Over the past ten years, technology, and specifically the internet, has truly revolutionized the shopping experience. Nowadays, it is possible purchase a product you want by simply logging onto Amazon or Ebay, putting the item in your virtual shopping cart, and checking out with your saved credit card details. Such convenience has affected shopping malls which are increasingly threatened not only by online retailers such as Amazon and Ebay, but traditional retailers such as Best Buy and Ameican Eagle, who also sell directly through the internet.

How Convenient Can it Get? Source:http://infotel.lk/

In order to adapt to the changing market, I believe malls and traditional  retailers need to redefine their value proposition, POPs, and PODs. In the past, the convenience from consolidating hundreds of stores might be considered a POD for a shopping mall. But in the age of technology, this is simply a POP, with online retailers offering products from millions of sellers. In an effort to differentiate themselves, stores like  “Canadian Tire’s Sport Chek” have added “digital screens and interactive displays,” yet this doesn’t really create any additional value for the customer. Dawn Lye also states in her blog post that developing such “advanced technology today is… extremely difficult [and expensive]”. On the other hand, other malls have started targeting a different segment, adding retailers that sell high-end goods. For such malls, their value proposition is relieving the worry of buying fakes and the offering a centralized location with every luxury brand. By targeting a segment that values being able to try and feel the product, these malls have redefined their POD by highlighting a part of the shopping experience that online retailers can not match. 

References: https://blogs.ubc.ca/dlye/