Shopping malls are losing their grip on customer loyalty, but that may not be bad news. As preference has become more fluid, a larger pool of shoppers has emerged who can be won over through experience.
A new report from Prescient – The Value of a Customer – shows that consumers are still visiting shopping centres, but they are increasingly willing to shop elsewhere if another centre offers a better experience. The upside? That makes them easier to win over.
The report splits shoppers into three categories: Centre Champions, Switchable Shoppers and Habitual Loyalists.
The most valuable, ultra-loyal shoppers – Centre Champions – plummeted from 42 per cent to 21 per cent over last year’s figures. They are the consumers who love the centre, tend to visit weekly, and spend the most cash. Centre Champions are more positive across the parts of the visit that shape both ease and enjoyment: Parking, entry, toilets, seating, food areas, customer service, entertainment and the in-centre environment. “That suggests conversion is not about one silver bullet. It is about giving shoppers consistent superiority across the journey,” the report concludes.
Most shoppers, however, fall into the Habitual Shopper category, which accounts for 51.6 per cent of the population. They are the visitors who choose where to shop purely out of convenience or routine – not because they actually prefer the centre. They shop there because it is close to them or familiar, yet they do not think the mall is anything special and will leave if a competitor offers something better. The report says the open-ended feedback from these shoppers points to a desire for the centre to feel “more complete and more worth preferring”. Common themes include retail mix, parking, safety, food, seating, cleanliness, value and entertainment.
The fastest-growing segment – Switchable Shoppers – has almost tripled in size year on year, from 9.4 per cent to 23.6 per cent. These people have zero loyalty. They might be on site and spending money right now, but they don’t prefer it. For a shopping centre’s management team, these consumers represent the largest growth opportunity.
During the past year, Switchable Shoppers visited less often and were less loyal than other groups, but they still mattered commercially. More than one in four spent more than $100 per visit. They are active shoppers – just not committed ones.
“Switchable Shoppers are not just looking for the cheapest option. They are comparing the total visit,” the report concludes. “They are asking whether this centre has the right shops, whether it is easy to use, whether the amenities hold up, whether the food court works, whether parking is painful, and whether the trip feels worth choosing over another centre.”
Turning visits into preference
For shopping-centre operators, the bigger opportunity may be converting shoppers already in their centre but not yet convinced it should be their first choice.
“Clearer points of distinction will support a centre’s first-choice status, to help convert Habitual Loyalists into Centre Champions. Those may come through the strength of the retail mix. It may come through easier movement, better parking, cleaner amenities, stronger food and seating, better service moments, or a safer and more comfortable environment.”
The research reaches two vital recommendations for shopping centre managers:
The research points to two priorities. The first is to stop chasing additional foot traffic and instead convert shoppers who are already visiting. The second is to rethink what “value” actually means. Increasingly, shoppers judge value through convenience and experience rather than price alone.
Prescient’s retail shopper sentiment program surveys more than 23,000 shoppers across 240 centres, measuring more than whether a shopper was satisfied on the day. Its framework draws on five measures: Overall satisfaction; whether the trip delivered what the shopper wanted; their likelihood of returning; their likelihood of recommending the centre to others; and whether the centre is seen as better than similarly sized centres.
Alongside those measures, Prescient asks a simple question: “Is this your preferred shopping centre?” The answer matters because preference is closely linked to future market share. If shoppers are already visiting but prefer a competing centre, operators can understand what would make them choose that centre first.
- Download your copy of Prescient’s report The Value of a Customer here and discover more insights into the preferences, feedback and intentions of the consumers visiting your shopping centres.
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