KOP Mall preps for holiday rush with interactive directories

Source: Luxury Daily

Mall owner and manager Simon is gearing up for the busiest shopping season by rolling out new digital directories to nine of its upscale shopping centers.

These interactive 65-inch LCD screens help shoppers navigate the malls, showing them the quickest route to take to get to a particular store and communicating with the user’s mobile phone to provide on-the-go assistance. With the holiday season approaching, providing this user-friendly tool may help shoppers’ stress levels decrease as they search for gifts.

nteractive assistance
Simons’ interactive directories, developed in partnership with Gable and Acquire Digital, are placed in high-traffic areas. The touchscreen reacts when a person approaches, coming to life when they are a few feet away.

A universal search function makes finding a particular store, eatery or service faster.

Once a consumer has found the shop or service they were seeking and the screen has plotted a route, they can send the directions to their mobile phone. This feature leverages a variety of technologies, including beacons, near field communication, SMS and more.

The screen also showcases deals and offers from retailers and restaurants, using location-based marketing to serve consumers the most relevant information.

These next generation screens were first revealed during King of Prussia’s grand opening in August. They have also been installed in Clarksburg Premium Outlets in Maryland; Boston’s Copley Place; Fashion Centre at Pentagon City in Arlington, VA; Florida Mall in Orlando; Forum Shops at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas; The Galleria in Houston; The Westchester in White Plains, NY; Stanford Shopping Center in Palo Alto, CA and Del Amo Fashion Center in Torrance, CA.

“Simon is a leader in this space with an unmatched network of over 175 screens deployed across the country,” said Mikael Thygesen, Simon’s chief marketing officer in a statement. “It’s an important customer amenity that our shoppers interact with quite regularly.

“We felt it was time to develop the next generation of this technology and elevate the consumer experience even further,” he said. “Judging from the strong positive feedback received from shoppers already, I think we’ve achieved our goal.”

Simon has integrated technology into its shopping centers to aid the consumer’s search while helping retailers connect with shoppers.

In 2014, Simon expanded its use of Bluetooth-enabled iBeacon technology to create 200-plus retail destinations in the United States and help bricks-and-mortar retailers evolve the shopping experience.

Simon’s deployment of Mobiquity’s Mobi-Beacon network, which was already in place in 75 of its premier shopping destinations, provides a unique, opt-in opportunity for customers to engage with retailers, brands and mall apps for timely and contextually relevant personalized offers, information and real-time experiences. Operating off the Mobiquity network retailers in Simon mall locations are able to reach numerous shoppers every week on their mobile phones