I have been thinking how the recent experiences will change the way we work, the way we plan spaces.
I have asked myself – easiest Question ever; – which industry increased its sales so far during this hectic year of political turmoil in Europe and Asia, social unrest in the U.S., and a global pandemic affecting all aspects of our lives? E-COMMERCE!

Even Japan, which is still developing its e-commerce technology, experienced a 30% rise in e-commerce business during the COVID lockdown period. Rise of e-commerce or virtual stores are not new subjects for the retail industry as we know it. Yet, it might take us in a new direction when we look at the new issue of localization.

During the rebound consumption bump from May to July in Japan, outlet malls in suburban areas were the first to recover while retailers and department stores in major city centers continued to struggle. Safe access by car (less contact with strangers), convenience (one stop shopping) and outdoor air were the main reasons people chose local outlet malls.  There was still psychological hesitation in general to visit crowded areas.

This forced localization created by the COVID virus may be only temporal, and may last a few years in the worse-case scenario. however, it seems to have chances to continue with the rise of Remote Working. Japan was somewhat slow to adapt this new way of working.

The sudden reality of the pandemic caused a drastic change of mind, and luckily both companies and employees realized it was not such a bad idea. Recent study shows how some Japanese are already starting to look for houses with a workspace in the suburbs rather than apartments in the city centers. Those newcomers in the suburbs have had a lot of new ideas – born from social media and actual experiences. Perhaps we could try to understand what we need to change to reply to their aspirations.

For example, Malls will probably need to upgrade to satisfy the new mixture of visitors with a wide variety of demands.
Flexible spaces play an important role. Malls should consider planning multiple medium sized plazas instead of one grand plaza. In this way, malls could diversify ways and options to attract a wider variety of visitors with events, pop up stores, festivals, etc.

Tenant planning could be adapted as well. Retailers will no longer require large lease spaces because of e-commerce.

Moreover, Malls would need to enrich their  public spaces,  not only to differentiate them from others, but also to provide comfort, peace-of-mind for visitors to stay longer.
It might be interesting for malls to operate department stores like a corner space with seasonal tenants.

One thing for sure: popularity of technology will prompt malls to adjust and evolve its business format based on ever changing conditions.