46 per cent dip in footfalls at malls

Releasing the survey findings, Assocham secretary general D.S. Rawat had said shopping on the ground had taken a back seat due to e-shopping’s convenience, rising fuel price, security reasons, online discounts and abundance of choice.

“Unlike in the West, where there is a balance between the two, the situation in India currently is skewed in favour of e-commerce,” said retail expert Deep Mukherjee, director (corporate), Indiaratings.com.

“Though doubts linger over their long term viability, the fact that most e-commerce sites offer substantial discounts and are backed by private players through equity investments is what is driving their growth,” he said.

Conceding that it is ultimately the mall’s responsibility to bring in customers for their clients, Mr Narayan, marketing manager of Ampa Skywalk in Aminjikarai, said, “It is like a marriage between a mall and a brand. For both to flourish, mutual adjustments need to be made, considering the relative advantage held by e-commerce players in certain products, such as books, music and mobiles.”

Sarin Eattiyadath, store manager of Hamley’s toy store at Express Avenue, said that in the past one year, he had witnessed many brands shifting out the mall or closing

down. “While prominent brands are surviving due to the backing of major companies, smaller players might not. Many of the luxury stores that were here earlier have shifted to another mall in South Chennai, citing poor business,” he said.

A classic example pointing to the demise of the mall is Spencer Plaza in arterial Anna Salai. Constructed in the early 1990s, Spencer’s, until the turn of this decade, was thriving, but was left in the lurch due to a combination of poor management and other malls opening nearby.

“There used to be a time when we came as early as 8 am to open the shop, but now, I only come in by afternoon. There have been days when I have done almost no business. It’s like living on the hope that tomorrow will be better than today,” says M. Rajenderan, owner of Basilar men’s wear shop.

In his heyday, about five years ago, Rajenderan used to receive more than 500 customers per day, with about four assistants helping out. Today, he remains the solitary man in his shop, located in Phase II of Spencer’s. His tale is shared by many other shopkeepers at one of India’s oldest malls.

“I believe an expansive food court and a decent theatre should be the mainstay of our malls. After all, it is not only about shopping, but rather the entire experience of time spent almost half a day at a mall that contributes to its popularity,” Yukesh, a polytechnic student said. Significantly, there are others who share his viewpoint on the relevance of malls.

Retail expert Deep Mukerjee, director (corporate), Indiaratings.com, pointed out that malls would do better if they could focus on improving their experiential aspect. “Right now, there is a new avenue (e-commerce) for consumers to purchase goods at discounted rates and our malls are compelled to market themselves as an ‘attractive’ proposition for the common man,” he said. A few malls in the city have correspondingly either alerted their floor space management or have begun the process of doing so.

Opened back in 2002, when they weren’t yet in vogue, Abhirami Mall in Purasawalkam devotes as much as 50 per cent of its floor space to entertainment zones, such as Snow World. The remaining 50 per cent is split evenly between food and shopping areas.

Managing director Abhirami Ramanathan said that they had a simple rule of thumb: “There is no point in having high-cost brands that see no patronage. We are still conservative in terms of consumer spending and thus, malls should primarily be able to attract the common man.”

Other malls in the city, such as Spectrum Mall, which opened in 2012, are inclined to follow suit. On an average, about 10,000 people stream in and out of it. A majority of customers are headed either to the Big Bazaar (anchor store) or S2 Cinemas that takes up about 58,000 sq ft of total 160,000 sq feet of space within it.

Rajkumar A. Gajwani, admin manager, said they had plans to open a fun centre, scary house and a party hall within the next one year. “Our business has been down by almost 30 per cent in the last one year and we are contemplating measures to bring in more crowds,” he said.