HOW CANDLES SHAPED OUR BUSINESS

We piloted our touch screen software at Canal Walk back in 2003. Initially our approach was to simply replace the traditional category based search options.

As part of the pilot we did a lot of on-site shopper training to see how people used our system. One day we noticed someone was going from category to category trying to find a particular store. After a minute we noticed he was getting frustrated an so we approached him. He said he was looking for Edgars, we then proceeded to assist him but we also struggled to find it, until we found it listed in the Fashion-Unisex category. After this valuable feedback we decided that an A-Z search would be much simpler for those people who knew what store they were looking for.

A few weeks laters we were checking on our latest software update. Again we noticed another gentleman also frustrated while using our software. We approached him and asked how we could assist. He said he was looking for candles for his wife's birthday cake. Unfortunately we couldn't help him that day but we promised to find a solution.

We then developed a keyword search feature. Today tenants are able to link numerous products, brands and services to their store listings. This now means that shoppers don't need to know the name of the store to use our screens, they can simply types in a product, brand or keyword of what they are looking for. Our software will then return a list of stores in that mall that stock those products or services.

It turns out there are 2 types of shoppers in the world. Those that like to hunt and those that like to browse. Our software caters to both types of search preferences and our monthly store-find stats are testament to this.