In the age of internet shopping, many strip malls continue to thrive. What are specific strategies these strip malls take to grow and stay strong in an evolving retail market?
1) The Right Tenant Mix
The tenant mix in strip centers has high potential to be a healthy mix of internet-resistant retailers and service-oriented tenants.
A typical strip mall anchored by a grocery store may add complementary fitness retailers, fast and casual dining, and family entertainment to their tenant mix. A complementary mix is very important, as a too mixed “personality” can doom a center by drawing dramatically different types of customers. These people may seek another center where they can fulfill several needs at once, instead of going out of their way to visit one tenant in a strip mall.
Strip malls also show a growing presence of service-oriented retailers like barbershops, hair salons, nail salons and other self-care retailers that cannot be replaced by an online retailer. Read this to further brainstorm ideas for e-commerce-resistant tenants.
2) Keeping Supply Below Demand
With little new strip mall construction in progress, immediate demand from tenants has revitalized many strip malls, especially those that were built 20 to 50 years ago. Populations have grown around these centers, so if a strip is renovated and well-maintained it can become more successful than ever.
Of course, you probably cannot control the development of other strip malls nearby, but you can make sure your center stays relevant and well-maintained to draw in not only popular tenants but unique ones to create the right mix.
3) Convenience
Another driver of strip mall demand is convenience. The demand for drive-throughs has resulted in developing out-parcels for single tenant retailers. These command lucrative ground leases and long-term leases.
Of course, parking availability can have a huge effect on the success of a strip center. Here again, the right tenant mix can affect how easy it feels to access and park. Tenants which all draw customers at the same time of day can leave the parking lot jam-packed at the busy times and then totally barren at other times. This can frustrate and repel customers. Solution? Choose tenants with services that have varying high-traffic times.
4) Visibility
Another visibility matter to consider concerns anchors vs smaller business tenants. Mom’n’Pop shops frequently don’t advertise, so aside from good signage, it’s the anchors which will draw people in and make them aware of other businesses in the strip mall. At least one well-known anchor who advertises can be extremely important for a strip mall that suffers from visibility or accessibility issues.
5) Experiential Appeal
Experience of a center is not only a matter of concern for bigger shopping malls. Even small strip malls are benefiting from pleasant seating areas and beautiful landscaping, something which often accompanies small eateries and cafes. Instead of competing with internet shopping, free wi-fi draws customers in and makes the center a communal hub. Of course, the upkeep of your strip mall plays a huge part in how the customer experiences it.
TWS Facility Service makes it our mission to adapt our services to your ever-changing needs. Increasingly, the maintenance and visual appeal of a property is a major factor in its success and growth. Our professionally trained and uniformed team are here to address that need and help you make the most of your strip mall. Contact our team members to see how TWS Facility Services can help your center be better than ever: 888-883-1815