DALLAS – October 27, 2020 – Centennial, a real estate investment firm with a national portfolio of shopping, dining, entertainment and mixed-use destinations (www.CentennialREC.com), announced today it has successfully launched a brand-new omni-channel shopping platform called “Shop Now!” in seven U.S. markets. The new platform, created by Adeptmind, a leading technology company specializing in artificial intelligence and e-commerce applications, will give shoppers at each of Centennial’s seven properties nationwide the ability to search all products and in-store inventories from select stores in their local Centennial mall via that property’s existing website. Shoppers can then decide if they prefer to use the tool to purchase online or simply pre-plan their in-person visit. For downloadable photos of the platform, click here: http://ow.ly/4q3d30rdvaq.
“Our new Shop Now! platform will be a game-changer for Centennial shopping centers this year,” says Whitney Livingston, Centennial’s COO. “Shop Now! is incredibly intuitive and easy to use. It gives people the opportunity to use the search bar or the Shop Now! navigation on their local mall websites to shop the products of multiple retailers in that local shopping center, then order online and, depending on retailer options, pick up in the store, curbside, or have their purchases delivered straight to their doors. It also allows them to plan their visits in advance by searching for both everyday purchases and wish-list holiday items online before they come to the mall. With the Shop Now! platform, we are doing something new and unique by meeting our customers where they want to shop, whether that’s online or in person, and giving them the tools to remain loyal to their local retailers in the process.”
Until now, shopping at a local mall and shopping online were, for the most part, two very separate ways to shop. What Centennial has done with this new omni-channel program is to conquer the barrier between brick-and-mortar and online shopping, melding in-person shopping and online shopping into a single local experience. It’s good for local retail. It’s convenient for shoppers who want to pick up their purchases direct from participating retailers to save on shipping charges, yet still shop from the comfort of home. And it’s a convenient time-saving method for customers to search their local Centennial mall for exactly what they want without having to walk the whole mall or search each retailer’s individual site just to locate a single item. Additionally, visitors can book services like hair and nail appointments or order food from mall restaurants through each mall’s website directory.
“The new Shop Now! platform transforms each Centennial mall into a mini-Amazon, but with a more customer-friendly, local experience,” says Jesse Michael, Managing Director, Adeptmind. “By enabling the products at each local mall to be easily searchable, then providing customers with in-store, curbside or door-to-door delivery options, we’ve given the shopper a much deeper way to connect with their local mall than ever existed before.”
Centennial’s new Shop Now! e-commerce platform will be rolled out in two phases. In Phase 1, which launched last week, shoppers will be able to visit Centennial’s shopping center websites and search for the product they are looking for – “red shoes” for example – and the site will display the red shoes available from the center’s directory of applicable retailers. To refine their search, they will be offered filters and guided discovery tools as well as information on in-store availability from select retailers.
More than 70% of the retailers in each Centennial mall have listed their products on the platform to date, with the majority expected to be accessible by the holiday shopping season and the remaining, mostly local retailers, being brought on board over time. Centennial’s goal is 100% retailer participation, which it expects to achieve by the time Phase 2 rolls out next year.
In the first phase of the new Shop Now! program, once shoppers make their selections, purchases will be completed via individual retailer transactions at checkout. The second phase of the Shop Now! platform will include a streamlined single-cart checkout process as well as the addition of physical hubs for easy pick-ups and returns.
About Adeptmind Adeptmind was founded in 2017 by two former employees of the Microsoft-exited tech startup Maluuba. As a leading AI based, e-commerce product discovery company, Adeptmind uses state-of-the-art active and deep learning techniques to enhance the customer purchasing journey. With offices in Toronto, San Francisco and Paris, Adeptmind supports more than 400 retailers, shopping centers, and small- to medium businesses with innovative technology in and around the world. To learn more, visit the Adeptmind website at www.adeptmind.ai and follow Adeptmind on LinkedIn.
About Centennial Centennial is a national owner of major shopping, dining, entertainment and mixed-use destinations. Rooted in retail since 1997, the company is focused on shaping the evolution of American retail by creating a superior multi-faceted shopping experience. Centennial properties serve not only as a place of commerce, but a place of community. For more information, visit CentennialREC.com.
Media Contacts:
Deborah Blackford
Blackford & Associates
714-280-8765
Karen Franse
Blackford & Associates
386-649-1887
Carmen Herlihy
Blackford & Associates
646-770-2623
Anne Morello
Adeptmind
