Toronto’s Yorkdale Shopping Centre is introducing a new concierge service for customers through the Kipsu platform.
The service, launching for Yorkdale on Nov. 2, allows customers to text message or live chat with shopping centre staff, who can provide information about things like restaurants or where to find certain merchandise.
Kipsu, based in Minneapolis, aims to provide “real-time digital communication channels,” such as text and social messaging, for industries such as retail, hospitality and healthcare.
Recently, Cadillac Fairview, which operates 20 shopping centre properties across Canada, launched its CF Shop! mobile app to provide a consistent experience for consumers, regardless of where their closest mall is.
Meanwhile, Yorkdale is also introducing a series of pop-up shops for Canadian retailers including Brika, The Drake General Store and Kit and Ace, all of which operate in urban centres. The idea is to bring those urban shopping centre experiences to the mall – located in the more residential north end of the city – as opposed to traditional pop-ups, which are usually for retailers that are exclusively online.
The shopping centre is currently undergoing a $331 million expansion that will add nearly 300,000 square feet of retail space, bringing its total size to two million square feet.
Image courtesy of Shutterstock
