The internet has already change the nature of shopping. We comparison shop between real stores and online stores. Sometimes it is more convenient to buy locally. Other times because of range, availability, price or convenience we prefer to shop online. Currently, retail purchases are only 5-10% online. But that is only after ten years or so of online commerce. Already we can purchase so much online for under $1,000 from any where in the world – that threshhold being the limit for inporting in to Australia without the need for payment of duty, GST or any other importing red tape – and in many cases have it delivered faster and cheaper than placing a back order with a real live store. What of the next ten years?
How does this leave the real world store in the average shopping mall? Your local mall is owned and operated by a large listed property manager. The average mall business has almost no control over their rent, outgoings or share of the mall’s advertising costs. Their hours are regulated, seven days a week and there are precious few days of the year that they can be closed. But there are no guarantees…on most mid week mornings and afternoons the mall barely has any customers. The weekends, late nights and school holidays are a mad dash to make some cash to cover the rent, outgoings, advertising and wages. And then there is competition from the internet. Any business in the mall that sells any THING – clothes, books, music, home wares – can be beaten for price, convenience, range and service by the internet retailer. And already, some of us don’t even go to the mall for our groceries.
The only businesses alive in the mall of the future are those where the customer HAS to be present – cimemas, hair dressers, chiropractors, dentists, coffee shops and take aways. But once all the other stores have disappeared, how will the whole food court be available to survive?
The plan of the future. Much of your local shopping mall will be converted … to housing? Don’t believe me? Studio apartment/1BR apartment/ 2 BR apartment for rent/sale, features: plenty of parking, central city location, public transport at the front entrance, complex includes a gymnasium, convenience store, coffee shop, hair dresser and pharmacy. Walk to the cinema, heated pool or indoor skating rink. Wait a minute, no mall has a heated pool or an indoor skating rink! There will be plenty of room once the supermarkets and large chain stores have vacated the premises!
And turning shops into apartments? Simple. Most major shopping malls have a major overhaul every 10-15 years. Turning a shop into an apartment only involves a few internal walls and some plumbing and electrical work.
You heard it hear first. In the future…you can live at the mall… and you have internet shopping to thank for it.
Tom On Tuesday 