Shopping centres across the country are gearing up for a major new initiative to tackle youth unemployment, due to take place during the October half-term holidays

A survey of 2,863 UK consumers, conducted by customer experience researchers Retail Eyes, found that consumers are split almost 50:50 over whether the VAT rise will change their spending habits

Retail sales growth slowed dramatically in July according to the BRC/KPMG Retail Sales Monitor.

Managers at Bournemouth’s Castlepoint shopping park created a day to remember for maintenance staff member James Cotton, who has worked on the retail site for 25 years.

Victoria Quarter in Leeds has become the first shopping centre in the UK to launch its own iPhone app

Westfield London has commissioned a new web portal designed to showcase the retail destination to potential clients.

Victoria Quarter in Leeds has become the first shopping centre in the UK to launch its own iPhone app.

Marketing agencies work together on project-by-project basis

Two leading suppliers to the shopping centre market – C Interactive and Alpine Selection – have announced major rebranding exercises.

Colliers CRE has changed its company name to Colliers International UK. The Colliers CRE Group, including Colliers Robert Barry, Colliers Godfrey Vaughan and Colliers Jackson-Stops, will now all trade as Colliers International.

As construction continues at Westfield Stratford City, a pioneering campaign is under way to involve local talent in the development of the scheme.

Ridley Scott’s latest blockbuster, Robin Hood, is making its way to Nottingham’s Cornerhouse for the UK’s only gala screening.

Cascades shopping centre in Portsmouth are running a nine-month marketing campaign to celebrate its 21st birthday.

Cheshire Oaks Designer Outlet recently turned heads by staging a Guerrilla-style PR stunt at one the UK's biggest sporting events.

The UK’s first ever Shopping Centre Grand Prix took place at Hammerson’s Union Square last weekend (17-18 April 2010). The 61 metre track was located in the atrium area and included sweeping turns, chicanes and hairpins. Using the latest in radio control car technology, the cars reached speeds of up to 35mph.

With service charges under pressure, shopping centre marketers are being forced to find ever-more creative – and cost effective – means of keeping their centres in front of the key audiences. Social media is rising up the agenda but many still prefer more traditional channels.

A new retail concept, which gives the old notion of pop-up stores a makeover, has provided Whiteleys with inspiration for the launch of its own fashion-led revamp.

Capital Shopping Centres celebrated the opening of its new St Andrew’s Way Mall at Eldon Square in Newcastle with a series of fashion shows showcasing both new and established Eldon Square stores.

Manchester’s Triangle shopping centre boosted footfall to new lofty heights with a unique £30,000 publicity campaign.

DTZ has outsourced its five-strong UK and European retail marketing team, headed by Eileen Connolly, to creative agency Madisonsoho.

Bad weather and the rise in VAT combined to give UK retailers their worst January sales performance for 15 years, according to the new Retail Sales Monitor from the British Retail Consortium and KPMG. UK retail sales values fell 0.7 per cent on a like-for-like basis from January 2009, when sales. On a total basis, sales rose 1.2 per cent.

The number of pound shops on the UK’s high streets has almost doubled in the last ten years, reflecting the broadening appeal of budget shopping, according to new research from Experian.

Value fashion retailer Ethel Austin and its homewares brand Au Naturale have announced ambitious expansion plans which will see them open between 50 and 100 new stores this year, on top of 34 openings in 2009.

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Land Securities has reported that its two British outlet malls - The galleria in Hatfield and Gunwharf Quays in Portsmouth - both saw a seven per cent increase in sales during the Christmas trading period.

The Mall launched its annual ‘Make Your Mark in Retail’ competition yesterday, having teamed up with Capital Shopping Centres to reach a total 27 shopping centres nationwide.

The first wave of retailers opened today at Glasgow’s St Enoch centre, with several brands making their debut in the city. The much-anticipated opening of Hamleys toy store kicked off proceedings, with a 30,000-sq ft unit marking the brand’s first standalone store outside of London.

Manchester is launching its biggest ever Christmas marketing campaign, valued at over £600,000, to attract shoppers to the city over the festive period. The campaign will emphasize the retail and leisure offer available using poster, press and TV advertising and specially designed maps highlighting the city’s six shopping districts.

Ken Ford, executive director at Capital & Regional, welcomed the move towards more flexible leases, and said that he had no desire to force reluctant retailers to keep trading. “I want volunteers, not conscripts, in the battle for market share,” he said.

MadisonSoho managing partner John White delivered a piece of research arguing that brands – and by extension shopping centres – are going to have to change the way they communicate with their audiences, who will no longer be receptive to the old messages.

A new website is transforming the way Hermes’ shopping centres communicate with their audiences at both consumer and business-to-business levels.

When funding is already stretched to the limit, will centres choose to invest a substantial sum into digital wayfinding? And can they afford not to?

Managers are always on the lookout for effective advertising sites to attract more revenue into their centres. SaniPost, which combines outdoor advertising with a public hygiene service, seems to tick all the right boxes

Lion Yard Shopping Centre held a fashion show on its brand new escalators to celebrate a record deal between Aberdeen Property Investors and fashion chain New Look.

Manchester’s Triangle shopping centre, famed for its regeneration after the IRA bomb in 1996, is holding a summer long exhibition to showcase its history and heritage.

TV presenter Ben Fogle visited White Rose shopping centre in Leeds to launch Coolafone Live, a mobile phone recycling service.

The Chimes shopping centre in Uxbridge has been enticing people with its ‘Big Boy’s Toys’ event, which took place from 20 July until 2 August. The event centered around a dedicated ‘ManZone’, where an array of games and entertainment allowed men of all ages to recreate the joys of childhood.

Retailers want centre owners to provide more flexible leasing and pricing of retail spaces, reports Howard Morgan.

A re-think of trade mark laws brought in last year meant that shopping centres were, for the first time, able to protect their brands. But while it’s now possible to gain trade mark protection, there are still stringent guidelines to which shopping centres must adhere if applications are to be successful, writes Cynthia Johnson.

Even the wealthiest of customers are becoming bargain hunters as a result of the downturn, research commissioned by coupon services provider Valassis has found. The report showed that 31 per cent of consumers of all spending power are more closely scouring the shops for promotional offers than they were a year ago. Over a quarter cited a rise in the cost of living as the reason for them being more cost-conscious, while 29 per cent said it was because food is more expensive and 21 per cent stated it was because they have less money than a year ago.

UK retail sales saw a resurgence in June after more seasonal weather persuaded shoppers to hit the shops and part with their hard earned cash, figures from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) have shown. As a result of the sunnier climes, UK retail sales rose 1.4 per cent on May’s figures and were up 3.2 per cent on the figures for June 2008, when sales were hit by bad weather.

London and Paris are the places to be in Europe, as this is where consumers are parting with the most cash. These cities also have some of the highest prime rents in the world, shows the data taken from Experian and Jones Lang LaSalle’s European Retail Centre Rankings. Italy, Germany and Spain all have two cities each that make the top 10 of the European rankings with Moscow the only city in Central and Eastern Europe to break into the upper echelon.

Boxing star Amir Khan warmed up for his successful world title challenge with a public workout in front of over 1,000 shoppers at The Triangle in Manchester.

Capital Shopping Centres scooped three top industry awards at the International Council of Shopping Centres’ Solal Marketing Awards, held in Vienna.

The Kingdom Shopping Centre in Glenrothes, Scotland became the first UK mall to host a wedding on Saturday July 4.

The advent of the internet bought with it a plethora of new communication and marketing tools that shopping centres can take advantage of.

Strangely, considering most of them are enclosed environments, the advertising industry counts shopping malls as part of the ‘outdoor’ media sector. And, like all advertising, outdoor is undergoing one of its worst-ever slumps. The Outdoor Advertising Association calculates gross spend fell 19.3 per year-on-year in the first quarter of 2009.

With its first standalone store in Ireland recently opening in Dundrum, the US clothing retailer is on an upward curve.

Wayfinding signage is vital to make a shopping centre safe and easy to navigate. Frustrated shoppers, who can't find their way out of the car park or struggle to locate the toilets, may decide not to return. Hence, getting it right is paramount.

During this period of economic belt-tightening, the shopping habits of consumers have become of keen interest to retailers and centre managers. Customer evaluation company Retail Eyes has turned the spotlight on consumer behaviour and the factors that influence people's decision to visit a shopping centre as opposed to frequenting the high street. Retail Eyes conducted its survey, completed by 3,298 respondents, between 1 and 3 August 2008.

In these hard times it is becoming increasingly vital for shopping centres to stretch their marketing budgets to achieve as much coverage as possible for minimum expenditure.

Manchester's Triangle shopping centre has unveiled a 12 per cent year-on-year increase in its quarter one footfall figures, bucking the national trend which is down by 4.4 per cent. Meanwhile, early indicators from the weekly counters are also continuing to show a positive increase in shopper numbers for quarter two.

Six shopping centres across the UK were celebrating this month after being awarded the coveted Purple Apple gong at this year's BCSC Purple Apple Marketing Awards.

As customer counting technology becomes increasingly more advanced and informative, shopping centre managers are realising the benefits in understanding the footfall data of their own retailers and of the town or city in which they are located.

Competition is rife at Christmas time to ensure those all-important shoppers visit your centre over other competition, so getting the decorations right is key. However, there are mixed views from industry experts over what will be popular in 2008.

Low footfall at the beginning of December culminated in last minute panic buying in the final days before Christmas, according to industry analysts.

The Asset Factor, the property outsourcing business backed by Helical Bar and NB Real Estate, has launched a new division advising owners on strategies to maximize their non-rental income. The company has recruited Jones Lang LaSalle’s head of shopping centre marketing and commercialisation Bryony Parkin to head the new division, which will be called Asset Space.

The specialist retail agency Leslie Furness has been bought by King Sturge. All six of its directors will become partners at King Sturge as the firm looks to beef up its retail representation, and all 11 employees have been offered posts at the new firm.

Pedestrian traffic across the UK this Christmas was down 3 per cent year-on-year, according to new data from Experian’s FootFall division.

As you read this, the Christmas frenzy will be reaching a climax but, increasingly, thoughts will be turning to dealing with the challenge of 2008. According to Deloitte, 85 per cent of UK retailers believe that the economy in 2008 will deteriorate or stay the same.Pressure on service charges will be severe, given the significant rent hikes experienced by many tenants in 2007.

As one of the UK's most well-known shopping centre developers with more than 16 years' experience in the property industry and a portfolio that has a total end value in excess of £2.5bn, Modus is going from strength to strength.

While wayfinding signs are probably the most familiar forms of signage in shopping centres, the industry seems to be evolving towards digital technology and other media. Indeed while wayfinding is, and always will be, vital to shoppers, communicating the right messages to the consumer, such as promoting in-store offers or upcoming events, is also becoming increasingly important.

Britain is beginning to see a drop off in interest in consumer brands and a backlash against those jumping on the green bandwagon. And as the gap between the very richest and the poorest continues to widen and polarise society, it is becoming harder to predict what is going to happen. But one thing is for sure: we are terrified of teenagers and we want to be safe and happy. Good architecture could help.