There’s so much more to attracting footfall in shopping centres than just great shops. Consumers are increasingly drawn to destinations that offer memorable experiences that are fun and interactive. That’s where shopping centre event hire comes in.
Odin Events can provide the right mix of family-friendly, luxury, retail, branded tie-in themed experiences for different seasons and promotions.
Here are some of the top entertainment ideas that guarantee to increase dwell time, drive engagement and encourage spend across shopping centres throughout the year:
Seasonal Themed Installations
As seasonal event specialists, we offer a wide range of activation options throughout the year from Santa’s grottos to Summer pop up beaches, they never fail to draw a crowd. Christmas and Summer have always been big, but Halloween, Easter, half-term experiences are expanding too which also increase visitors’ interest all year round. These can be 6-8 week long installations, pop-up staffed activations with activities, immersive experiences, photo ops, live experiences and more.Shopping centre event hire providers often offer bespoke packages that include theming, staff, and interactive activities - making it easy for centre managers, marketing teams to deliver large-scale experiences without the hassle.
Interactive Trail
Odin Events offer a wide range of interactive trails, such as dinosaur, safari, festive trails, and more. Trails are great for distributing footfall across the centre, as well as engagement to quieter areas too. Trails are also very useful in collecting visitors’ data, increasing brand awareness (branded props/ leaflets), and digital integration (QR codes).
Workshops and Pop-Up Experiences
Odin Events offer a wide variety of workshops and experiences such as arts and crafts, activity-based workshops, educational sessions, and more! The different options can target different demographics of age, especially during school holidays. These hands-on sessions are a very engaging way to increase dwell time in the centre, giving parents more time to browse and a break, whilst the kids enjoy the fun.
Photo Opportunities and Social Media Installations
As part of our shopping centre event hire services, we offer photo op installations which can be anything from a giant globe, meet-and-greet, or a bespoke installation. These create sharable content and UGC (user-generated content) which encourages digital engagement and visibility. We highly encourage including branding in these installations that align with the shopping centre’s campaign and theme.
Live Entertainment
Live entertainment is the perfect option for shopping centres that may not necessarily have event spaces for a full-on installation. We often encourage our roaming live entertainment such as magicians, themed walkabout actors, musicians, and more. These roaming performances can bring excitement and energy to a shopping environment.
Gamified Attractions
At Odin Events, we have different games and entertainment that will be suitable for indoor spaces in shopping centres that will draw attention, such as mobile climbing walls and trailer caves. When these entertainment are gamified, it brings a completely different experience to your visitors by introducing a sense of community and friendly competition. These installation options can attract high engagement and of course be branded to drive further campaign awareness.
When it comes to driving footfall, events and entertainment is definitely a strategic investment. Visitors really appreciate shopping centres when these are free, it increases customer satisfaction as well as turning passive visitors into engaged shoppers. Working with a trusted shopping centre event hire supplier can ensure seamless delivery and measurable results. Whether you’re planning a seasonal campaign or one-off event, curated experiences are the key to standing out in today’s competitive retail market. Looking to bring your centre to life? Explore our different shopping centre event hire options to engage visitors, drive footfall and increase brand awareness, or contact us here.