Ski slopes, e-sports competitions and active entertainment zones for teenagers and families with children can become points of attraction for visitors in shopping centers. This was told by the participants of the event “MosInterCon 2021: Days of Shopping Centers”, organized by the Russian Council of Shopping Centers.
The share of entertainment in the shopping center will increase every year, many participants noted. By 2030, it will occupy up to 30 percent of the area, says ADG group sales director Anna Papaskiri.
This is facilitated, among other things, by the development of online commerce and the reduction in the area of conventional stores. There are quite a few options for how to occupy the vacant spaces. So, abroad in the shopping center they even arrange ski slopes. A shopping center with open-air swimming pools has recently opened in the Moscow region.
Great prospects lie in the development of entertainment centers for young people and families, says Sergey Privezentsev, head of the in-door direction “New Horizons”. Children’s entertainment centers with slides, trampolines, climbing nets and so on have become commonplace in the shopping center. But many children, accustomed to such entertainment, have already grown out of this kind of entertainment. Teenagers out of habit come to the shopping center in their free time, but there is nothing for them to do there. Meanwhile, it would be unreasonable for shopping centers to lose this audience, Privezentsev believes. In addition, there is still little active entertainment for children to spend time together with their parents. The solution could be a new type of complexes and more complex structures for outdoor activities.
Another option to attract visitors is platforms for e-sports and competitions, which spectators can watch, says Sergey Barkhudaryan, commercial director of ESforce Holding. Now 74 million Russians play mobile or computer games, 24 million people are involved in “competitive” gaming, they are interested in competing with each other, 15 million people are interested in e-sports. Esports is becoming an interesting spectacle, many companies gather to watch tournaments together. Creation of venues in the shopping center for holding tournaments and watching them can increase attendance and spending in stores.