MALL OF AMERICA

The Mall of America was constructed in 1992 and was targeted for the local community and both local and international tourists. To most, it did not look like a viable idea at the time. This was especially due to its immense size and the nationwide recession that was there at the time. The reception it got from investors was however impressive. It now stands about three to four times bigger than most of the modern malls.

The Mall of America is built in proximity to most of its consumers. The Minneapolis – St. Paul area which is metropolitan hosts a population of more than 3 million people. These people are a ready market for the products offered at the Mall of America. The mall is also situated in such a way that over 30 million people are within a day’s drive to the Mall of America hence increasing the market share. Over 50% of its customers travel over 150km to come and shop at Mall of America.

The Mall of America also benefits from proper infrastructure that allows tourists access to the mall. This includes a light rail service that joins it to the Minneapolis/St. Paul International Airport. Most of its customers are attracted by its lucrative deals. The benefits arise from the low costs on goods exported from Japan and zero taxes on clothing from America and Canada.

Online retailing has risen fast in the recent past. The company should consider incorporating online retailing as other retailers like Wal-Mart, eBay, and Amazon. Online retailing is usually combined with delivery services to serve those customers who are unable to cover the distance or get time to visit the mall.

The mall should also consider incorporating mobile technology in its operations. These include mobile payments, location applications, and other mobile applications.
While the company has partnered with many providers, it should consider investing more on fitness centers as consumers are becoming more health conscious. Fitness centers will lead to higher sales in all other areas as people prefer to shop where they can find everything they need.

The mall should watch the markets to ensure that the most sought after services are being continually given. To do this, the company should research sales and consumer trends to know which services are on higher demand than supply in the mall. The company should also expand its parking space to accommodate more shoppers (Shuman 2013).

Evaluating a local store should be done through a series of activities. First, the activities of the retail store. This way, a retail store can tell if there have been alterations in the level of activities. Second, the retail store should include assessing its competition. If a retail store is performing poorer than its competition, it should strategize. Another aspect of a retail store that can be evaluated is the sales being made at the retail store. A retail store should make enough profit for its shareholders.

Evaluation of entertainment offerings should look at the value of the products being offered. Another aspect that is important for growth is the expertise of the human resources available. Entertainment offerings should also be targeted and inclusive of all genders and age groups.

The mall should investigate the performance of current hotels in the media. By doing so, they will know what kind of hotel services have a higher demand. The hotel would then be able to know which services to offer more of and what their price ranges should be

The mall can participate in community activities to make awareness in its community. It could also participate in charitable activities so that it shows customers its involvement in the growth of the immediate community. In the process, the company will be making its services known to the community as well as getting more loyal customers. The company can also participate in promotions locally. These advertisements should be intended to inform the community about the new products at the mall (PR, 2014).

The company can advertise both locally and internationally on social media, the internet, and using TV adverts. Currently, people are going green. Supporting environment protection on different platforms could attract he environment conscious consumers both locally and internationally.

In conclusion, while the Mall of America has been one of the most favored shopping destinations, it needs to keep expanding. Expanding will enable the mall to offer more services to meet its consumer needs. It will also enable the consumers a bigger variety of service options hence encouraging more quality, competition, and inclusion.

References

Shuman, R. (2013). Mall of America. Salem Press Encyclopedia,

PR, N. (2014, May 11). Mall of America® welcomed 50,000 guests for Race for the Cure on Mother’s Day. PR Newswire US.

Bloomington’s Mall of America breaks ground on new hotel, office building. (2014). Finance and Commerce,