Malls are using cutting-edge technology to stay relevant for consumers and evolve as per the evolving needs of consumers.

At ETRetail ShopFwd Summit 2024, experts from the mall industry discussed the potential of technology in meeting consumer demands and enhancing consumer experiences.

Underlining the importance of technology and design in the success of a mall, Dr Anoop Bartaria, CMD, World Trade Park, and Sincere Architects Jaipur said, "Design is the DNA of the mall, however, design and technology go hand in glove. Nowadays, one cannot continue with the malls, which look the same for years and decades. So, we are coming to a situation where every time consumers visit next, the design of the mall has to be adaptable to a change where they have a new experience."



Highlighting the role of technology, Rajendra Kalkar, Business Head - Retail & Hospitality, Adani Realty stated, "Perhaps no business can stay away from technology especially when you are in a consumer-facing business like a shopping center or a mall. It has become mandatory for malls to engage consumers on social media platforms, use technology for loyalty, manage backend operations, find parking solutions, and forecast consumption. All these information systems are getting assimilated in the backend, which is helping the mall developers to come up with marketing strategies to generate better footfalls in the mall."

Adding to this further, MG Gopala Krishna, Jt MD, MG Brothers said, "Consumer behavior is changing and now they have a less attention span and patience. To cater to these consumers, malls are adopting technology for heat mapping, parking solutions, counting footfall, churning categories and even also at foodcourts to understand consumer preferences. Along with this, the shift in the service levels can help in improving the consumer experience."

Bringing in a different perspective, Madhur Laddha, ED. Tapadia City Centre Mall said, "Brands are also using technology like Digital Directory, and Smart Mirrors along with malls to cater to consumer demands."

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Highlighting the importance of personalisation, Manish Mehrotra, SVP - head of operations, DLF Malls asserted, "E-commerce has taught the importance of analytics to offline retail spaces as well and malls are adopting digital tools to offer personalised and customised experiences to consumers."


Highlighting how technology is helping in improving sales at the malls, Dr. Mahesh M, CEO, Creaticity said, "At malls, conversions matter more than footfalls, so malls can install digital navigators, curate experiences using tech."

Sharing how malls can use technology to solve parking wors, Sunil Munshi, VP - retail, Brigade Group said, "It is important for malls to give exceptional services to consumers and these experiences can be standardised using technology. At parking, malls are using automatic number plate recognition, ticketless entry, parking sensors, and online payment to enhance the consumer experience.

Adding to this further, Ashish Kumar, director, Designa said, "Adoption of QR code, automation, digitalisation have further reduced the queues at the entry and exit of the malls. The data generated at the parking can also help malls improve their marketing efforts.

Concluding the discussion by talking about future technologies, Pramod Ranjan Dwivedi, president – real estate, Ambuja Neotia said, "AI and data analytics are helping the malls to be designed for the future, plan the right tenant mix, building strategies to help brands become future-proof and improving the dwell time at the malls."