With malls shut, property managers work with tenants to attract virtual shoppers
Malls may have closed in mid-March, but property managers are working with tenants to attract restaurant orders and virtual shoppers.
Tenants are struggling to maintain their businesses at the malls. So, the Aventura Mall, Bal Harbour Shops, Brickell City Centre, the Design District and Dolphin Mall are helping to replace the loss of foot traffic with other ways to do business.
Each mall’s respective development and property management firm — Turnberry, Whitman Family Development, Swire, Dacra, Taubman — are launching a variety of strategies to help their tenants remain afloat, including through promotions, social media campaigns and virtual experiences.
“We are working with them every day,” said Matthew Whitman Lazenby, regarding stores at Bal Harbour Shops. Lazenby is the chief executive officer and president of the family-run Whitman Family Development.
“They have rent obligations. We have loan obligations. The best way to get through this is together, and rent abatement is not the only way to help a tenant,” he said.
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Some malls are enticing online shoppers with special promotions and discounts.
Brickell City Centre launched brand-specific marketing campaigns for its retailers and launched a page highlighting restaurants that remain open for takeout and delivery, Swire Vice President of Marketing Christa Dabkowski said via email.
“Brickell City Centre has partnered with all of our open restaurants to highlight their delivery and pickup operations, special grocery offerings and special medical personnel discounts to our wide-reaching online community. This includes dedicated email blasts, organic and sponsored social media posts on all of our digital channels, and exclusive promotions,” Dabkowski said.
Property managers are using Instagram to promote businesses.
Swire is utilizing Instagram Live for cooking demos and Instagram stories for styling tips from certain retailers, including Saks Fifth Avenue and Intermix, Dabkowski said.
Aventura Mall took to social media to promote their restaurants before Miami-Dade County issued non-essential businesses to close, Turnberry chairman and chief executive officer Jackie Soffer said via email.
“Many of our restaurants continue to offer pickup and delivery service, so we’re helping promote awareness of places like Tap 42 and Pubbelly Sushi,” Soffer said.
Dolphin Mall in West Miami-Dade is also using social media to promote restaurants open for takeout and delivery, including the Cheesecake Factory and P.F. Chang’s China Bistro, the mall’s general manager Pete Marrero said by email.
“If our restaurants are able to serve the community’s needs, and our tenants are operating safely and efficiently, we will consider the effort a success,” Marrero said.
Some malls are collaborating with tenants to provide virtual experiences that go beyond ordering online.
At the Design District, Dacra founder, chief executive officer and president Craig Robins said by email: “We’re creating a series of virtual experiences with our brands that we’ll launch on social media this week and using all of the digital tools at our disposal to amplify what the brands themselves are doing, like Ahana Yoga’s great classes.”
Bal Harbour Shops launched several virtual experiences, Lazenby said. One is a video series showcasing designers and creative directors who have boutiques at Bal Harbour Shops and are working from home or in their studios.
The Instagram series, “Inside the designer studio,” has included snapshots of Aquazzura Creative Director Edgardo Osorio, Valentino Creative Director Pierpaolo Piccioli and designer Silvia Tscherassi working from home, wrote by email Carolyn Travis, the director of strategic marketing for Whitman Family Development.
Another program launching this week, Lazenby said, is a virtual book club. More programming is in the works, he said, with virtual tours of art galleries and museums.
“It’s more than putting a link,” Lazenby said. “It’s about connecting emotionally with customers.”
This story was originally published April 8, 2020 at 7:00 AM.
