BENGALURU: A weekend at a mall, trials at clothes’ stores, a bite at the food court and a movie to chill. All of these which were normal hangout plans until recently are not so anymore with the outbreak of the pandemic. Cash transactions may be a thing of the past, just as sitting with a group of friends and watching a movie. The first ones to close at the start of the lockdown and yet to re-open, malls and theatres have taken a beating. Even as their re-opening date is not clear, malls are putting in place strategies and plans to both woo the crowd back as well as keep them safe.
Orion Malls will put in place a 50 per cent reduced seating arrangement at dine-in outlets and place tables 5-feet apart for all customers, who will be encouraged to use contactless menus and digital invoices. “Only 50 per cent of the total parking capacity will be used, with provision of touchless cash points,” says Shashie Kumar, COO, Retail, Brigade Group, who anticipates a limited number of customer footfall in the near future. “However, closer towards the festive season, around September- October, things will restore to normalcy in terms of customer confidence and larger footfall,” he adds.
Also in the offing are repeated sanitisation and cleaning of the common areas, including washrooms (where numbers will be restricted based on size), lifts and entrance areas every 60 minutes, sensor-based hand sanitiser dispensers which will be installed at all touch points, and a mask booth at mall entrances. “It will be mandatory for everyone to wear masks at all times in the mall right from entry. Any non-compliance will lead to denial of entry,” Kumar says, adding that no events or promotions will take place in any common area. In addition all the common seating areas in and around the mall periphery will be withdrawn.
Shoppers will undergo thermal screening right at the entrance of Forum malls, and those with an illness will not be permitted inside. “We are also going to monitor the footfall, and have a likely cut-off which could be around 1,500-2,000 people at any given point in time. That’s the difference between us and high streets where nothing much can be done,” says Suresh Singaravelu, executive director, retail, hospitality and business expansion of Prestige Group which owns four malls in the city.
Both staffers and shoppers will mandatorily have to wear masks for the complete duration of their stay at Phoenix Marketcity. Sanitisers will also be placed at various locations. “The challenge will be in gaining momentum and achieving normalcy of life and business. However, since malls are organised and operate in a controlled environment, they can be governed with stringent standard operating procedure with measurable accountability. We are prepared to mitigate the challenges with practices we are putting in place,” says Gajendra Singh Rathore, senior centre director, Phoenix Marketcity Bangalore.
Watching a movie as a group will also be a slightly different experience, with multiplexes working out distancing strategies. According to Alok Tandon, chief executive officer, Inox Leisure Ltd, they will ensure physical distancing by following cross-allocation of seats, and online booking modes will be programmed to allocate seats in that order. “Movie shows will be scheduled in such a manner that entry, intermissions and exits to two shows don’t occur simultaneously, and we avoid crowding of lobbies and restrooms,” he says, adding that paperless transactions will be encouraged.