A new-look Westfield Garden City on the south side of Brisbane was opened, with new options for entertainment and digital integration prior to its grand opening during October. The new center is focusing on what is called "retailtainment", which is a ploy to lure customers from online shopping to the mall and keep them there for longer periods.
Garden City intends using digital entertainment, such as interactive displays, integrated smartphone connectivity and gaming for this purpose. The $400m revamping of the center started during the first part of last year and includes free Wi-Fi, direct to mobile offers, device charging stations, an interactive play zone and body-controlled games.
A 40m digital projection will light up the center at night with images of nature which changes according to the time of year and the weather.
Retail expert, Dr Gary Mortimer, said shopping malls are moving away from being places where shopping is done as quickly as possible. There is a new trend to create an area where there is a wide range of offers and entertainment. They are changing in order to offer the surrounding area what they need.
