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Globally, almost 9 in 10 of those surveyed by Deloitte for their 2019 Commercial Real Estate Industry Outlook believe that PropTech will have a moderate to significant influence on the CRE industry. The weight of this change is felt heavily in shopping centers, as the success of tenant relationships increasingly reflects a property’s use of technology.

There has been a dramatic shift in focus; to the connection between tenant and landlord being the seed for success for retail space. Luckily, utilizing tenant retention to create value has been our specialty for nearly two decades.

From our experience, there are four core ways a shopping center can improve their tenant relationships.

#1. Use streamlined communication to create a sense of community

Amenities like community events, wellness opportunities, and loyalty programs were all seen as luxury offerings not too long ago. But today’s tenant expects them. People like being connected to a place, it’s human nature to need and thrive as a tribe. As some technology (like social media) scatters communities on a global scale, the craving for a central hub for connectivity will only grow stronger.

Once that is understood, it’s no surprise that commercial properties that provide a sense of community see more success. We’ve seen that establishing a property as a village with members versus separate companies filling a box in a large building drives overall loyalty and tenant satisfaction.  

A key driver in this is communication. Mallcomm makes it possible for a person to always be engaged in a community, no matter where they are. Features like chat, job boards, social networks, and HR programs can all be integrated into the app

#2. Support tenant’s everyday business needs

With nearly 50,000 shopping centers in America right now, today’s tenant has options.

Say a potential tenant is looking at a few different shopping centers to sign a lease with. All are in good locations. All offer the same amount of space. All reach their target demographic. All are seemingly similar. However, one offers cutting edge technology that will simplify their everyday management and increase their revenue. Which do you think they’ll choose?

From sales, marketing to recruitment, properties, parking and access management: a shopping center can no longer simply exist if they want to compete in the retail games. For example, Mallcomm makes it is easier for tenants to find out about what marketing the center is doing and how they can join it to make it more successful for everyone. They can share vacancies, and they can post store-to-store offers.

The result? 3% of one McDonald’s turnover comes just from store-to-store offers through Mallcomm, an incentive strong enough to play a part in the decision making when a brand is looking for a new location.   

#3. Give them the data

The Mad Men days of basing your marketing and sales strategy solely on intuition are behind us. Big retailers rely on data to measure success and plan campaigns. Shopping centers who offer big box retailers reliable and accurate data that tracks key metrics like footfall and sales are much more likely to win a bid.

Tenants are asking for technology, such as Mallcomm, that will track their campaign success, offer sales reports, allow for multiple input channels and so much more. They want it to be easier to share key performance data that will translate to valuable insight for the partnership.  

#4. Create an experience they will enjoy

This point goes back to basics: everyone wants to be happy. The more enjoyable something will be, the more attracted people are to it.  According to a report by CBRE, tenants ranked building management as the most important aspect of evaluating a potential property.

So it’s simple, shopping centers that offer the most streamlined and enjoyable operations will be more attractive to tenants.

Our platform Mallcomm allows tenants and their staff to easily report issues such as security, housekeeping, and maintenance. It creates a way for the center’s teams to better manage in all aspects. This all provides a great service to tenants and adds value to the relationship.  

While we’ve mentioned four ways shopping centers can create better relationships, at the core, there’s one solution that brings all of these improvements with it: technology. Specifically, PropTech. It’s no matter a question of if a property needs to integrate a proptech solution, it’s when.

Want to increase your tenant retention? Contact us today!