Mall Layouts

Shopping malls are particularly interesting business venues. They are seemingly illogical setups where competitors cheerfully clump together to compete for attention in a highly competitive situation. Of course, this store clustering makes things convenient for the consumers, who throng the venue in response.

One would think that with the sheer number of malls created, people would have made a science out of mall design. Well, from the looks of the malls around here, I think they're rather far from it. Mall shoppers are like sheep. They flock, and only go where they can see. Unless the mall specializes in the sort of cramped fire trap layout of the mini stall maze, they need to do more to draw traffic.

Showy facades are a part of the puzzle, but I've found that the biggest omission common to poorly trafficked malls tend to be deep dark recesses that none but the most determined explorers would miss. The stalls that succeed are largely limited to what the consumers can see, and that is where a well laid out atrium really shines: It allows customers to see the shops (and have an idea of where they're going) and for them to see where the crowds are going so that they can follow. Once that flow is achieved, the malls seem to largely self sustain. Yet, I routinely see really bad atria, which serve only to make people wonder what's out there...and then the consumers forget and wander off to the next most accessible mall...