Life of leisure - commercial leisure attractions are a growing part of the commercialisation mix, but they add more to a centre than just revenue
Published: 16 November, 2010
Leisure is becoming big business in UK shopping centres. The food and dining offer has grown hugely over the years both in size and variety and many larger centres now offer a cinema and a range of other activities and experiences. No longer just places to shop, shopping centres are staying open later and are fast becoming destinations, encouraging people to use them for social experiences and in turn increasing dwell time.
Leisure may not be conventionally thought of as a form of commercialisation alongside the more traditional elements like RMUs, advertising and promotions. However, chief operating officer at Spaceandpeople, Nancy Cullen, explains why it is so important: “People have a choice now between shopping in-store or online so shopping centres have to be vibrant and attractive and add to the customer experience.”
And permanent leisure is increasing according to Stephen Courts, director of commercial and brand partnerships at Hammerson who sits on the BCSC Commercialisation Committee.
“Leisure in shopping centres has become very interesting over the last few years,” he says. “People want to get more out of a shopping centre than just transactional shopping.”
Bluewater with its cinema, climbing wall, 4D motion ride, and pedalos has always been synonymous with leisure.
“Retail and leisure are interlinked at Bluewater,” says general manager, Andrew Parkinson. “A leisure offer gives people a reason to visit. If you are in a group, some people can go shopping while others can visit the cinema.
“It’s an integral part of the offer to our guests and it extends dwell times and people’s propensity to spend.”
Parkinson believes that by being continually innovative with leisure, Bluewater can be at the forefront of broadening commercialisation opportunities. He thinks that to fully embrace leisure centre managers need to identify things that people wouldn’t normally be able to do or see. This was the idea behind the recent opening of Pirate Cove Adventure Park, a mini-golf concept from Florida and the first of its kind in the UK.
“It’s always been important to us to use our outside areas and Pirate Cove was a natural evolution,” says Parkinson. “It’s different whilst also in-keeping with the brand and it seemed a very obvious thing to do.”
“Retail is becoming more and more experiential. Leisure can help to differentiate your centre from others,” Parkinson adds. “Those centres which are able to mix retail and leisure will benefit in the future.”
Not all centres have the space or budget to incorporate large-scale activities but there are plenty of other options. While not conventional leisure, health and beauty treatments like eyebrow threading, teeth-whitening, nail bars and massage are becoming ever-more common in shopping centre environments.
Dr SpaFish, which recently opened at The Mall in Norwich, offers a Thai treatment involving small fish nibbling dead skin off feet. The novelty of fish pedicures has made it very successful and stalls offering the treatment can also be set-up temporarily creating a taste of the exotic and a point of difference.
“It’s logical if you’re going to a party and you visit a shopping centre to find a dress and a pair of shoes to be able to get everything else done as well,” Cullen explains. “A beauty offer is convenient for customers and it’s big business.”
Gyms are another option. Highcross in Leicester, Westfield London and the Bentall centre in Kingston all have fitness centres, which can be set up in larger units.
Promotions, another more obvious branch of commercialisation, are growing in sophistication and more frequently falling under the leisure umbrella.
As Stephen Courts explains: “There are lots of things in the market that there weren’t before. For example, EA Games have set up promotional events in shopping centres that are fully interactive. Customers don’t see these as commercial ventures but as something where they can sample the products and have great fun.
“There is so much potential in providing entertainment that just wasn’t there five or six years ago. Shopping centres today and in the future will become increasingly interactive and interesting.”
It seems that leisure is here to stay and even in smaller centres there are plenty of opportunities to provide customers with activities and experiences, even if temporary.
“Leisure in shopping centres is becoming a European trend and the UK is at the forefront,” concludes Cullen. “It just seems to be the right thing at the right time - it’s grown massively and it’s here to stay.”
