Moscow’s Dream Island, set to attract 50 million people a year, will offer a threefold increase over malls, demonstrating the increasing enmeshment of retail and entertainment.
The holding company for Dream Island and consultants Colliers International released details of a joint study that show the Russian project will have an almost threefold increase in attendance. It pushes home just how closely retail and entertainment are now entwined. Entertainment is now a vital part of the mall experience around the world, claims the report.
Daily attendance is said to be 17 times that of visitor numbers to the average cinema complex. It jumps to 34 times higher when compared with visits to an adventure park.
The covered area of Dream Island will stretch to 292,000 square meters. It’s styled along the lines of a city promenade, recreating the feel of an atmospheric European city. A wide range of streets, sidewalks and alleyways will entice visitors into stress-free shopping. There will be more than 200 shops and boutiques alongside around 50 food concepts ranging from family restaurants to self-service dineries. A central square the size of a football pitch will contain a cinema with 17 screens alongside a concert hall.
Dream Island designed for a variety of audiences
Almost half the shopping zone is given over to clothing stores. Food outlets will take up around 21 percent, with 15 percent given over to children’s products.
Dream Island is designed to attract a variety of target audiences. It is likely to bring in not only native Russians but also foreign tourists and residents of the CIS and Eastern Europe.
“Theme parks today offer a powerful anchor for retail and thousands of new opportunities for brand integration, creating completely new technical and marketing solutions,” says Alexander Safonov, Deputy General Director of the holding company for Dream Island. “Such an anchor will not only generate a powerful flow of visitors but will also convert them into shoppers, emotionally charged buyers.”
Dream Island was originally slated to open this year but, as Blooloop reported at the start of the year, lack of funding caused delays. A seven-year $657 million construction loan allowed work to continue.
Ride installation has begun with attractions including a Dark Ride coaster that will accelerate to speeds of 80kmh. An immersive Indiana Jones Temple of Fire experience will be one of the flagship attractions.
Dream Island is now expected to open in 2019.
https://dreamisland.ru/en/news/90/kak-razvivaetsya-ritejl-v-tematicheskih-parkah
