Mall Owners Embrace New and Emerging Technologies

Mall owners are harnessing digital technology to stem an erosion in their tenant base by online retailing and to promote shopper attendance to their centers.

Hammerson which is a leading European real estate company in London, United Kingdom (http://www.hammerson.com) plans to use a system which tracks shoppers to its malls by using signals from their mobile phones. Australia’s Westfield Group, Ltd. (http://www.westfield.com) plans to set up a virtual mall. Also, the Simon Property Group, Inc. (SPG) of Indianapolis (http://www.simon.com) and Paris-based Unibail-Rodamco SE (UL), are seeking to encourage consumers to add new smartphone applications.