The Mall Has One Thing Amazon Can't Sell

The future of retail isn't about making physical destinations more convenient. It's about making them more compelling.

Amazon can deliver almost anything to your front door. It can remember what you bought. It can predict what you might want next. It can get it to you tomorrow.

So why, in 2026, are people still getting in their cars and going to shopping centres?

Discovery. Connection. Belonging.

The possibility that something might happen.

That, to me, is the real story behind Simon Property Group's new campaign, “It's a Simon Thing.”

Simon has chosen to build its new national brand platform around “discovery, connection and the enduring role of the mall in American life,” bringing its malls and Premium Outlets together under one creative idea. The campaign celebrates the unexpected finds, shared memories and real-world moments that happen when people physically come together.

It's a deceptively simple proposition. And strategically, I think it's a significant one.

I remember when the enemy was ecommerce

Allow me to age myself here…More than 15 years ago, I was working in the USA at Westfield when the industry was wrestling with a seemingly existential question: “How does a shopping centre compete when the internet can give people almost infinite choice without asking them to leave the sofa?”

The response, initially, was understandable. Let's digitise the mall.

Westfield launched an online mall in 2011. It later established Westfield Labs in San Francisco to explore technology that could enhance the retail experience for shoppers and retailers. McKinsey documented the shift at the time as mall operators began experimenting with digital capabilities, mobile, virtual storefronts and new ways of connecting online and offline.

Beneath the tech, a key insight emerged: The physical world offers what the internet can't.

You can touch, try, taste, hear, see, and discover.

You might bump into a friend, find the unexpected, linger longer, or have unplanned experiences.

In other words: The internet was very good at giving people what they wanted. The physical world could give people what they didn't know they wanted.

And that is where experience design entered the conversation.

Experience became the product

The shopping centre transformed: not just stores, leases, or transactions, but a destination with personality and purpose. This marked a shift in retail strategy—experience became intrinsic to the product. Not just pop-ups, but crafting environments around human experience: architecture, arrival, tenant mix, food, public spaces, programming, the unexpected, service, sensory moments, reasons to linger, return, and share. At the time, Westfield explored the concept of the feeling of “firsts”. Your first kiss. First date. First job. All experiences known to happen at the mall and written into the chapters of so many customers lives. Sadly, that strategy didn’t make it to market, but the insight still holds true.

Because the competitive advantage of a physical destination isn't necessarily that it can make shopping easier. Amazon has already won that argument. The opportunity is to make being there worthwhile.

Then COVID changed the question

If ecommerce accelerated the shift toward experience, COVID accelerated the question of why physical experience matters at all.

For months, the world became extraordinarily good at not going anywhere. Shopping came to us. Entertainment came to us. Work came to us. Food came to us.

Friends appeared on screens. Convenience became almost frictionless. And when physical destinations reopened, simply saying “we're open” wasn't enough.

The question became: Why should I leave the house?

At Vicinity Centres, we faced a challenge. The goal wasn't to recreate the 2019 shopping centre, but to rethink what people wanted from physical destinations: more emotion, connection, discovery, wellness, community, and reasons to visit. A notable initiative was "Retail Therapy" in Sydney CBD assets like The Galeries, QVB, and The Strand Arcade. It asked, "What if shopping could make you feel better?" Vicinity's research showed 62% of Australians preferred in-store retail therapy over online shopping, valuing the experience beyond purchases—walking, dining, and socializing all contributed. Half saw it as a wellness boost. The product was the experience, not just the item, distinguishing physical retail and encouraging exploration and connection—an idea now more relevant than ever.

Gen Z didn't get the memo about killing the mall

The irony is clear: we anticipated younger generations would shun physical retail, having grown up online. But they didn’t, at least not as expected. Deloitte calls Gen Z the “most authentically omni-shopping generation,” leveraging social media and digital tools for discovery while still shopping extensively in stores. 73% of Gen Z shops in person weekly, with nearly half their spending in mass merchandise and grocery done in-store. Meanwhile, 35% use social media to find products. This isn't digital versus physical—it's both, with distinct roles. Digital excels at wide-reaching discovery; physical excels at spontaneous discovery. One informs, the other surprises. This distinction is crucial as young consumers seek experiences, not just products.

YPulse's 2025 research into Gen Z and Millennials found strong demand for in-person experiences built around connection, discovery, fun, community and creativity—particularly experiences that feel meaningful as well as shareable. And Deloitte has similarly identified in-person connection and experiences as an important opportunity with younger generations.

Enter Simon

Which brings us back to Simon.

The new “It's a Simon Thing” campaign is interesting because it doesn't lead with stores.

It leads with moments. Discovery. Connection. Unexpected finds. Shared memories.

The things that happen when people are physically together.

The idea can flex around occasions, audiences and experiences while giving the portfolio a common emotional language. Simon says the campaign is intended to reinforce what people love about its destinations and position them as gathering places.

That's a meaningful shift in the language of retail.

You can’t campaign your way into an experience.

You can advertise discovery. But if every store looks the same, discovery becomes a claim.

You can advertise connection. But if there is nowhere comfortable to sit, meet, linger or belong, connection becomes a claim.

You can advertise community. But if the destination feels interchangeable with every other centre in the market, community becomes a claim.

You can advertise memory. But if there is nothing memorable about being there, memory becomes a claim.

The campaign is the promise. The physical experience is the proof.

If you want to own discovery, design for it

Discovery isn't just another Instagram backdrop. It's about crafting environments for unexpected encounters—new brands, surprising tenants, emerging designers, local artisans, art, food, culture, events, technology, and evolving spaces. It's about curated experiences that invite exploration, not just navigation. Discovery involves a touch of friction—not the problematic kind, but the useful type that prompts detours, second glances, and unexpected visits, sparking curiosity and questions that algorithms can't easily replicate.

If you want to own belonging, design for it

Belonging is complex. It's not just a category; it's a feeling. It comes from seeing yourself in a place, recognizing faces, being welcomed beyond transactions, having a seat, enjoying local events, and cultural relevance. Staff recognizing regulars and community-driven experiences foster this. Vicinity's research revealed that experiences build belonging and community ties. A national Monopoly event resulted in nearly 300,000 transactions, proving experiences drive emotional and commercial engagement. The key is prioritizing human experience to drive commercial success.

The real competitive advantage isn't experience

This is where I'd push the idea one step further. Retail has spent the last decade talking about experience.

Experience isn't something to own; it can be replicated. Pop-ups, events, restaurants, technology, and even architecture are easily copied. What's difficult to replicate is the feeling a place evokes—calming, restorative, energizing, inspiring, connecting, and surprising. These emotions influence behavior: staying, spending, returning, sharing, and becoming part of our lives. Discovery and belonging are powerful for physical retail; they're emotional reasons to choose a place.

The mall's unfair advantage

For 15 years, the industry has been trying to make physical retail more like digital.

More convenient. More connected. More personalised. More measurable. More frictionless.

But we shouldn't forget what physical places can do that digital never will.

They can surprise us. Create serendipity. Put strangers in the same room. Turn a transaction into an afternoon. Turn an afternoon into a memory. Turn a building into part of someone's life.

Amazon can recommend something. A place can make you discover it.

An algorithm can personalise a feed. A place can make you feel like you belong.

A screen can entertain you. A place can give you a story to tell.

That's strategy.

The next generation of retail destinations won't just sell things

They'll sell reasons to be there.

Netflix. TikTok. Travel. Sports. Dining. Concerts. Gaming. Hospitality. Our homes. Our friends. Our sofas. Our phones.

That's the competition.

Every shopping destination must ask:

Why should I visit?

Why should I stay?

Why should I spend?

Why should I return?

Why should I recommend it?

And at the heart of it: How will you make me feel?

Simon has stated it clearly: Discovery. Connection. Togetherness.

The challenge now is to make the physical world deliver on that promise.

A reason to step out, linger, revisit, share the experience, to belong, and occasionally, the best reason: discovering something unexpected. That's the essence of physical retail.