Howard Samuels Gives His Perspective on "Entertainment Takes Center Stage" in SCB Article
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In the midst of an economy where consumers are tightening their belts, the Location Based Entertainment (LBE) sector is proving to be resilient, driven by a thirst for innovative experiences. As detailed in the January 2024 issue of Shopping Center Business, entertainment offerings are drawing visitors to shopping centers despite a general drop in consumer spending. Concepts that blend physical and digital realms, like the Department of Wonder in Houston, are standing out by creating participatory and memorable activities. Industry leaders note that providing varied and surprising experiences is key to retaining customer interest, even in uncertain financial climates.
To maintain consumer flow and adapt to economic pressures, family-friendly and accessible experiences are becoming crucial. Concepts like Chicken N Pickle and Batbox offer inclusive activities that cater to all ages and abilities, encouraging prolonged visits through free supplementary activities. Meanwhile, Beat the Bomb aims to expand its unique social entertainment experience, providing interactive video game technology to a broad audience.
Amidst rising construction costs, experts like Dixon Greenwood of Mountain Mile advocate for retrofitting existing spaces to achieve significant savings. There's a strong focus on creating destination markets in areas with tourism appeal, where entertainment and retail can expose brands to diverse audiences. Concepts like Downtown Flavortown, in collaboration with Chef Guy Fieri, are leveraging such strategies to transform value-add retail assets into vibrant entertainment hubs.
Howard Samuels, President/ CEO of Samuels & Company, Inc., emerges as a thought leader in the LBE space. Recognizing the power of clustering LBE tenants to create entertainment hubs, Samuels envisions that landlords who strategically cluster retail entertainment can enhance customer engagement and drive traffic. In essence, he believes that the combination of distinctive LBE concepts within a single setting can provide consumers with a concentrated and compelling entertainment experience.
Samuels thinks now may be the ideal time to act if you’re an entertainment concept or landlord that wants to add entertainment to a project. He’s noticed that certain shopping center landlords appear to not only welcome more concepts into their destinations, but are creating entire wings for them. As Samuels notes, his sort of clustering can be extremely advantageous for all:
“In the last year or two, it appears there are starting to be ‘cracks in the ice’ within the industry in which some landlords are awakening to the needs to combine location-based entertainment (LBE) tenants in one place,” he says. “By combining a few retail entertainment uses or LBEs together in one setting, it enables customers to be entertained often in the same place.”
Samuels points to projects like American Dream, Natick Mall, Garden State Plaza, Oakbrook Center, Grapevine Mills and Great Lakes Crossing as centers that have successfully created LBE clusters.
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