_Wellness in retail for a post-Covid future
Covid-19 has significantly changed the way we shop, dine, and entertain at retail malls since early 2020. Trace-Together entry sign-ins, safe distancing requirements in restaurants, crowd density controls have all disrupted our usual retailing experience. While it remains to be seen if shoppers and diners will fully return to the malls at pre-pandemic levels, Covid-19 has introduced new priorities that will matter for communities, in particular health and well-being, as well as greater appreciation for socialising and having physical touch-points with products, services, and the environment. More visitors will be conscious of the interior spaces that retail malls provide such as ventilation, hygiene, cleanliness, and spaces of comfort to rest and enjoy.
Improving Air quality
Introducing wellness in retail malls can become a refreshing concept to provide a more comfortable and pandemic-safe environment – indoors and outdoors. To improve air quality and ventilation in retail spaces, implementing ventilation system upgrades or enhancements can increase delivery of clean air and dilute contaminants. In addition, integrating indoor and outdoor settings can be one of the new design imperatives for architects as they seek to introduce more natural ventilation in retail spaces. Open-air atriums or plazas in retail malls that can showcase pop up stores and weekend markets will present higher attractiveness to patrons who desire to shop in fresh air. As anecdotally observed at restaurants and cafes, which are usually filled every time dine-in capacity limits are increased in Singapore over the past year, the demand for outdoor or al-fresco dining will likely increase. Landlords and tenants may create more outdoor spaces going forward and introduce weather-proof and well-ventilated spaces to improve comfort levels for the diners.
Greening spaces
It is widely known that foliage landscapes and greenery bring a plethora of benefits – reduce thermal heat gain in buildings and streets, remove air pollutants, reduce noise, and improve sense of well-being and health for occupants. Retail mall owners can do more to introduce greenery, such as outdoor and indoor living green walls. To take greening spaces further, mall owners can explore biophilic design – a design principle to bring direct and indirect elements of nature closer to people, such as natural light, gardens, green roof spaces and natural surface materials. This biophilic concept have been demonstrated through research to help reduce stress, blood pressure levels and heart rates, while increasing creativity, productivity, and self-reported rates of well-being for occupants.
Injecting Urban Farming and Farm-to-Table
Covid-19 and global supply chain disruptions, coupled with climate change, have thrust the importance of food sustainability to the forefront for policymakers. Underpinned by the Singapore ’30 by 30’ vision - to produce 30 per cent of our nutritional needs locally by 2030, the authorities are pushing for the urban farming movement since mid-2020, to promote the awareness of community sustenance of agriculture with ‘grow-your-own food movement’. In the higher pursuit for simplicity and good health among people, urban farming is becoming a new refreshing activity in Singapore, providing respite and fresh produce, and serving as healing spaces for the community. As the public sector identifies more spaces available for urban farming, private retail landlords can explore having such niche farms at mall rooftops and open spaces, and to involve visitors and tenants in the urban farming initiative. At the same time, farm-to-table F&B concepts, which have been gaining popularity, can be incorporated and expanded for the enjoyment of diners.
Wellness as a differentiation
With the increased competition from e-commerce players and consumers gravitating towards online retail, coupled with the likelihood of a prolonged pandemic, transforming retail spaces towards a wellness initiative can be a key differentiating factor for mall owners to position their assets uniquely and attract patrons with a new purpose. This process would first require a conviction from mall owners to provide healthier spatial environment for customers and visitors, followed by design curiosity and research rigour to understand the target audience and next, creative delivery of ideas into a wellness proof of concept in physical retail.