What women want: A landscaping perspective
Plenty has been written about the importance of infusing experiences into shopping centers. Much has been written about placemaking. But not nearly enough has been written about the role a well-thought-out landscape environment contributes to overall experience and the power of "place." It’s more important to women shoppers than you might imagine.
No doubt you are fully appreciative of the importance of women to shopping centers. A 2013 Pew study found that 40% of all households with children under the age of 18 include mothers who are either the sole or primary source of income for the family. In a third of two-earner households, Pew reported, the woman is earning more than her husband, and the most recent Census report found that 25% of all US households are run by single mothers.
It’s no secret that it’s more crucial that shopping center and mall environments appeal more to women than men. But what is it, exactly, that appeals to them? A study from the Knight Foundation and the Gallup organization in 2010 discovered that physical beauty and opportunities for socialization are the two key factors to creating an emotional connection between people and their communities. This emotional connection is what will increase women dwell times and sales at retail centers.
Based on this very real data, savvy developers and their team of landscape architects and others are giving thoughtful consideration to what attracts women to their properties. Here are three must-haves:
Security. Women feel comfortable if there is convenient, well-lit parking as well as security personnel available and visible.
Environment. Women seek out special places for friends and family. Provide outdoor rooms where they can gather. Create a central area that allows connectivity with community. Provide color, a water feature, shade trees, umbrellas, fire pits, ample seating. Include child play areas and activities. Stimulate all five senses!
Story. Women will tell other women about a unique and memorable experience that involves beauty in nature. Don’t set about creating a shopping center with some nice landscaping in it. Provide a beautiful, natural landscape environment that happens to have retail in it. Change your perspective.
I recently asked a client what she thinks women want. "That's easy. Women love gardens. They will come back again and again to experience the gardens, shop at our stores, and eat in our restaurants. They will tell their friends and bring them here, too.”
Keep us happy and we WILL come back . . . often.
Julie Brinkerhoff Jacobs is the president of Lifescapes International, a world-renowned architectural landscaping firm whose work includes the Bellagio Casino, Rockefeller Center’s Channel Gardens, and the under-construction American Dream mall in New Jersey’s Meadowlands.