Shopping center Kaari – one year green wall anniversary
A year ago shopping center Kaari requested something new and different. We provided four large green walls to Kaari to bring greenery and atmosphere to the shopping centre. The green walls have delighted both customers and employees.
The green walls were placed in two different floors but in a way that allows you to see the walls from floor to floor. The plants in the walls are partly changed about four times a year so the walls always fit the season and current theme. For example, before Christmas the green wall was turned red by using red flowers and in the spring the blossoming flowers were all shades of yellow.
The green walls were built to Kaari in the spring of 2017. According to Ria Leppävuori, who is the marketing director at Kaari, a whole year with the green walls has been a great experience. The shopping centre receives positive feedback on the walls weekly, all year long.
Green decor is something that clearly interests people more and more. Both customers and employees praise the cozyness and homelike feel that the walls provide. “Green walls have visibly drawn more people to the second floor, which is natural since it is more cozier than than it was before. I often see customers wondering and touching the plants and asking are they really living and real plants. It’s nice to be able to tell them about the green wall and how it works,” adds Ria.
A cosy atmosphere has a positive impact on our shopping behaviour
People tend to seek spaces where they feel comfortable and wonder away from spaces that we feel are uncomfortable. The space and surroundings affect the cozyness but they also affect our behaviour. Nice surroundings invite us to stay and leave us with positive memories.
Those positive memories direct us when we choose where to shop next time. With green decor we can create various atmospheres and new spaces and also guide the flow of customers. For example at Kaari, they especially requested that the green decor would encourage customers to use the second floor more. The rate of usage in the second floor at Kaari has risen by amazing 119 %.
Additionally, a nice and cozy space is a place you stop at and stay a little longer. In the future the role of shopping centres as meeting places and hang out places will be stronger. You can come and meet your friends and spend your free time at the shopping centre.
“A cosy space is also a part of great customer service - we want our customers to have positive experiences throughout the whole customer experience. The shops also benefit from this because the more time people spend at the shopping center the more easily they visit the shops”, explains our head of sales Tuomas Huovinen.
In the future adding coziness and careful planning of spaces will be competitive advantages for any shopping centre. This is something that shopping centre Kaari has already experienced.
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