RetailDetail and the retailhub will be moving by the end of this year to Shopping Stadsfeestzaal in Antwerp’s famous shopping street De Meir. The whole project just became a lot more concrete: now that the keys have been handed over, decoration can begin.
Living lab
Last Monday, Sebastien van Dam of Multi Mall Management handed over the keys to RetailDetal’s business unit manager Katrien Huygens. It’s a new step in an ambitious project. RetailDetail will be renting two storeys, totalling 5,500 sqm in Shopping Stadsfeestzaal. The highest floor will contain offices, a co-working space, the retailhub showroom and an event location. On the first floor, a unique living retail lab will be opened in the spring of 2020, where store chains and tech companies will be trying out the newest retail concepts together. It will be an innovative shopping centre with a very diverse range of things to offer, which will guarantee an extraordinary shopping experience.
The shopping centre is visited by as many as 6.5 million consumers every year. Retailers will be able to present their new products, innovative store formulas and ultra-modern services. The partners in this living lab will also be measuring and analysing shopping behaviour. They want to investigate how consumers react to technological innovations such as artificial intelligence, virtual reality, biometrics and facial recognition, interactive communication systems, mobile payment solutions, digital loyalty systems and robotics.
Many candidates have come forward to rent the available store space: RetailDetail will soon be announcing the names of the first partners. Retailers interested in shaping the future of shopping can contact katrien.huygens@retaildetail.be.
