Shopping malls faced challenges before the pandemic, as online shopping came of age. Then the pandemic forced further changes in shopping habits. And while retailers and restaurants defended their market share with customer loyalty and engagement programs, few if any U.S. mall operators have figured out how to cost-effectively create programs that build and retain customer traffic.

It’s not for lack of trying or creativity on the part of malls; it’s due to some serious structural realities.

Unlike retailers, malls tend not to have the funding or resources to field a loyalty effort and build their own effective customer databases. And while mall operators certainly have somewhat differentiated brands, they are not the same kind of loyalty-building brands that major retailers or restaurants have established.

Any mall program must figure out how to do a number of things, and do them economically:

  • Provide a compelling, entertaining customer experience
  • Deliver program rewards and benefits consistently across all mall occupants
  • Offer a program that can complement, rather than compete, with existing retailer programs
  • Develop a program that is seamless and frictionless, requiring no investment, modifications, or integrations with existing retailer operations and systems
  • Allow redemption and settlement of any loyalty currencies that are economically positive across tenants with diverse margins and purchase cycles

A successful shopper engagement program must provide sufficient value to incentivize customers to share data directly with the mall operator, without disrupting existing retailer-customer relationships.

Creating Effective Programs for Shopper Engagement

You can see why few management companies have succeeded in creating an effective program, given the level of difficulty and the economic challenges.

Post-pandemic, it will remain a challenge for some time to get some consumers to give up the new-found attractions of online shopping and free delivery. Still, malls must work with their retail tenants to develop unique experiences that can’t be duplicated digitally. Left unaddressed, current shopper loyalty and engagement may be put at risk. 

But the bigger challenge is finding a creative program platform that solves the financial and structural issues such as equitable settlement of reward currencies, seamless operation and systems integration. No current platform can truly address those issues. Reach is the one program that provides a solution to all of those challenges, with our proprietary currency and frictionless process. Reach is as easy for the customer to use as any credit or debit card, and just as easy for retailers to accept. Explore our website to learn more about the Reach app and our unique solution.