The document discusses experience retail as a key factor in attracting tourists, emphasizing the need for innovative and planned retail developments to enhance destinations. It explores how combining shopping with entertainment and leisure activities can increase footfall and spending in areas such as London's West End, Milan, and Dubai. The document outlines key lessons for tourism development, including the importance of a balanced mix of attractions and effective marketing strategies.

1. The Power of Experience Retail
as a Tourist Attractor
How well-planned and innovative retail development can help places
become more successful tourist destinations
For more information visit www.placematters.co

2. The power of experience retail
as a tourist attractor?
Structure of Presentation
1. What is “experience retail”?
2. The relevance of experience retail
3. Case Studies:
• London’s West End
• Milan
• Dubai
4. Lessons for application to tourism development

3. Experience Retail
A concept relevant to existing and
new tourist destinations

4. What is “experience retail”?
Experience retail is shopping-led entertainment
• Reflecting shopping now being more of a leisure activity…
• More about fun and entertaining experiences…
• To be combined with other leisure/recreation activities…
• Conveniently found in one place, attractive and accessible
• Responding to increasing consumer time pressures and
demands
• Responding to tourist needs and wants
• Helping to make more places destinations of choice

5. ER places are destinations with a mix of attractors
and experiences driving footfall & spend
 A mix of activity attractors + retail attractors = increased and
sustained footfall
 It’s recognising shopping as a form of entertainment
 With a complementary mix of attractors and lifestyle experiences
 With a day and evening offer
 Where people want to stay over to experience the full offer
 With a constantly evolving offer to keep them coming back

6. ER destinations have an…..
Innovative mix of attractors and uses
 The mix of shops
 Food and beverage mix
 Leisure and entertainment mix
 Culture and heritage mix
 Hotels and accommodation
 Offices and Residential
 Parking and transport

7. ER destinations have….
An innovative mix of attractors to increase footfall, dwell time and spend
 International brands plus independent/authentic/local retailers
 Specialist cinemas
 Leisure and sports facilities
 Museums and Exhibitions
 Art Galleries
 Concert Halls
 Performance spaces in the public realm

8. The offer in ER destinations includes events to attract
footfall:
 Art demonstrations and creation
 Dance events – in store and in public realm
 Fashion shows
 Activities like cooking school demonstrations related to
restaurants
 Music theatre and dance
 Cultural events

9. The service in ER destinations has to be great
 Connecting online to welcoming the person before arrival
 Collecting deep knowledge about customers
 Employing staff who truly know their products & services
 Creating merchandising schools and training courses
 Providing value added services; e.g.
-Child care
-Valet parking, fashion advisers, interior designers
- Purchase collection

10. Marketing ER destinations is all about the experience
Sense Marketing – create sensory experiences - sight, sound, taste,
smell & aesthetic pleasure Identification of development mix
Feel Marketing – to positively affect, stimulate and bond
Think Marketing – to surprise, intrigue and provoke
Act Marketing – to alter lifestyle, new interactions
Relate Marketing – to take beyond current reality and experiences
and create new associations

11. The relevance of experience retail
destinations to tourism development
 Complements and expands the menu of attractions
 Helps to attract, increase and maintain footfall
 Increases overall spend
 Improves viability of places as destinations
 Increases attractiveness of places as destinations
 Helps to distinguish places as destinations
 Expands the market for destinations

12. Experience retail destinations
Case Studies
Milan – An unplanned – naturally
evolving - retail and cultural
destination that is a
tourist magnet
London’s West End – An
unplanned retail and
entertainment destination being
planned anew as a tourist magnet
Dubai – A more planned retail
destination

13. Case Study – The “Quadrilatero” Milan Fashion District
 Adjacent to the historic centre with its Duomo and La Scala Milan
 Centre’d on Via Montenapoleone close to historic centre
 A concentration of world class fashion brands, many based there
 Complemented by specialist and authentic local shops
 Balanced by a sophisticated and local F&B offer
 With art galleries and classical gardens
 In an environment of neo classical residences and fine architecture
 A place to live and create as well as shop and visit

14. Milan’s ER offer – international brands


15. Milan’s ER offer – authentic local shops


16. Milan’s ER offer – food and beverage


17. Milan’s ER offer – tourist magnets


18. Case Study – Milan – Key Characteristics
 Well designed shop fronts that respect building heritage
 A place to live and work as well as enjoy, shop and visit
 A place that’s vibrant and alive with residents and workers
 A good mix of retail, F&B, cultural, artistic and heritage attractors
 A place that feels local, authentic and international
 A complement to the historic core that expands its market

19. Case Study – London’s “New” West End
 Focused on Regent St, Oxford St and Bond St in central London
 Premier retail offer adjacent to major tourist attractions
 In 2008 25% of 200 million visitors were tourists
 2008 - “New West End Company” (PPP) created to improve the offer
 Short term objective to capture Olympic spend in 2012
 Medium term objective to capture more domestic and tourist spend
 Longer term objective to help maintain London as a major destination
 2009 – Locum Consulting appointed to create strategy for improvement

20. London’s West End ER offer

21. London’s West End ER offer


22. London’s West End ER offer


23. London’s West End ER offer – major brands – old
& new

24. London’s West End ER offer – food and beverage

25. London’s West End ER offer – authentic shops

26. London’s West End ER offer – key
challenges
 Bringing retailers together to agree and fund a
development strategy
 Create a more distinctive sense of place
 Moving major retailers and attractors around the
area to create distinctive offer areas
 Achieving a mix of international and national
brands
 Balancing big brands with authentic local shops
 Capitalising on Bond Street
 Upgrading the tourist F&B offer
 Improving and extending the public realm
 Introducing more cultural and entertainment
attractors
 Creating integrated shopping, culture, heritage and
entertainment offers
 Retaining local independent food and beverage

27. London’s West End ER Flagship Positioning strategy


28. London’s “New” West End – Strategic Proposals
 Create international retail “flagship” areas with distinctive mixes
 Sub divide flagship areas into distinctive offer destinations
 Renew and improve the quality of street furniture
 Remove the “red wall” of buses on Oxford Street
 Increase pavement restaurant space and the quality of the F&B offer
 Create piazza style civic spaces with attractor events
 Improve architecture and create recognisable gateways to the area
 Better communicate the area’s offer and events

29. Case Study – Dubai – City of shops plus entertainment
 The new shopping city of the Middle East reducing dependence on oil
as a major source of national wealth
 Where retail is the attractor for F&B and entertainment provision
 Where shops and entertainment are often all under one roof
 Where shopping complements the beach and hotel
 Where malls have become a place of congregation (to escape the heat)
 Where retail is celebrated in festivals that attract shoppers from the
region and farther afield – food, fashion, jewelry, ice sports

30. Dubai Retail Offer – Eight major malls
 Dubai Festival city – 2.8 msqft/600 big brand shops
 Deira City Centre – specialist and authentic goods
 Burjuman – international designer brands
 Madinat Jumeirah – recreated middle east marketplace
 Ibn Matuta Mall – six historically themed pavillions
 Wafi City – F&B, jewelry, culture, meeting places
 Mall of the Emirates – 400 shops and 6 major department stores
 Mercato – 90 restaurants, cafes and shops

31. Dubai’s ER offer – Big Box Retail


32. Dubai’s ER offer – Authentic & Replica Retail – the
Souks


33. Dubai’s ER offer - entertainment


34. Dubai’s ER offer - Reflections
 The architecture is adventurous but the retail offer
has a predictable sameness
 Experience attractions (like ski-runs and imitation
souks) are the key differentiators between the malls
 Retail acts as an attractor where few others exist
 Retail offers a complement to the beach and hotel
 Retail brings the offer of London and Milan to the
expat and local citizen alike
 An aspirational international outlook market exists
that supports global brands
 Dubai is not a model for established cities and tourist
destinations but elements may be relevant for new
tourist resorts; e.g. the recreation of the Souk
and traditional restaurants

35. ER – Key lessons from case studies
 Be clear on the brand offer - the experience!
 The mix of attractors and experiences is key
 Balance international retail brands with local ones
 Balance shops with cultural and entertainment
attractors
 Integrate and connect attractors within the
destination and to it
 Events attract and differentiate the destination
 Market the experience not just the provision
 Architecture and high quality public realm and
landscaping are important – think about “the finish”
 Preserve existing high quality environments
 Public/private partnership working is vital

36. Creating ER Destinations – Conclusions
for Tourism Development
 Traditional retail by itself is a limited attractor
 ER requires a strong mix of attractors
 ER requires careful and detailed planning of the mix
 ER requires close working with retailers and operators
of attractions – realising the mix of the offer
 Integrated operations are essential e.g. opening hours
 Integrated marketing is essential - shop/see/play/stay
 Good public transport access is important
 Good signage and telecommunications are important
 ER changes the nature of a destination
 ER expands the market of a destination
 ER can make a destination more viable

37. More Information
Our Team
For consultancy advice contact:
Malcolm Allan Malcolm.allan@placematters.co
Phone: +44 1342 829 012
Mobile: +44 7803 356 310
Twitter: @MalkyAllan
Blog: Malcolmallan-placebrander.blogspot.co.uk