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'Things will not go back to the way they were before'
25th Jun 2009
This was the stark message of the key note speaker at the recent ICSC Marketing Conference in Vienna on Thursday 18 June.
Futurist Jesper Bo Jensen of Fremforsk Centre for Future Studies in Denmark urged over 130 marketing professionals to plan now for the future of the shopping centre industry in the wake of the current recession.
He argued that consumers would hold back on spending decisions until spring 2010. But their spending power will increase, with disposable income rising by 25-30% in the next 10 years, particularly across developing Eastern European countries.
The key shopping centre audience will also change – shifting from families to the ever-increasing group of over 55’s and Generation Y, the group of 20-30 year olds looking for high quality and low prices.
With shopping centres increasingly becoming the ‘third space’ shopping centre design will have no choice but to adapt to the needs of its local community.
Other speakers also touched on this theme, with Dariusz Rudzinski of SCC Management discussing plans for Poland’s first chapel in their shopping centre Silesia City. Paulo Alves of Multi Mall Management spoke about other innovative uses of space, including the transformation of the car park in one Portuguese scheme for a music festival.
To see the presentations, visit the ICSC website
For more details about how you can become a member of the International Council of Shopping Centres, please call Katie on +44 207 344 1834 or email katien@lodetsaruk.com
