Every shopping mall has its unique way of serving consumers and visitors – some malls may be more traditional in their offerings while others more modern, innovative in how they woo visitors. Some malls work on bringing in better brands – both homegrown as well as international, others concentrate on providing entertainment and food offerings and yet others use technology to keep themselves ahead of the rest. Suffice to say fierce competition, the age of digitisation and Omnichannelisation is drawing malls out of their comfort zones, getting them to try the unique at regular intervals to rake in consumers. One sure shot method to bring in the footfalls is selling experiences. The new-age consumer has enough disposable income, lack of time, a plethora of mediums to shop on and food tech platforms bringing the best of cuisines to his doorstep. The only thing which can add more value to this already well-served customer’s mall visit is serving him experiences. This theory is supported by a study by Walker, a customer intelligence consulting firm, which reveals that customer experience will overtake price and product as the key brand differentiator by the year 2020. Malls today are providing a wide range of services and experiences including discounts, offers, exclusive events like midnight sales, buy online and pick at store facilities, waiting lounges, 247 helpdesks, digital screens and robotics manuals to guide shoppers. Shopping Centre News’ November issue brings you a detailed analyses of the need for consumer engagement, and case studies on how malls have prospered after implementing more services. The issue also brings readers a feature on the role and impact of Visual Merchandising in malls, how it is responsible for more footfalls and eventually more conversions, and why it plays a key role in deciding the brand’s fate by attracting more shoppers. As always, we hope you find the issue informed and beneficial. Do log on to our website, www.indiaretailing. com to read more informative articles and analyses on the stage of the global retail and shopping centre industry with an emphasis on India