SCOTTSDALE – Scottsdale Fashion Square, known for bringing Gucci, Neiman Marcus and Prada stores to the Valley, is trying to fight online shopping fervor by adding luxury touches for its high-end shoppers.
Marble tiles, granite accents and glass chandeliers are part of a “floor to ceiling” renovation that will finish by next year, mall executive Scott Nelson said.
The plan is to immerse shoppers in an experience more akin to entertainment than just buying goods and services, he said.
“We don’t think of ourselves as a retail property but as an entertainment industry,” Nelson said.
The renovations come as malls are buffeted by the increasing popularity of online shopping.
One out of two U.S. households have Amazon Prime accounts, according to reports, giving them access to goods ranging from clothing and electronics to basics such as groceries and cleaning supplies.
Amazon, which is on the hunt for physical stores to supplement its online offerings, may move into Fashion Square, according to Kim Choukalas, a Fashion Square leasing agent.
Fashion Square also is banking on some customers’ preference for an in-person experience. About 75 percent of teens and millennials prefer to do their shopping in person, according to a Pew Research Center report.
“People are always going to see shopping as an entertainment,” Choukalas said. “We’re a vibrant business and we’re investing heavily in it.”
