find out for themselves. The talks were especially well attended.”
And the figures speak for themselves. After aiming for 1,000 visitors in six weeks, Our Place, Your Place: Taunton attracted a total of 3,000 people, with 800 in the first week alone. The project clearly struck a chord with residents, and interaction with people on a local level really brought Taunton High Street to life. Publicity in local press and radio helped drum up interest, though word of mouth was primarily responsible.
“We would have attracted more people if we’d stayed opened longer. The only problem we had was that some people didn’t find out about the shop until it was about to close,” says Horrell.
So are similar projects in the pipeline for the future? “It was such a low cost scheme, and many of the staff were volunteers. But it caused a real buzz and now we want to keep the momentum going. We’re looking at the things people have shown an interest in to make sure it’s all built into further plans.”
There’s certainly a lot to be said for locally-themed projects. Smaller centres in secondary locations may not have the budget of bigger city centre schemes, but there’s nothing to stop them reuniting communities with their local history and heritage. According to Andrew Keiller at Brandspace, if big brands aren’t queuing up to fill vacant units then local retailers are the next best thing.
“Our primary objective is to get brands into vacant spaces because this is the best case scenario for everyone, but it can be tough. If big brands want a shop, then they’ll open one. Taking promotional space on a short-term let is not as valuable for the brand or for the shopping centre.”
This is where new companies come in. “The move towards RMUs is incredibly positive for everyone. It lowers cost of entry for start-up retailers and gets them going,” he says. “The most successful ones tend to be young, local brands that don’t have the budget to open a shop but do have a great product.”
Promotional sites are Brandspace’s area of expertise, and the increase in vacancies over the past year has altered the way these sites can be used for commercialisation. “Promotion sites in front of empty units can be incredibly valuable for us,” explains Keiller. “Before, an RMU or pop-up store would have blocked an existing shop front. But anything can go in front of a vacant unit.”
Positioning RMUs in front of stores is preferable because it gives retailers the opportunity to be on the mall itself. Power cables can run from inside the shop, and valuable promotional space in central atriums can be reserved for other activity.
And if there’s no RMU in front of an empty unit, managers can always be creative with it. “Princes Mall in Edinburgh had a store they wanted to promote elsewhere in the centre, so they wrapped an empty unit with promotional wrapping. All of a sudden, it became attractive,” says Keiller, who has plenty of other suggestions for filling empty shops with money-making activity.
“Our two target areas are brands, such as a car launch, or local car dealerships,” he says. “Temporary showrooms are very visual and have their own footfall – people who are interested in buying a car will go and have a look.” Putting a car inside a shopping centre, just like adding a unique pop-up store, provides that all important point of difference that drives shoppers back time and again.

show time
London’s Elephant & Castle Shopping Centre, owned by St Modwen, is not a typical centre in itself.  James Stockdale, development surveyor at St Modwen, describes it as “a real mix – not just a standard shopping centre but more of a community feel”. So when it comes to commercialisation, Stockdale wanted to capitalise on this sense of community and interaction.
“We’re always on the lookout for local projects to fill up vacant space and bring life and creativity into the shopping centre,” he says. Although Elephant & Castle has only one remaining vacancy, it’s built a reputation for bringing arts events to a different audience. A current initiative, Theatre Local, sees the centre team up with the Royal Court Theatre to bring a series of plays to its vacant unit.
“The idea was to bring theatre into the community,” explains Stockdale. “The Royal Court Theatre is based in Sloane Square, but it wanted to move to a location with a completely different demographic to people who usually go to the theatre.”
The Royal Court’s first stint at Elephant & Castle 18 months ago was a “massive success” according to Stockdale, with many people who wouldn’t normally go to the theatre coming to watch the play. This time round, there are four plays running over a total of six months: “Normally, we offer a rolling monthly basis for charities, but this is a proper six month term with The Royal Court paying rent and business rates for two units on the upper ground floor,” adds Stockdale,
People can book tickets before or turn up when the shows start, at 4pm for matinees and 7pm for the evening performance. The audience sit the front of the store, and new signage and projector screens allow people to stand outside and watch. “It looks great even when there isn’t a performance on. For me, that’s the main aim of all of this. The last thing anyone wants is a barren unit. Posters are good, but what you really want is people milling around inside.”
Theatre Local is one of six initiatives designed to continue the success of Elephant & Castle’s regeneration project and encourage a wider range of people to the centre. “We’ve had a charity fashion show and artists in residence,” says Stockdale. “The important thing is to make sure that the activity you’re putting on opens up the unit. We’re never too stringent with temporary lettings – some experiences only last a few days. But we always have a detailed discussion on what the retailers are going to offer so that we avoid upsetting existing tenants.”

Digital network operator Ram Vision has extended its network, signing a five year contract as the exclusive media sales partner for the new 21 sq m LED screen at Glow, Bluewater.

Centres are learning how to turn outdoor areas into profit centres with well-planned summer events.

A new business launched by local entrepreneur Sophia Patel at The Mall Blackburn has been announced as the national winner of The Retail Factor 2011.

Britain’s first gold vending machine has been switched on today at Westfield London, allowing shoppers to buy gold from the mall as an investment.

How is the RMU market evolving to face the future? asks Martin Macwhinnie

Bluewater is planning to sell the naming rights to its new events venue.
Will any other malls be brave enough to follow suit?

The BCSC Mall Commercialisation guidelines are due for relaunch. According to Lend Lease’s Simon Donaldson it’s set to bust myths.

Shopping Centre reports from the world’s largest commercialisation event, SPREE in Las Vegas.

To launch its latest product, Flora Cuisine - an alternative to cooking oil with 45 per cent less saturated fat than olive oil – Flora is offering live cooking demonstrations and sampling to visitors at seven UK shopping centres.

Media owner Brandspace reported record interest in their promotional sites where short-term space was at a premium, as brands and retailers fought for space among record crowds drawn by the Easter holidays and the royal wedding.

Commercialisation agency Spaceandpeople unveiled record profits for the 14 months to 31 December 2010, up 238 per cent to £1.67m

Close collaboration between the acclaimed Designer Philippe Starck and Photo-Me International has resulted in a new generation of photobooths

A Post-it note promotion for GCSE German catches the eye of shoppers at Churchill Square shopping centre in Brighton.  

Privacy glass, which can be turned from clear to opaque with the touch of a button, can act as a useful security measure for RMUs and stores wanting to divert attention away during closing hours, yet wishing to maintain an inviting environment during the day.

Clarion is to host the first two events at The Events Venue at Bluewater, a new and unique breed of event and exhibition space due to open in late 2011

Generating income from the mall is becoming more important but being pro-active about commercialisation management can be a challenge. According to King Sturge it’s all about strategy.

Mall commercialisation has moved on considerably in the past 10-15 years and in the US where commercialisation activities are more advanced than here, RMUs are evolving into kiosks. But will the trend cross the pond?

Crackdown on illegal immigrants manning RMUs

Digital media company Ram Vision, which sells advertising space across 45 UK shopping centres including Metrocentre, Lakeside and Bullring, is working with Free Ray UK to offer 3D screens without the need for glasses.

The Frenchgate shopping centre in Doncaster has teamed up with MasterCard and Fiat to launch their new gift card scheme.

The Frenchgate shopping centre in Doncaster has teamed up with MasterCard and Fiat to launch their new gift card scheme.

Spaceandpeople’s subsidiary Retail Profile Europe has signed a major contract with German shopping centre management company ECE Projektmanagement to install and operate RMUs across its portfolio.

Contestants on BBC programme, The Apprentice - where entrepreneurs fight it out to land a job with Lord Alan Sugar – opened two pop-up shops at The Trafford Centre in Manchester, as part of a task in last week’s episode.

RMUs generate valuable revenue, but they need to be carefully managed to avoid conflict with in-line retailers

Commercialisation agency adopts Brandspace name

Listed commercialisation agency Spaceandpeople has unveiled a 31 per cent increase in profits for the eight months to 31 August 2010

Adventure Experience UK is to create its largest outdoors adventure golf facility in the UK at Bluewater, occupying a 161,400 sq ft area that includes one of Bluewater’s seven lakes

Mall activities like RMUs work best when centre managers buy fully into the concept, and their enthusiasm permeates down through the entire centre team, according to RMU specialist Retail Profile’s Martin Kemp

Commercialisation can deliver strong returns for shopping centre owners, but industry experts point out that it’s not free money – landlords need to invest in both the physical infrastructure and in the management systems to make it happen.

With centres under pressure to increase their catering offers, a new RMU-style coffee bar could be the answer

Shopping centres in London, Leeds, Birmingham and Reading have hosted a new environmentally friendly service that aims to put £10m per year into shoppers’ pockets by 2012.

Pioneering face-tracking research into consumer moods and engagement has revealed significant potential for digital out-of-home advertising in shopping centres.

Promotion Space Group, the leading out-of-home media specialist, has appointed Julian Spooner as its new chairman. He will work to accelerate the strong growth enjoyed by the company over the last few years, and promote out-of-home and destination media as a must-have proposition for brand marketing campaigns.

Vacancy levels remain stubbornly high among UK shopping centres. But for those specialising in promotional space, empty shops mark a plethora of opportunity.

The plight of secondary centres has become more important than ever. But with lower budgets and commercial values, in-house commercialisation teams aren’t an option for smaller centres. So is specialist outsourcing the answer?

Advertising revenues in shopping centres are on the increase, according to listed ad agency spaceandpeople, which reported revenues up 18 per cent year-on-year.

The children’s industry has always maintained a steadfast audience, and shopping centres are in a position to benefit from having great family appeal.

Centre managers are using major UK brand names in the fight generate much-needed income. But innovation is key if brand promotions are going to work well

Brandspace, the subsidiary of out-of-home media specialist Promotion Space Group, has won exclusive rights to manage all promotional and experiential marketing for the UK’s largest landlord, Capital Shopping Centres.

Ignoring brand names in everyday life is arguably impossible. Products such as Coca-Cola and Nintendo have become household names, instantly recognisable and comfortingly familiar. Then there are entertainment shows: X-Factor and Big Brother are a constant source of debate, at times even entering the political arena. It’s unsurprising, then, that shopping centre commercialisation is becoming more affiliated with major brands. But just how easy is it to persuade national and international companies to promote in shopping centres, and what are the benefits to the centre itself?
According to Brandspace chief executive Paul Soanes, brand promotion in malls is becoming increasingly popular. Whether companies want to market a new product or simply get the attention of passing shoppers, centre promotions are a direct and cost-effective marketing method. “Throughout 2009, we’ve seen more brands doing this kind of thing,” begins Soanes. “Traditional advertising was down 30 per cent last year but this type of experiential promotion was up by 10 per cent.”
Despite a rise in the number of promotions, the campaigns themselves have been smaller in size and value – no doubt one of the many lasting effects of 2009’s recession. But Soanes is confident that interest in centre promotions will remain high. “Experiential marketing has become more of a trend in the last five to 10 years. It’s a relatively unproven phenomenon, but the logic is that getting close to a consumer is better than advertising on TV, where you have no idea who’s watching,” Soanes insists.

INNOVATION
But while this has been the trend for the last decade or so, it’s only recently that brands have started to get more creative. In the past, companies handed out free samples; now they might attract potential customers with interactive games, free trials, and even smells. At Lakeside shopping centre, a home brand recently pumped out the smell of freshly washed laundry: something Soanes describes as ‘aroma media’.
So what does the centre get in return? To start with, a big name brand will drive footfall and dwell time as shoppers are drawn towards promotions featuring their favourite drink or game console. “It becomes a destination event for shoppers,” insists Soanes.
But an all-singing, all-dancing campaign hosted by a well-known brand is not made available to every shopping centre. Out of the 500 centres in Britain, Soanes estimates that major brands only gravitate towards the top 100. This doesn’t mean that the remainder are left with nothing, however. “There are plenty of smaller brands who want to use these centres to promote directly to shoppers,” he adds.
The most important aspect of a commercialisation strategy is, of course, the income generated. Managers have the right to be selective over the type of brand and campaign they let into the centre, stresses Soanes. “The centre remains completely in control of the output. They are opening themselves up to other companies, so they can approve or reject anything they like.”
Mark Hughes-Webb is a business development director at Space-2, which finds short-term income generators to fill under-utilised spaces. Space-2 is in fact a property consultancy, but its directive is an obvious match for the shopping centre industry. Hughes-Webb launched a separate service, BrandHub, in early 2009. BrandHub offers fixed-cost lettings for a month at a time, enabling established brands or start-up companies to open ‘pop-up’ units in shopping centres.
Focussing on short-term leases is unusual for a property consultancy, but Hughes-Webb identified a gap in the market. With the growing prominence of commercialisation and a shift towards experiential brand promotions, the need for appropriate spaces and temporary lets has grown. According to Hughes-Webb, brands want a physical presence in shopping centres in order to appeal directly to their target audience. What they don’t want is a 10- to 15-year lease.
“Brands want to try new things, not be tied into a lease for the next 10 years. But property agents aren’t instructed to do anything short-term. Now, we want to make brands aware that they can approach the property industry for this kind of interactive, short-term promotion,” asserts Hughes-Webb. “It’s not just about temporary lettings: it has become a business model.”

The right fit
Part of this model is to find the location first, before devising a suitable promotion to fit the space. “Agencies come up with good ideas, but if they can’t provide the physical space then it can’t be done. We want to do things the other way around. Find the location first, then approach the right brands with our ideas,” says Hughes-Webb. And that is exactly how BrandHub managed to get Heat magazine into The Brunswick Centre in London’s Bloomsbury.
Initially, Heat hadn’t even considered holding its promotion in a shopping centre. “They wanted to display photographs and images of celebrities used in back issues of the magazine, which could have been done in a conventional venue like an art gallery,” Hughes-Webb says. “But in a shopping centre, the appeal is that you’re targeting the right people. Heat came to the Brunswick on the basis that it is not a conventional venue, and it was chosen because it suited the brand.”
Possibly one of the most recognised and talked about brands across the country is, of course, The X-Factor. International company Photo-Me has recently come up with a product for shopping centres that involves the X-Factor brand. More impressively, the licensors have willingly signed up.
The product itself is similar to the traditional photographic booths that Photo-Me operates. But rather than taking photos, people go inside the heavily branded booths to sing along to a song of their choice. “It’s a karaoke machine,” explains Francois De Freitas, head of marketing at Photo-Me. “You choose from 500 songs, then sing along inside the booth, and a DVD of your performance is burnt for you to keep.”
At £5 a go, the new X-Factor karaoke booths aren’t the cheapest shopping centre offering. But De Freitas is certain that the brand image and the product itself are targeting the right people. “The most important thing is to create products that are attractive. They need to satisfy the needs of the customers who want to have some fun and do things they can’t do at home,” he says.
And it’s the appeal of a well-known brand that De Freitas is hoping will satisfy shoppers’ needs as they look for extra entertainment. The X-Factor was the obvious choice for this type of product, but convincing licensor FremantleMedia to associate its most prestigious brand with a karaoke booth was no mean feat. “It’s been difficult,” he admits. “Fremantle wanted to protect the brand because it’s so big. This is a very unique concept, so some people don’t know quite what to make of it. But Fremantle saw the opportunity.”
Meeting high market standards and garnering complex technology have added further delays. It has taken over a year since the project was devised to get to this point, and only a handful of shopping centres had booths installed before Christmas. The initial plan had been to roll out the product during The X-Factor’s latest series.
“We would have liked to be in centres earlier, but a lot have now become involved,” insists De Freitas. Over 80 centres including White Rose shopping centre in Leeds and Manchester Arndale, have now installed the karaoke booths, with more to follow: “We’re rolling them out first in the UK, then maybe across other countries.”
So it would seem the X-Factor brand is strong enough to churn up interest all year round, which is ideal in the context of commercialisation. “The booth has been very well-received,” says De Freitas. “Centres have been very keen to take it on because it’s something completely new to the industry.”

The launch of BCSC’s commercialisation report – a joint effort with the PMA (Property Managers Association) – took place at this year’s BCSC conference to widespread acclaim. Consisting of 10 key recommendations for optimising commercialisation opportunities, Mall Commercialisation - An Introductory Guide for Retailers and Property Professionals is directed at landlords but fundamentally encourages a stronger relationship between management and retailers.

At times like this, shopping centres are often stuck in a catch-22. On the one hand, landlords with vacant units need to supplement their income by charging for events. On the other, cash-strapped shoppers need more encouragement than ever to part with their cash. But is driving footfall and sales revenue in the long-term becoming important than events that generate direct income?

The gift card industry has seen radical changes over the past decade. Initially seen as a commercialisation initiative, it now comes firmly within the marketing manager’s remit, according to Sue Boor, PruPIM’s head of shopping centre marketing.

This time last year, the UK retail market was in turmoil. Future plans became uncertain, shoppers reined in their spending and weaker retailers went into administration. Twelve months on, the impact of recession has changed the outlook of landlords and retailers. Commercialisation over the upcoming Christmas period is a good indicator of where retailers see themselves now, and the current level of confidence as Britain enters the final quarter of 2009.

There is nothing new about gift cards: in their former guise as paper-based vouchers they have been knocking around since the eighties. However, despite physical and technological transformations and rapid take-up in the UK, the nation’s retailers and shopping centres continue to lag some way behind our American counterparts.

Hosting events in the communal area of a mall forms a key part of a shopping centre’s commercialisation strategy. However, today’s credit crunched customers need more incentive than ever to set foot inside the nation’s malls.

Digital signage networks are a common sight in many of the UK's shopping centres, with advertising being a successful outlet for the generation of non-rental income. While many brands are cutting back on their advertising spend, it seems digital signage is still an area being explored during these tough times.

Fashion is a vital part of a shopping centre retail mix, with a large number of consumers focused on buying clothes, shoes and accessories. It therefore makes sense that mall events focus on the theme of fashion, and an increasing number of shopping centres are realising that fashion shows can not only attract footfall and increase dwell time and spend, but also assist in generating additional income.

Coin operated machines are an ideal way for shopping centres to generate extra revenue without using up too much space in the mall, and with a variety of new products now on the market, there are plenty of options to choose from.

For the majority of shopping centres and retailers in the UK, the credit crunch has meant a fall in sales and footfall over the past year and has led to a greater number of voids in the mall. Guaranteed rental income from tenants is therefore falling as fewer units are occupied and rents remain static, so shopping centres are being forced to look at other avenues to generate revenue.

Over the past few years, retail merchandising units (RMUs) have become a standard part of many of the UK's shopping centres, and they continue to evolve, with new design concepts constantly being introduced by manufacturers.

Gift cards have fast become a popular method for shopping centres to earn extra income, with not only the centre benefiting from additional revenue but also retailers receiving a lift in trade.

The Commercialisation Forum, led by Byron Lewis of Lewis Commercialisation, is due to meet with the BCSC this month to discuss the possibility of establishing an official recognised body, such as a committee, group or association, within the retail property sector.

Advertising is a strong marketing tool for brands and for companies wishing to promote their products or services to the masses. Digital screens and poster sites in high footfall locations, such as shopping centres, are extremely effective, and remain hugely popular with shoppers.

Mention a 19,000-sq ft events hall, 45 mall promotion spaces, a local population far younger than the national average and an annual footfall of 30 million, and it won't come as a surprise that thecentre:mk in Milton Keynes has reported a great deal of commercialisation success.

Photo booths have been a source of non-rental income for shopping centres for years, but since the introduction of digital photography, the options open to landlords have grown significantly.

Promotion Space Group has confirmed its position as the UK’s leading shopping centre commercialisation specialist by acquiring its main competitor, London-based Brandspace. Brandspace CEO Paul Soanes will join the Promotion Space board as group business development director.

Commercialisation agency Promotion Space has appointed ex-BCSC president Richard Wright as group chairman, to support its ambitious growth plans.

Commercialisation is now a huge part of every shopping centre's business and as such it's necessary to have a dedicated team of people working solely on this area of income generation.

Brands are increasingly turning to experiential marketing and sampling to market their products or services, and shopping centres are ideal places for this kind of activity to take place.

Store fronts are being turned into new ways for malls and retailers to generate additional income, thanks to new technology from 3M, WindowGain and Tensator.