Placemaking is based on a simple principle: if you plan cities for cars and traffic, you will get cars and traffic. If you plan for people and places, you will get people and places: Southeast Asia, not the least Bangkok, is playing catch-up.
In a recent report, CBRE says sluggish retail sales and flat rental growth are contributing factors. Elsewhere, e-commerce—although in its infancy—is drawing millennial shoppers online. Coupled with the fact that consumers in Thailand have become more sophisticated and demanding, the traditional “bricks and mortar” shopping malls will remain stretched.
These factors have made ‘Placemaking’—like ‘Retailtainment’—a frequently-discussed topic and hot trend in the retail industry in Thailand, despite floating definitions.
Placemaking is about creating an environment that people choose or prefer to visit, and return to by incorporating and integrating several potential elements into a mall.
Thai retailers have been taking notice. So have developers, with a focus on placemaking now a genuine retail trend.
Placemaking is based on a…
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