Shopping malls to offer hybrid consumer experiences by 2030, Ericsson reports

Ericsson’s 10 Hot Consumer Trends report has predicted that consumers will want hybrid malls by 2030.

The report, which outlines a futuristic version of a shopping mall, claims that AR glasses, haptic bodysuits and tactile gloves will all be available, with space for any number of activities to take place.

The research was conducted from an online survey, sent to the 57 million early adopters of AR, VR and digital assistants in 14 cities worldwide.

These cities were Delhi, Dublin, Jakarta, Johannesburg, London, Mexico City, Moscow, New York, San Francisco, São Paulo, Shanghai, Stockholm, Sydney and Tokyo.

The hybrid mall, dubbed The Everyspace Plaza by Ericsson, sees a number of facilities each contain a certain purpose. The All-now Arena is based on research that claims that 8 out of 10 consumers see event halls as the future of telepresence technology, where artists will be able to perform digitally.

The Immersive Beauty Salon springs out of the belief of 7 out of 10 consumers that salons will use volumetric modelling technology to digitally enhance looks, and that fast fashion will be tailored through an AR/VR, at the Meta Tailor.

In terms of sports, there is The Anyverse Pool, where customers envisage swimming pools that use oxygenated VR headsets to experience outer space is zero gravity, and The Hybrid Gym, where seven out of ten consumers expect mental fitness centers that have multisensory, personality tailored AR/VR scenery.

Other facilities include The Restaurant at the Node of the Universe, the Neverending Store where customers would be able to project their home inside the store when trying out new products, the Medical Multiplex Center and the Nature + Park, an in-mall AR/VR zoo.

The survey asked consumers to evaluate 15 hybrid shopping mall facilities that added to the physical consumer experience with digital technology. Around four in five respondents believe that the proposed concepts will be available in some manner by 2030.

“On the one hand it may be difficult to imagine large numbers of consumers with expensive tech gear such as AR glasses, waterproof VR glasses, haptic body suits, tactile gloves and more at massive scale by 2030. Yet, on the other hand, if such equipment could be shared at lower cost it is definitely possible that large numbers of consumers will have it to enhance everyday shopping mall experiences,” said head of research agenda, at Ericsson Consumer and IndustryLab, and driver of the 10 Hot Consumer Trends report, Dr. Michael Björn.

Björn also claims the report shows consumer belief that hybrid malls could add to local life in a positive and sustainable way, with 32 percent of respondents agreeing that hybrid shopping malls could make small and rural towns a more attractive option.