Pacific Fair reinvents the retail experience

Pacific Fair reinvents the retail experienceWhen AMP Capital unveiled the new-look Pacific Fair on the Gold Coast last August following a $670 million redevelopment, it set a new benchmark for technology-driven, customer-centred design.Pacific Fair is owned by the AMP Capital Diversified Property Fund and the AMP Capital Retail Trust, and managed by AMP Capital Shopping Centres.Construction, which commenced in January 2014, added ,000 sqm to the existing centre. Pacific Fair is now 153,000 sqm in size, making it the fourth largest shopping centre in Australia.With around 420 stores, Pacific Fair has attracted Australia’s largest concentration of luxury retailers – including Louis Vuitton, Prada, Gucci, Hermes, Tiffany & Co., Givenchy and Salvatore Ferragamo.Mark Kirkland, managing director of AMP Capital Shopping Centres says Pacific Fair is more than a collection of retail buildings.”It’s as much about the spaces in between and creating a sense of place that is quintessentially Queensland but more distinctly the Gold Coast,” he says.”All of our design decisions are carefully considered opportunities to improve the customer experience as well as expressing the unique story of the centre.”For example, Pacific Fair boasts a purpose-built fresh food market with more than 20 vendors. Car parks border the market to make it easier for customers to get their groceries back to their vehicles.Premium services like valet parking and a fully-serviced visitor lounge with refreshments, lockers and free WiFi are proving popular with both locals and tourists, Kirkland adds.”We’ve found this to be popular for guests who are looking to freshen up before the long-haul flight back home.”Kirkland says one of the challenges with larger centres is to make them welcoming to a broad range of customers while simultaneously ensuring they are highly relevant and tailored to the needs of all potential users.”Strong individual precinct characters are key – ones that provide visual cues to signify that these spaces are welcoming, aesthetically appealing and tailored.”And having a place full of people attracts more people, “so we design our spaces to facilitate social interactions”.For example, The Resort open-air precinct responds to the community’s desire for a social space to stay and play. The space is used for weekly yoga classes, large-scale events and exhibitions, and is an organic play area for the centre’s smaller customers to burn off energy.Technology is also transforming the mall experience – and this includes everything from augmented reality to large interactive screens.During Christmas, AMP Capital launched an augmented reality app that took customers on a journey of the Gold Coast’s version of the 12 Days of Christmas. “This initiative merged technology, art and placemaking,” Kirkland says.Digital technology now also drives the centre’s customer service initiatives. Customers can easily navigate the centre with more than 14 digital directories, interactive maps through the centre’s app and a state-of-the-art parking guidance system.The redevelopment also unveiled a world-first digital chandelier and a wave atrium screen, both of which have “revolutionised in-centre advertising in Australia”, Kirkland says.The digital chandelier, which is a finalist in the Property Council of Australia / Rider Levett Bucknall Innovation & Excellence Awards this year, features three curved screens staggered in height to create a distinctive aesthetic, custom-produced for the space to provide maximum impact and consumer engagement.So, what does the future hold for shopping centres?Kirkland says they will continue to evolve into far more than retail spaces.They will become the “community hubs” focused on experiences, services and dining.Think cinemas, bowling alleys, bars and restaurants mixed with unique music and entertainment offerings. AMP Capital is also seeing an increase in barbers, nail bars, massage places, doctors’ surgeries and gyms.”We know that consumers are increasingly looking to shopping centres as a place to spend their leisure time.”They also want to spend their hard-earned money with retailers who show an understanding of their wants and needs, and go above and beyond to provide a tailored and efficient shopping experience,” Kirkland concludes.