Ho-ho-ho factor in seasonal retail
Christmas is not a holiday in China, but many retailers eager to lure customers away from online shopping are more than willing to latch onto any festive occasion to promote their merchandise.
Santa may not be a fixture around Shanghai, but New Year is an official holiday. By promoting end-of-year gift-giving, retailers set up a prelude to the gift-buying frenzy leading up to the Chinese New Year in early February.
The Xintiandi area is hosting the month-long Shanghai Lights Festival, while Tiffany has erected a holiday installation on Huaihai Road to mark the Christmas and New Year season.
Capital Land’s Raffles City shopping center is encouraging users to use its smartphone application during the New Year season by offering them digital coupons that can be used for offline shopping
Shopping malls and brick-and-mortar retailers in Shanghai are clamoring to provide new shopping experiences, eye-catching décor and special events that consumers can’t get with the click of a button.
Xintiandi Plaza, which earlier this month reopened after a two-year renovation, is offering smaller, more intimate retail formats that offer passers-by a quick shop or a spot to grab a drink or snack.
Dining establishments are providing smaller seating areas for white-collar workers who want a lunch break that is a peaceful retreat from the office. Tea shops and coffee houses abound in the revamped plaza on Huaihai Road.
A rooftop space has been created to offer a leisure spot for those needing a brief break from the rat race. It will change its decor with passing seasons.
The strategy of combining shopping with dining, leisure activities and space for socializing appeals to the younger generation.
Shanghai resident Valentina Wu said she particularly likes the LCM plaza in the Lujiazui area since it opened this year.
"It's only a 10-minute drive from my home, and it has a variety of choices, such as cinema and dining, which saves me the trouble to going downtown for my leisure time," she said.
Indeed, those born in the 1990s and in the new millennium seem to want shopping excursions to be both entertaining and practical.
Ivy Lu, head of research at CBRE Eastern China, commented that landlords shall strengthen their distinctive branding by optimizing the project’s location strength and identifying the characteristics of targeted consumers.
Measures include enhancing the featuring of place-making to extend consumers’ stay, and embracing positive influence from artificial intelligence and other technologies, and utilize data analyzing to provide customized service to consumers.
Themed exhibitions would also increase interaction with customers, Lu noted.
Online merchants have come to realize that they can’t ignore the offline shopping realm. They are expanding their businesses to embrace the full scope of shopping options, as witnessed by JD's self-service supermarket and Xiaomi's lifestyle products.
JD’s on-demand delivery affiliate JD Daojia has also tied up with Watson’s 1,200 outlets in the country by offering delivery of personal care and beauty items.
According to CBRE data, six renovated shopping centers and malls reopened to the public during the past year, and the city added eight new retail projects. Shopping choices are getting wider and competition is getting keener.
Bailian's Shimao International Plaza, which reopened in September after more than a one-year renovation, has replaced 90 percent of its existing tenants. It now includes beauty retailer Sephora and M&Ms World, offering not only places to shop but also places to have fun.
Some merchants at Shimao International Plaza are staking out a physical presence in the city for the first time, despite the formidable competition.
Jennifer Ye, PwC China’s consumer markets leader, said niche brands are also seeking attention with offline presences and that would mesh nicely with the retail surroundings that seeks to bring in differentiated offerings of merchandise and thus attract more foot traffic.
Earlier this month, L'Oreal beauty brand YSL used an art space in Shanghai as a location for a week-long pop-up store for the launch of its new lipstick .
Sebastian Xing, brand director of YSL Beauty China, said the space is not so much to increase actual sales, but rather to create a buzz in the online and word-of-mouth realms.
Alibaba's FreshHippo food market is featuring more than 46,000 imported products from more than 100 countries. It is also adding local agricultural products to meet the increasing demand for fresh food.
Super Species, Yonghui Supermarket's new retail format that combines dining and shopping, is adding florist and coffee shops at its new facility in Shenzhen. In Shanghai, it's also planning new outlets near office buildings or in busy commercial districts.