Shopping Centre Marketing Assessments for Faster Growth
Launch Strong, Grow Faster: Why Special Marketing Assessments Can Transform a Shopping Centre's Success
Phil McArthur CRX, CSM, CDP
Opening a new shopping centre or unveiling a major redevelopment is one of the most important moments in a retail asset’s life. Years of planning, investment, leasing, and construction culminate in a single objective: creating a destination that attracts customers, supports retailers, and delivers long-term value.
Yet many centres make the same mistake. They invest heavily in bricks and mortar but underestimate the importance of sustaining momentum once the doors open.
A successful launch is not defined by an impressive opening weekend. It is defined by what happens in the months that follow.
The First Year Shapes the Future
The first year is when shopping habits are formed, customer perceptions are established, and retailers begin building their businesses. If visitation declines after the initial excitement, rebuilding momentum becomes increasingly difficult. Conversely, maintaining a high level of marketing activity during this period can significantly accelerate sales growth, customer loyalty, and the overall performance of the centre.
Investing in Momentum
Unlike a centre’s ongoing marketing fund, a special assessment is a temporary contribution dedicated exclusively to launching a new shopping centre or supporting a major redevelopment. In most cases, it is a shared investment between the landlord and the retailers, with both parties contributing to the additional marketing effort needed during this critical period.
Its purpose is simple: to provide the extra resources required to create a sustained, high-impact marketing programme when it matters most.
The objective is not merely to advertise the centre, but to establish it as a destination.
A coordinated campaign can combine digital marketing, public relations, community engagement, events, entertainment, social media, partnerships, and experiential activations into a single, compelling message. Rather than individual retailers promoting themselves independently, the centre presents a unified identity that gives consumers multiple reasons to visit and to return.
Creating a Cycle of Success
This early investment creates momentum.
More visitors generate stronger sales. Stronger sales give retailers the confidence to invest further in their stores, merchandising, staffing, and customer experience. As the retail offer improves, customer satisfaction grows, attracting even more visitors. This positive cycle can accelerate a shopping centre’s performance far more quickly than relying on organic growth alone.
Because both the landlord and the retailers benefit from this uplift, it makes sense for both to share in the cost of creating it. The landlord gains a stronger asset, improved occupancy stability, and greater long-term value, while retailers benefit from increased foot traffic, stronger sales, and a better trading environment.
An Investment, Not an Expense
The Bottom Line
For developers and landlords, the message is clear. A special marketing assessment should not be viewed as an optional extra, but as a strategic investment that is shared between landlord and retailer to accelerate sales, strengthen performance, and shorten the time it takes for a new or redeveloped shopping centre to reach its full potential.
A great shopping centre deserves more than a great opening. It deserves the shared resources to build lasting momentum from day one.