The world is going digital and so is the retail sector. The industry is undergoing a digital transformation wherein it is bringing together people, data, and processes to create value for customers, all the while maintaining a competitive advantage. Brands, retailers and consumers are all bound by a common thread – digitalisation of the retail sector. An important cog in this revolutionary wheel is the shopping mall. No longer built on a shopping complex, malls today are combining the physical with the digital to create one wholesome, Phy-gital entity. Consumers no longer simply go to a mall to shop. In an age when everything is available online and with the convenience of doorstep delivery, consumers want experiences and malls are confidently stepping up to the challenge. They’re creating Phy-gital malls – offering goods and services in a digitalised way, where physical and online retail channels are merging, blurring and influencing each other in new ways. Being Phy-gital is much more than being Omnichannel. The idea is to offer the consumer things he cannot experience online, on his tablet or smartphone. The July edition of Shopping Centre News brings its readers a comprehensive list of Indian malls who are taking ‘smart’ to the next level by using new technologies to create unparalleled physical experiences that bring consumers to malls in droves. In conjunction with the lead story is the Mall Technology section, which covers popular tech service providers that are helping malls go digital and enhance consumer experience. A feature on the importance of FECs in malls adds to the overall richness of the July issue. As always, we hope you find the issue informative and valuable to your business. Log on to our website, www.indiaretailing.com, to read more useful articles and analyses on innovative trends and developments in the shopping centre industry on a global stage with emphasis on India.