Digital Storefronts in Physical Properties

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NEWSFLASH ICSC European Conference Update: The day started with keynote speaker, Alexander Von Schimeister, managing director for eBay in Turkey, explaining how eBay has evolved from initially working with private sellers to trade ‘collectable’ and unique items, to larger companies and brands. Today over 75% of the items that eBay sells are brand new, and eBay is working with retailers to market and sell their products to a wider customer base, without diluting the presence of their brand in bricks and mortar locations.

Von Schimeister shared one innovation that eBay in partnership with Westfield Malls is prototyping — digital storefronts in physical properties.

The digital storefront displays have interactive touch screens that allow customers to purchase and have items delivered to their home – wait time for delivery in photoManhattan is less than an hour! The storefronts have zero inventory, operate 24/7 and provide a unique way to connect and serve customers in a pop-up format that can give access to brands and items that wouldn’t traditionally be available to shoppers in these markets. The most notable digital storefront was the Kate Spade Saturday store in New York City.

After the session the conference moved to round table lunches, where I led a discussion on using social media to market shopping centers. The group was primarily from the Nordic Council of Shopping Centers, including Finland, Norway, and Sweden. It’s fascinating to see how social media and technology are flattening the world! More to come from the panels and tours later this week!

BY: JUSTIN GREIDER, U.S. ambassador of the ICSC Next Generation program, JLL Retail Florida

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