In a bid to fight growing competition from online shopping portals, DLF has reportedly set up a research and advisory team to recommend ways to design its malls in such a way that they would draw more footfalls. The research team will also assess the likely impact of e-commerce on physical stores in the malls over the next five years, and strategise accordingly.
The move comes ahead of DLF starting its largest mall, DLF Mall of India, in Noida, which is scheduled to open early next year. A DLF Retail portal is also on the cards, which will have online sites for all its malls on one platform, aiming to provide users a targeted search for available products across different locations of its malls.
Moreover, the company is negotiating with many brands - both international and domestic - to add a clause in the agreements for keeping the price of products the same for physical stores and online shopping sites. However, the brands can sell their products of the previous season at a discounted rate of 20-30 per cent on the online platform.
