The OOH Opportunities for Advertisers in Mall Environments

As one of the most anticipated environments to reopen as restrictions eased, it’s an exciting time for malls and shopping centres.

Since reopening in April, we’ve seen retail sales soar +9.2% (10% higher than pre-pandemic levels) and online shopping sales decrease -5.6% month-on-month. Audiences are excited to be back, making this an amazing opportunity for brands to re-engage with this huge audience group.

The Excitement of Returning to Malls & Shopping Centres 

Google Trends data is a great indication that interest in shopping centres has spiked in the last 30 days. Queries for “shopping” resulted in a +3,050% increase in queries for “Southampton shopping centre,” whilst queries for “Edinburgh shopping centre” and “Reading shopping centre” resulted in a +2900% increase and a +2,850% increase respectively.

Interest in shopping centres has spiked in the last 30 days

Social media is another great way to see how audiences are feeling about the return of malls and shopping centres. From a quick browse through Twitter, it’s clear to see that audiences are enjoying being back shopping instore, with one user tweeting, “Lunch in Trafford Centre and girl shopping, first time in over a year and feels great to be out with my daughter,” whilst another user tweeted, “Still sat in Eldon Square waiting. Did my shopping, had one Starbucks, considering another. Nice day out.”

Audiences are excited to be shopping in-store again

Although audiences have the choice to shop online, a recent survey from YouGov found that there are key motivational factors for purchasing goods from brick-and-mortar channels. These factors include, preferring to physically experience a product (62%), trying things in store (53%) and easier to purchase things in person (37%).

Returning Mall Audiences & Shopper Intent 

Since malls and shopping centres reopened, we’ve seen a huge number of people embark on shopping trips. Recent data from Westfield, the owner of two malls in London, showed that close to 200,000 people visited the malls on the day of reopening. Compared to dates from June to September last year, this is a huge increase.

Malls & High Street Footfall Growing – Westfield Shopper Volumes – Monday Audience Daily

Additionally, on the week commencing 17th May, over 1 million people visited both Westfield malls.

Once inside a mall or shopping centre, 88% of shoppers will make a purchase, 57% of which will buy health or beauty products, with 57% saying that impulse would drive their purchase (JCDecaux). Shoppers who eat during a mall visit will spend +18% more, increasing dwell time by +27 minutes.

The Upcoming OOH Opportunities for Advertisers in Malls 

There are lots of upcoming opportunities for brands looking to engage with mall audiences, including Father’s Day, Prom/Graduation and international travel. Search queries for “Father’s Day” on Google has spiked within the last 30 days, with queries for “Personalised Father’s Day Gifts” increasing +350%, “Father’s Day Presents” also increasing +350% and “Father’s Day Gift Ideas” increasing +300%.

Interest in specific clothing items has also spiked within the last 30 days, with queries for “clothing” seeing a +1200% increase in queries for “Bottomless Brunch Outfit,” a 200% increase for “Graduation Dress” and a 110% increase for “Festival Clothes.”

Interest in Clothing for events has spiked in the last 30 days

The demand for outfits and gifts for upcoming events is huge, and the mall environment is the perfect place for brands to utilise Out of Home advertising to influence these purchases.

So, as you can see, mall audiences are back and hungrier than ever to make purchases in-store, whether it’s to purchase general items or items for upcoming events. Now is the time to prime these audiences who are visiting or considering visiting a mall with OOH to influence their purchasing decisions with the best brand awareness campaigns.

Brands of all kinds who step with their best foot forward for the rest of 2021, will undoubtedly reap the benefits this Summer and in years to come.

For more information, please contact marketing@talonoutdoor.com or get in touch with your Talon Planner to discuss OOH opportunities within the mall and retail environment.