Mall Owners Harness Technology as Internet Makes Tenants Picky

Bloomberg Businessweek reports:

The world’s largest mall owners are harnessing digital technology to stem an erosion in their tenant base by online retailing and to keep shoppers coming to their centers.

London-based Hammerson Plc plans to use software that tracks visitors to its malls using the signal from their mobile phones. Australia’s Westfield Group Ltd. has set up a virtual mall and landlords Simon Property Group Inc. of Indianapolis and Paris-based Unibail-Rodamco SE, are encouraging shoppers to add new and more sophisticated smartphone applications.

An interesting bricks and mortar story.