The only urban outlet centre in Germany, designer outlets Wolfsburg has now reopened and the team have taken a careful and considered approach in what is a hugely difficult situation for shopping centre and outlet operators. Bettina Wewetzer is however confident that customers can look forward to an enjoyable experience, whilst still maintaining social distancing.

“We are in the fortunate position of being able to open our doors again. We reopened on the 22nd April with a quick turnaround – just three days to get everything going and to transform what is a sensitive and unnerving topic into a fun experience as much as possible.”

The reopening strategy combines a focus on one-to-one service and limiting occupancy in stores to give people plenty of room. “We have reduced our entrances from twelve to four, which are all securely manned so that each customer is personally welcomed. Strong hygiene measures include the wearing of masks, disinfectant, and floor stickers for social distancing. Our modern steel and concrete architecture looks warm with vibrant rainbow coloured chalk signage to guide customers to look after their health. Stores are using things like numbers from the fitting room to manage the amount of people they let in at a time. There is a positive mood in the outlet environment because the customers here really do want to shop.”

Reaching partners and customers with reliable, relevant information is invaluable in normal times to improve operations and profitability, and it is proving particularly crucial now for critical communications. The designer outlets Wolfsburg recently implemented Retail Advantage to collect and connect data across the site. “We have actively used it as a team for a while, but we are just going live with the brands with the reopening, so we are still at the beginning in terms of exploring the KPI analysis and heat mapping tools. We used to provide all communications to brands over email, and now Retail Advantage has become our true platform for sharing information.”  

Sharing knowledge and experience is arguably more important than ever, so how does Bettina build community with the team and tenants? “We are in a unique position in the fact that we are an individual platform, one location and with that comes a small team of twenty people in all,” she says, “communication is very direct and we have daily contact with brands to keep in touch with team changes, products, pricing and deliveries.”  They keep close connection with tools like a news flash distribution featuring the monthly calendar, marketing events and promotions. “We are a close-knit community and have a personal way of doing things, such as providing all brands with specially designed masks, and little easter bunny gestures even though we were closed.”

So, what advice would Bettina give herself before starting her career in retail? “You should always give what you want to receive. Take things with a pinch of salt and have fun” she says. “We are very grateful that none of us have been directly affected by coronavirus, and it is important to remember the bigger picture as everything else will fall into place.  I like to keep a glass half full attitude.”

Bettina Wewetzer – Senior Retail Manager at designer outlets Wolfsburg

“Winning is about struggle and effort and optimism, and never, ever, ever giving up.” – Amby Burfoot

Retail is often a great showcase for effort, even though it has faced more than its fair share of pessimistic news stories. The retail industry has moved to change the rules that defined it for a century, so despite this current severe struggle, it will never give up.

Customers tethered to their tech devices are looking to the finish line too. Even whilst safety remains front of mind, a mix of services that customers have been deprived of, like social shopping in physical places will be possible in the not too distant future. Community tools to provide effective analytics and reporting methods will prove even more important for retail and leisure destinations that want to win and engage customers as well as tenants.

This shared struggle was a lesson in collaboration against outside forces. Winning will require effort and optimism to make safe and enticing environments to stage your comeback. Success will also require accurate data to drive robust operational practices, strong communication and strategy with partners because like you, they are determined not to give up.

Get in touch to discuss the architecture we can help you implement for recovery

As much of the retail real estate and placemaking industry navigates disruption, we are sharing practical guidance coupled with inspiring insights from people with experience in their field. Blame it on the need for more physical exercise, or the fact that Wimbledon has just been cancelled due to Covid-19, as this week’s words again come courtesy of a professional athlete.

“Start where you are. Use what you have.  Do what you can.” – Professional tennis player, Arthur Ashe

Many things have been written about the Corona pandemic, but because the situation is unprecedented we have to start where we are, and do what we can with what we have. Retail is normally such a ferociously fast paced industry that a forced moment to pause, assess priorities, and perhaps pivot, could prove beneficial. Just like with data, there can sometimes be too much emphasis on gathering large quantities of information, whereas using what you have to gain analysis on what you need yields far more valuable insights.

Last month before the corona crisis escalated, I contributed an article about retail real estate for RLI magazine on the real revolution at play. ‘Never has the “real” in real estate held so much potential than today as customers tethered to their tech devices crave the satisfaction gained from authentic human connection, social experiences and physical places’ I wrote. 

Yes, all of that is on pause for the moment, but the ties to tech devices whilst people work from home, or seek entertainment during lockdown are only getting tighter. This will drive momentum in two ways – firstly it will accelerate digitalisation, but it will also make a shaken society rush to leisure destinations that serve security and a new warm welcome.

Stay safe, and please connect so we can help get architecture in place for your reopening.

Gratefully, Gareth Jordan and the ART Software team

We can learn lessons from leaders in markets further down the line from their initial outbreak. Here at ART, it has never been clearer that a professional analytics platform to share knowledge and connect everyone with access to the right depth of information is essential. So, here are some ways to keep on top of the data and utilise it to manage critical situations and map your recovery strategy.

Lessons for Retail and Leisure leaders in the time of covid-19

Create clarity for tenants and employees. Official advice can be too slow or not specific enough for your business needs, so it is important to try to create clarity for partners and employees, even though the status of the situation is changing.

Real-time accurate data is essential to make difficult decisions. A professional analytics and communication platform also helps you be attune to your tenants sentiment and needs and allows you to be consistent with your messaging and operational direction to retail teams. Not only can you share clear instructions for the safety of your employees and customers during a high-risk time, you can also empower employees with the analytics they need to take informed initiative – unique to their location, role or task. In China for example, which appears to be in the early stages of economic recuperation, some businesses adopted this two-pronged approach where strong direction from leaders was complimented with encouragement for employees to innovate.

Tailor your recovery strategy by destination. It is essential to easily segment different metrics such as sectors as different product groups will require different approaches to see them to recovery. Health guidance and public policies will also vary by location, so it may require a bit of flexibility within the geographical structure of your business. The Retail Advantage destination analytics platform allows you to standardise data coming in and increase the speed and accuracy of reporting across a portfolio.  This allows you to continually react to regional differences and adjust the tone of your communications, marketing activities, and budget allocation accordingly.  

Opportunity comes amid uncertainty. The crisis is impacting everything to various degrees, but it is good to have a more granular view to quickly maximise on hot-spots. One thing we can predict is that with all the postponement, the aftermath will see real world social networking.

Get in touch to launch a pilot of Retail Advantage