Video games are revolutionising the market. Experience that was previously only had in homes is now filling stadia across the world.
In 2018, the Mexican Association of Online Sales issued a report about what online purchases Mexican consumers made. It was found that fashion items (clothes, shoes, accessories), electronics and takeaway food were the most popular. These activities are some of the most significant at malls¸ so where does this leave shopping centres?
eSports joins in the property game
eSports currently attracts millions of online spectators, has prominent sponsors and is attracting the commercial property sector. And how are these tendencies being reflected?
- In July the Fortnite World Cup took place in the same stadium which held the US tennis open championships. What was the craziest thing? It was sold out. All 23,700 seats in the stadium were filled during the three days of the competition.
- Simon Property Group, one of the biggest operators of shopping centres in the United States, announced plans to launch an eSports competition in some of its shopping centres.
- Comcast is building a $50 million and 3,500 seat arena in Philadelphia dedicated to e-Sports competitions for the Overwatch League.
- In Texas a 30,480 m2 eSports stadium is being built, reusing a convention centre. It is currently the biggest eSports arena in the western hemisphere.
Currently eSports sites are seen as a potential way to revitalise properties as low-return convention or shopping centres.
Brief panorama of shopping centres in Mexico
In 2018, the Mexican Association of Online Sales issued a report about the online purchases of Mexican consumers. It was found that fashion items (clothes, shoes, accessories), electronics and takeaway food were the most popular. These activities are some of the most significant at malls¸ so where does this leave shopping centres?
As in nearly all markets, generating experiences is the key to shopping centres which used to be seen as only a space for buying clothes, or eating, but have now been transformed into an experience with very pleasant and entertaining spaces for the consumer as well as more innovative ideas for entertainment and fun.
Let’s take as an example La Isla, where you can not only shop but also experience what it's like to be in a shopping centre “on water”, in a way that is more than visual. It has shops which also offer you every day a more personalised experience; and entertainment which goes beyond a cinema or bowling, among other facilities.
But the reality is that traditional shopping centres work well and will continue working in Mexico but we will also continue seeing this tendency to generate better consumer experiences and offer better entertainment alternatives. In fact, developers are already investing in malls focusing on consumer experiences and entertainment.
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