Heart of the Matter: Same, same, but different? How to make malls in Singapore less cookie-cutter?
As more malls pop up in new towns and online shopping is here to stay, what would make a mall worth getting out of bed for? Guests on this episode of the Heart of the Matter podcast throw up some ideas.

Illustration of a mall (Image: iStock/gmast3r)
SINGAPORE: From East to West, the malls in both suburban and central districts of Singapore seem like they came from a template. There are similar supermarket chains, major clothing retailers and chain pharmacies.
Throw in quick hair cut booths and several floors of food offerings (and there must be a toast and coffee outlet) and you’ve got the classic cookie-cutter Singapore mall.
There’s a commercial reason why the tenant mix is often similar, said Adjunct Associate Professor Lynda Wee from the Nanyang Business School, a guest on the latest episode of the Heart of the Matter podcast.
“One of the changes you see right now is that malls are actually REIT instruments. And so you have the financial guy looking at it and needing to turn in that investment. What do you go for when you look at tenants? You look at those retail brands that work. So after a while you see the same players," said Dr Wee.

She suggests that to escape the bland offerings, malls can consider "localising" what they offer by making use of where they are situated. For instance, malls in the east of Singapore can have a food court offering Peranakan cuisine or those in Orchard can focus on catering to younger tastes.
Winnie Chan, founder and CEO of Bynd Artisan, believes malls should offer something for everyone. In her experience, brick-and-mortar shops retain more loyal customers compared to online equivalents, where purchases are much more transactional. Bynd Artisan has three retail outlets.
Here are some highlights of that discussion:
WHAT'S MISSING IN OUR MALL CULTURE
Lynda Wee: (The architecture and) the hardware look really good. Like Marina Bay Sands is sexy, ION Orchard has its own look, Jewel has its own look. But inside ... you see the same old stuff around.
I don't mind traveling to Yishun. But the problem is the food court is the same as (a mall in the) east.
Winnie Chan: It's very important for the brick-and-mortar stores to have unique and different store offerings. In the heartland malls, there are supermarkets and pharmacies providing convenience for people living there. But perhaps landlords could curate a few different concepts, so that (the malls) are differentiated.
MAKE MALLS COMMUNITY SPACES
Wee: Malls needn't be open from 10am to 10pm. There's a lot of things we can do after that. When you're closed, students can study or hang out. Let’s rethink what we can do for the community.
FREE SURFING AND SOFAS
Wee: All shopping malls should offer free Wi-Fi ... You walk into a mall and there's this black hole because you don't get data anymore.
Make sure they have seats, make sure there's Wi-Fi, make sure there's good F&B so people can hang around while the other half shops.
MORE THAN EATING AND BUYING
Wee: Our houses are getting smaller, why not think of a mall as a place you can hang out at? Besides that pharmacy and the enrichment centre, is there a place (at the mall) I can go to for my hobby?