The festive season means a busy time for shopping centres – and with the increase in traffic comes a number of challenges. Mark Souris, Managing Director of Periscopic Property Management, provides tips on how to handle the demands of the Christmas shopping rush.

One of the key issues to consider, Souris explains, is that families will be looking for a way to keep their children entertained while they go about the business of shopping for gifts – hence the need for a holiday entertainment programme. This also serves as a crucial weapon for attracting customers to your

mall and away from others, as children will often ask their parents to visit a centre specifically because they want to take part in the novel experience on offer.

It’s also important to ramp up marketing activity at this time, Souris says. “Anecdotal evidence shows us that a large number of South Africans have opted to stay home this December, rather than going on holiday. They’ll be looking for ways to fill their time. By providing information about what’s happening at your centre, you can make sure they’ll consider you as an entertainment option.”

For those centres that are expecting a particularly high visitor volume, it’s critical to ensure that there are sufficient supplies of all items, but most especially the basics. Souris acknowledges that such planning is difficult over December, since most suppliers close over the Christmas period. Retailers therefore have to estimate how much stock they will need, based on visitor volumes.

Trading hours are yet a further consideration. During the festive season, many consumers have more leisure time on their hands. On the other hand, others are trying to tend to last minute deadlines whilst stocking up for the holidays. Both types of consumer expect to be able to visit their favourite shopping centre at times outside of normal shopping hours, and centres should comply by staying open later – in the case of superregional malls, at least until 9pm.

The increased number of shoppers comes with an increased number of cars in parking lots. Shoppers are apt to feel frustrated if they can’t find parking or, worse still, if ticketing machines and booms are out of order. Souris therefore advises centres to deploy more staff around parking zones, and to ensure that all parking-related machinery is in good working order.

Security also needs to be bulked up during the festive season. Shoppers want to feel secure while they make their purchases, yet this time of year is notorious for an increase in criminal activity. “Even if your centre hasn’t experienced this sort of problem in the past, it’s wise to take precautions,”

Souris notes. This may mean hiring more security guards, providing extra training, or even refreshing basic training for existing staff so that they can efficiently handle incidents like evacuations, accidents in parking lots or even cases where first aid is required. “This is another eventuality centres should prepare for, since there will be many children using the facilities accidents are bound to happen,” Souris says.

Finally, centres must ensure that toilets are kept clean and tidy at all times – “visitors are easily put off if the public facilities are not well maintained,” Souris points out.

By addressing these small details, shopping centres can be sure of a successful festive season.