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Community Engagement in Retail Development

The retail experience is constantly changing, which means that commercial property investors need to be willing to adapt and evolve. With an increasing number of consumers no longer satisfied with the traditional shopping experience, retail development has never been more crucial. Known as “experiential retailing,” this process involves providing customers with unique, engaging spaces that actively foster community engagement.  

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So, how do you build community engagement and transform your retail space? Let’s examine it in more detail below. 

Create opportunities for engagement 

If you want to foster community engagement, you need to seek out opportunities to do so. Start by looking at the different stores within your retail establishment and then think of ways to make them more immersive and engaging. 

For example, if you have a store that sells sporting goods, could you offer a nearby sports center or area so that customers can try out their new purchases? Take a look at this video from Jean Paul Wardy, CEO of CenterCal Properties, who knows only too well how important community engagement is to the success of retail spaces in the United States.  

Seek out strategic partnerships 

To make sure customers return to your retail space rather than head through the doors of one of your competitors, you need to focus on offering continuous interaction and innovation. One of the most effective ways to do this is by seeking out strategic partnerships

Ideally, you want to pick brands that are well-suited to one another, such as a bookstore and a coffee shop, and then brainstorm ways in which they can work together to offer an improved customer experience. 

Build an experiential hub

If you have not heard of the term “experiential hub,” prepare to be amazed. Highly effective at attracting younger demographics who have been brought up surrounded by technology, an experiential hub offers shoppers a much more immersive and interactive shopping experience. 

Augmented and virtual reality experiences, in particular, can help to transform old-style shopping malls into exciting destinations that actively foster community engagement. 

Provide a more personalized experience 

Do not underestimate the importance of the in-store experience, even in today’s highly digital age, where online shopping has become the preferred purchasing method. More specifically, shoppers are seeking out more personalized experiences that make them feel more than just another customer. 

Personalized shopping spaces are set to become more widespread, especially for luxury goods, as these can help attract a higher-end clientele and enable the store to organize special in-store events for members of the local community. 

Optimize your retail space 

When it comes to optimizing your retail space for community engagement, you need to make sure you have enough room for immersive experiences and customer interactions. Although this will take a lot of planning and resources, it is a necessity in today’s competitive retail marketplace, where retail spaces are having to close down daily. 

One way of achieving this is by installing interactive installations outside of stores, which will draw people in and improve their overall customer experience.