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f you’re not a ‘petrolhead’, walking into the typical car dealership can be an intimidating process. Immediately starting a dialogue with a salesperson is – for many people – too much, too soon. After all, it’s difficult to go in and say you’re ‘just browsing’
While dealerships might be confident that anyone visiting a traditional showroom has some intent to purchase, it is a retailing environment which does not benefit from ‘drop in’ custom and it’s not conducive to starting the sort of ongoing dialogue which could result in a purchase.
A new generation of car showrooms in shopping centres is addressing these issues and having tremendous success. Brands such as SEAT, Volkswagen and Hyundai have led the way and taken space in some of the UK’s most prominent malls. Colliers has advised SEAT on its in-mall showrooms Lakeside Thurrock and Westfield London, and also acted for Volkswagen when it acquired a store at the Bullring centre in Birmingham.
These new stores are changing the way in which we buy cars through a heavy emphasis on interactive technology that can show you the different configurations of the vehicle you want and also the ability to test drive a car literally there and then. With regard to test drives, the large car parks that all centres have are vital. The brands not only take space in the mall but will also rent a number of spaces in a centre’s car park so they can provide test drives and also minor repairs.
For the landlord this means that you are able to monetise both the store which has been let to the car brand and also a proportion of your parking facilities.
SEAT is also blending this physical presence in malls with an online service which specifically supports its shopping centre stores. A website dedicated just to its UK stores enables customers to browse vehicle options and book test drives. Given that so many people now lease their cars rather than purchase them outright, the ability to get an idea of what you can afford on a monthly basis before engaging with the store is powerful.
At Westfield, the 2,750 sq ft SEAT store features four display cars
Browse | Q3 2017
Brands are finding that footfall at the shopping centre stores is way ahead of the typical edge-of-town dealership and that the mall stores are able to capture the attention and imagination of a customer who wasn’t previously in the market for a vehicle. This latter footfall point is particularly pertinent when you consider that Westfield London gets around 27m annual visitors. Shopping centres also provide a longer trading day which is more in sync with people that have busy lifestyles, and makes car buying even more accessible and convenient.
At Westfield, the 3,250 sq ft SEAT store features four display cars (plus one on the mall concourse), lifestyle merchandising and a ‘Connectivity Bar’. Shoppers can use digital car information ‘kiosks’, where they can configure
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