Why every strategist should spend time at the mall – even if they can’t stand It

A strategist out of touch with consumer reality is walking on thin ice. This piece explores why regular visits to shopping malls aren’t a quirky indulgence but a must-do for anyone shaping marketing strategy – even if the background music gives you a headache.

1. Real people, real insights – your buyer personas, live and unfiltered. A shopping mall is like a live-action stage of consumer behavior. Spend 15 minutes on a bench with a coffee, and you’ll see your buyer personas doing their thing. It’s where the clean theories from briefs crash into the messy reality: how people actually move, what catches their eye, where they interact with brands. These raw, unfiltered observations are gold when it comes to tweaking or rethinking your strategic assumptions.

2. Space that speaks volumes. A mall isn’t just a backdrop – it’s a carefully designed environment meant to nudge people into behaving a certain way. Shifts in layout, the rise of “Instagram spots,” experimental product displays, tech integrations like smart mirrors – all of these are signals of how the customer experience is evolving. Tuning into these details helps you craft strategies that reflect the real world, not just a mood board.

3. A real-time trend radar. Think of malls as testing grounds for what’s next. New store formats, visual merchandising experiments, fresh retail concepts – all of it gives you a sneak peek at where the market’s heading. What’s grabbing attention? Which brands are pushing boundaries? What flopped? Spotting these shifts early gives you a head start before they show up in the data.

4. Walk the talk – feel what your customer feels. Sure, spreadsheets and reports are helpful. But nothing beats actually going through the motions yourself. From entering the mall, to browsing, to dealing with store staff – walking through the full journey puts you in your customer’s shoes. This is empathy in action, not in theory. And it’s the only way to really get how hard brands have to fight for attention in that sensory overload.

5. The ultimate source of qualitative gems. Eavesdropping at the café, watching what people pick at checkout, noticing reactions in front of displays – malls are full of real-life, unscripted moments. It’s the kind of context you just can’t replicate in a focus group or a slide deck. Pure, natural insight.

At the end of the day, if your strategy ignores the real-world environment your brand lives in, it’s not going to stick. Regular mall visits aren’t just a quirky habit – they’re essential fieldwork for anyone serious about building sharp, relevant marketing strategies.