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Years ago, I moved to the triangle area and the downtown areas were super active with pedestrian traffic. Then they started building malls and they soon had plenty traffic. Now it seem like the malls are trying to become more like the downtown areas use to be with outdoor traffic. Is this madness or what?
While I think this is a lovely idea, why would a mall would do this?
According to the article, they are demolishing 7,000 sq ft of small shop space to build this soft playground for children under 5. There will be benches for parents to sit and watch their children and perhaps some food vendors around the edge at some point.
Is devoting this much valuable space to a playground expected to result in an increase in sales to the surrounding stores?
You should have seen the outcry a few years back when Southpoint took away a large play area near the food court and put in a much smaller one. I'm sure that they thought it through and figured they would make more money with more retail (I think it is a hair salon), but people are serious about this stuff. If I was having trouble keeping all my space full consistently, I can see that having an attraction for moms with kids to come during the day when few people normally would it might make sense.
They very effectively attract families to the mall, often during lower traffic hours. Sure, some people play and leave, but a significant number end up doing a little shopping or eat something in the food court.
It's the same reason the malls are so supportive of mall walkers.
Quote:
Originally Posted by GotHereQuickAsICould
While I think this is a lovely idea, why would a mall would do this?
Not a huge fan of the mall but got my iPhone fixed there for real cheap and had a delicious pretzel at the pretzel twister the other day. Could be worse.
They do have good pretzels.
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I actually like Cary Towne Center for certain things. For one, I never have to worry about parking. The stores are never crowded and when stores like Children's Place have a clearance sale, they're pretty much guaranteed to have a better selection than the busier malls in the area. They have lots of things for my toddler to engage with which makes it a good spot to visit on a rainy day. I'm really excited for this indoor playground space to open up because I could see spending a lot of time at it. When we do go with her, it's pretty much inevitable we'll get an iced tea or something at the food court.
Now all that said, there is large room for improvement at this mall (obviously, otherwise #1 and #2 in my list of pros wouldn't be highlights of the mall lol). First of all the food court sucks. If I were in charge of the management of that food court, I would consider doing something really innovative. For example, why not price the leases to be attractive to local food truck operators? It would be a bit of a win-win. The mall would have better food than what they serve now and it could attract customers that normally don't come to that mall. For the food truck operators, they would have a cheap "brick and mortar" location and access to a commercial kitchen for their food trucks rather than relying on commissaries that currently have long waiting lists in this area.
The second, and harder imo, thing to do is attract a better range of stores. Nobody is going to come to Cary Towne Center if it only has the same tired stores all the malls in this area have. They started the trend with Dave and Busters. How about giving attractive incentives to stores like Uniqlo which we don't have in this area yet but are very popular?
And while they're at it, maybe they can get rid of those annoying talking billboards all around the mall.
I was at a swim meet at the aquatic center at the corner of this mall at the weekend... went into the mall to pass some time and I thought I had gone back in time to the 70s. What a god-awful place.
They very effectively attract families to the mall, often during lower traffic hours. Sure, some people play and leave, but a significant number end up doing a little shopping or eat something in the food court.
It's the same reason the malls are so supportive of mall walkers.
This is the exact reason. This mall hosts stroller strides and has the train and carousel to attract families. The play area is what is missing. If they follow it up with a couple of more kids stores especially a Disney store I think it would increase traffic. Placing food vendors near the play area is a smart move too.
Years ago, I moved to the triangle area and the downtown areas were super active with pedestrian traffic. Then they started building malls and they soon had plenty traffic. Now it seem like the malls are trying to become more like the downtown areas use to be with outdoor traffic. Is this madness or what?
Seems buyers like to drive up and park by the door. Who knew? Indoor malls have been on a downhill slide for years. I've been told this is why Crossroads was switched to an outdoor mall when the original plan called for it being indoors. The switch in design screwed up access. During the holdays, it is a nightmare getting in and out.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ma91pmh
I was at a swim meet at the aquatic center at the corner of this mall at the weekend... went into the mall to pass some time and I thought I had gone back in time to the 70s. What a god-awful place.
The last time I was there, the bathrooms were filthy and the mall was filled with power walkers, gaggles of teens, and mothers splitting an order of French fries between a half a dozen kids.
I half expected to see a church in one of the stores.
I actually like Cary Towne Center for certain things. For one, I never have to worry about parking. The stores are never crowded...
Now all that said, there is large room for improvement at this mall (obviously, otherwise #1 and #2 in my list of pros wouldn't be highlights of the mall lol). First of all the food court sucks. If I were in charge of the management of that food court, I would consider doing something really innovative. For example, why not price the leases to be attractive to local food truck operators? It would be a bit of a win-win. The mall would have better food than what they serve now and it could attract customers that normally don't come to that mall. For the food truck operators, they would have a cheap "brick and mortar" location and access to a commercial kitchen for their food trucks rather than relying on commissaries that currently have long waiting lists in this area.
The second, and harder imo, thing to do is attract a better range of stores. Nobody is going to come to Cary Towne Center if it only has the same tired stores all the malls in this area have. They started the trend with Dave and Busters. How about giving attractive incentives to stores like Uniqlo which we don't have in this area yet but are very popular?
Food trucks anchoring the Food Court would be a terrific idea.
Please pass this on to the mall managers. Last I heard, they were trying to figure out how to attract young professionals. I think Dave and Busters was a step in that direction. Food truck food would be a huge attraction.
They very effectively attract families to the mall, often during lower traffic hours. Sure, some people play and leave, but a significant number end up doing a little shopping or eat something in the food court.
It's the same reason the malls are so supportive of mall walkers.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sal_M
This is the exact reason. This mall hosts stroller strides and has the train and carousel to attract families. The play area is what is missing. If they follow it up with a couple of more kids stores especially a Disney store I think it would increase traffic. Placing food vendors near the play area is a smart move too.
Supporting mall walkers and building playgrounds to attract families with young children encourages traffic, but does it increase revenue significantly?
Older mall walkers aren't known for being big shoppers and the families I see at the mall aren't toting around many shopping bags.
Walk through Southpoint, Crabtree, and Cary Towne malls and notice the difference in those wandering around.
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