Online shopping with fast and sometimes even free shipping has been a game changer for how consumers purchase their miscellaneous wares. Nowadays, with a quick swipe and “add to cart” using the Amazon app, items show up on your doorstep in two days or in some cases, a few hours, and you don’t even have to put on pants. The competition is fierce, making it easy for customers to get the best prices on anything and everything from clothing and beauty products to furniture and vehicles.
Knowing they have to compete with the convenience of getting great deals without ever leaving the comforts of home, shopping malls have gotten creative to attract crowds.
There are still several profitable local malls, including South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa, the Brea Mall and MainPlace Mall in Santa Ana, just to name a few. However, numerous sprawling outdoor shopping, dining and entertainment centers have popped up over the past two decades, such as Downtown Disney in Anaheim, Bella Terra in Huntington Beach, The Irvine Spectrum, The Outlets at Orange and the brand-new Outlets at San Clemente.
Those establishments have much more than stores; they also boast numerous restaurants, state-of-the-art movie theaters that serve alcohol, higher-end bowling alleys, comedy clubs, arcades, water features for kids to enjoy on hot days, carnival-style rides, skate parks and weekly live entertainment.
Many also host special in-store events that include celebrity meet-and-greets, signings or performances, product demonstrations, specialist consultations and hands-on workshops.
These centers try to make a “trip to the mall” a daylong family adventure with something for everyone, framing them as destinations for couples looking for a perfect date night or groups of friends getting together for drinks and dinner — and hopefully opening their wallets as they walk by the myriad strategically placed shops on the way to and from their vehicles.
To get patrons into their stores, a lot of the retailers that also sell products online offer special deals for those who physically walk into their establishments — enticements such as BOGO offers and gift-with-purchase options. Some stores also carry certain products that can only be purchased in person.
Grocery stores and even restaurants have had to adopt similar strategies with the rise of same-day online grocery shopping and food delivery apps such as Grubhub, Uber Eats and DoorDash.
A lot of the brick-and-mortar stores are also attracting technologically savvy shoppers by integrating personalized mobile apps. These include detailed maps of the actual store and the ability to check stock and figure out which aisle specific items are on. They even offer coupons and other deals by allowing the cashier to scan a QR code right from the mobile device upon checkout. More retailers are offering on-site experts and personal shoppers to enhance the in-store experience; they also appeal to consumers’ desire to actually touch a product, which is something they simply can’t do online.
And because items are made available in-store to try out before purchasing, there’s no buyer’s remorse or battling an online return policy. Sure, Apple sells millions of products online, but its retail stores are jam-packed with customers trying out the latest technology before buying, getting suggestions from experts or having their products repaired, replaced or explained to them in person by an actual human being.
The same goes for makeup giants such as Sephora, Ulta, MAC, Morphe and NYX. Customers can try before they buy with help from beauty experts using the latest technology to color match foundations, lipsticks and blushes. Some retailers also offer mini-facials, skincare evaluations and full beauty-product consults.
Warehouse wholesaler Costco also sells its goods online, but you would be missing out on all the free samples and the killer $1.50 hot dog and a soda combo deal.
It’s these sort of extra-mile efforts that are keeping the brick-and-mortar businesses afloat amid the rise of the almighty Amazon and other online shopping outlets.