Shopping malls keep asking how to compete with e-commerce. That is the wrong question. The real question is: what role do shopping malls play in an omnichannel world?
There is no longer a meaningful distinction between online and offline retail. Customers have already moved on. Their journeys are fluid, hybrid, and inherently omnichannel. The rest of the industry understands this — retailers, brands, investors, and start-ups alike. Shopping malls, however, are still catching up. In many cases, they are not just behind; they are barely in the game. In Europe, the gap is even more pronounced than in markets like the United States.
Five years ago, the pandemic briefly created urgency. Digital solutions appeared quickly, and for a moment, the industry seemed ready to accelerate. It didn’t. Most of those initiatives have disappeared again — built fast, but not built to last. What remains is not progress, but a return to familiar patterns. Meanwhile, the market has continued to move. Digitalization has accelerated, and AI is now reshaping expectations across both digital and physical retail.
And yet, many shopping malls still treat omnichannel as optional.
It isn’t.
Omnichannel is no longer an innovation topic. It is a competitiveness topic. For many asset managers, this is the real gap: omnichannel is still seen as an add-on rather than a core lever to drive footfall, sales, and loyalty. That hesitation comes at a cost. The opportunity is not just untapped — it is actively being missed.
The required mindset shift is straightforward: stop thinking of digital as competition and start treating it as infrastructure. There is no shortage of tools to support this shift. CRM systems, loyalty platforms, in-mall marketing solutions, location-based services, and e-commerce integrations are widely available. But this is also where many organizations get it wrong. They invest in tools and expect transformation.
It does not work that way.
Tools don’t fix strategy gaps — they expose them.
Without a clear strategy, the outcome is predictable. Apps fail to gain traction, loyalty programs remain unused, vouchers lose relevance, and content lacks direction. What starts as an omnichannel initiative turns into a collection of disconnected features. Over time, this does more than limit results; it weakens internal confidence in the entire approach.
So, what does it take to get it right?
1) Understand the leaders — but don’t hide behind them
Leading REITs and mall operators have already invested heavily in omnichannel. Players such as Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, Sonae Sierra, ECE, Klépierre, Simon Property Group, Mall of America, Brookfield Properties, and CapitaLand are actively shaping the space.
You can learn from them: What strategies are they pursuing? Are they focused on driving traffic, extending the mall beyond its physical footprint, building direct customer relationships through data, or enhancing the in-mall experience through digital touchpoints?
You can also sharpen your own omnichannel expertise. Many of the leaders’ strategies are well executed — but not all of them. Observing both successes and shortcomings helps develop an instinct for what will likely work for your assets, and what will not.None of this is new. That is precisely the point. The benchmarks are visible, and the direction is clear. The question is no longer what to do, but why it is not happening faster. Observing the leaders is useful. Using them as an excuse to delay action is not.
2) Start with real users, not generic strategies
Many omnichannel strategies fail because they are too generic — or because they reflect irrelevant or non-existent shopper needs. You must understand the specific role a mall plays in people’s daily lives. A commuter-driven center serves different needs than a destination mall. A suburban family hub operates differently from a premium urban flagship. Yet many approaches are applied as if these differences did not exist.
The result is sameness — and sameness erodes relevance.
If your omnichannel strategy could be applied to any mall, it is not a strategy. It is a template. Real differentiation starts with understanding actual use cases: the commuter who values speed, the senior who relies on the mall as a social anchor, the family seeking convenience, or the teenager looking for a place to spend time.
These are not abstract segments. They are practical starting points for creating value. And in most cases, these roles are not owned by tenants — they are defined by the mall itself.
3) Move faster and test earlier
The biggest barrier to progress is rarely technology. It is hesitation. Too many initiatives are over-planned and delayed. By the time they launch, the context has already changed.
In a digital environment, speed matters more than certainty. Every omnichannel idea is a hypothesis, and most hypotheses will be wrong. That is not a problem — if you find out early.
Testing does not require fully built solutions. Prototypes, mock-ups, and simple pilots are often enough to validate whether an idea resonates. Negative results are not failures; they are part of the process.
The real risk is not getting it wrong.
The real risk is moving too slowly to learn.
4) Tie everything to impact
Omnichannel strategies only work if they create measurable value — for both the customer and the mall. More visits, higher basket sizes, increased frequency, stronger loyalty, new customers. If these outcomes are not clearly defined, the strategy remains incomplete.
Mall vouchers illustrate the issue. In many cases, they fail to deliver meaningful impact — not because discounts do not work, but because they are not designed to change behavior. Customers are not short of offers; they are short of compelling reasons.
A generic discount is easy to ignore. A well-designed omnichannel incentive that shapes an entire shopping journey is not. That is the difference between a cost and an investment.
Without clear KPIs and business cases, omnichannel remains a side initiative. And side initiatives do not transform businesses.
The baseline has already shifted.
Omnichannel is not a trend.
It is not a feature.
And it is not optional.
It is already the baseline.
The only question is how much longer shopping malls can afford to treat it as anything else.
Omnichannel Strategies for Shopping Malls
“Enabling Shopping Malls to Build Omnichannel Strategies That Work”
An exclusive course with a limited number of 15 seats that will help you ace digital transformation and strategies for your retail asset.
BEHIND THE MASTERCLASS
Retail is being reshaped by e-commerce, omnichannel marketing and increasingly AI-driven commerce. As digital channels become deeply embedded in everyday consumer behavior, the traditional distinction between physical and digital retail is rapidly disappearing.
Shopping malls are part of this evolving ecosystem. Visitors use digital tools to plan visits, discover brands and make purchasing decisions. Yet while most malls recognize the importance of digital transformation, many still lack clear strategies for integrating digital channels into the overall shopper journey.
This workshop provides mall owners and operators with frameworks, international examples and collaborative working sessions to develop initial omnichannel strategies and practical roadmaps for implementation.
ACROSS ACADEMY EXECUTIVE MASTERCLASS
Enabling Shopping Malls to Build Omnichannel Strategies That Work
Vienna | 20 May 2026
NOTE: Participation is limited to 15 senior professionals from the European retail real estate industry to ensure focused discussion and high-level exchange.
📩 REGISTRATION VIA EMAIL TO
Reinhard Winiwarter
Publisher and Managing Partner ACROSS Magazine
r.winiwarter@across-magazine.com
+43 1 533 32 60-80
