How JLL Uses Experiences To Give Retail Customers 'A Reason To Be There'

The U.S. retail sector is at a turning point. Vacancy is holding tight at 4.4%, and investment dollars are pouring into the sector at the highest levels since 2023. 

But consumer behavior is shifting, and patrons are expecting more from their shopping experience. 

According to JLL’s Experience Matters research report, 68% of consumers expect retail spaces to offer more than just products or services. People are increasingly willing to pay more for high-quality experiences such as personalized shopping, community events and immersive environments.

“It's about giving people a reason to be somewhere, not just necessarily some place to go to buy something,” said Angela Sweeney, executive vice president and marketing director of JLL’s lifestyle property management team. “For us, there’s a difference between a place people pass through and a place they want to be at.”

To attract and retain customers, JLL’s retail strategy focuses on creating unique experiences — programming isn’t uniform throughout the country, Sweeney said. JLL considers the preferences and expectations of patrons at each property and strategizes accordingly. What is popular in an affluent Dallas neighborhood may look different than what consumers enjoy in Southern California, New York City or suburban Atlanta.

In Manhattan Beach, California, JLL hosted a FIFA World Cup event, dubbed FIFA World Cup 2026 Fan Fest, for the community at Manhattan Village, a 650K SF lifestyle shopping center. It attracted thousands of people to the shopping center who may not have otherwise visited. 

“They discovered new stores, had lunch and learned a lot about Manhattan Village and what that experience is like,” said Alex Kirley, vice president of regional marketing at JLL. “We set up huge LED screens to watch the game, had soccer clinics for adults and kids, and even had live music to get the crowd excited.”

Besides acting as a traffic-driving activation, the World Cup Fan Fest was a strategic way to create a positive association with the property. And while the World Cup was a limited-time event, the impact on the shopping center’s businesses can’t be overstated, Kirley said. 

“We increased traffic and dwell time,” she said. “People stayed for longer than they typically would to just come in and grab a cup of coffee. It's really created engagement, and that helps with increased cross-shopping, higher spend per visit and loyalty.” 

Similar results were achieved at Ka Makana Ali’i, a 750K SF regional mixed-use shopping and entertainment center in Kapolei, Hawaii — but with a different twist.

In June, JLL hosted the Special Olympics Truck Pull & Spring Fest at Ka Makana Ali’i, sponsored by Coca-Cola Bottling of Hawaii. Hundreds of people gathered to pull a 40,000-pound Coca-Cola semitruck 30 feet, competing for the fastest time, to raise money for local Special Olympics athletes. The JLL team has found community events like this to be essential in activating the property, Kirley said. 

“Kapolei is a tight-knit community, so it's a core part of their strategy at Ka Makana Ali’i to bring everyone together,” Kirley said. “It all goes back to the fact that we're bringing people in and giving them a reason to be there.”

While these events hosted by JLL commemorate special occasions, the JLL team also hosts annual events across its properties that people look forward to every year. These create a sense of consistency, tradition and a recognizable identity for each property, Kirley said.

“Take The Shops at Highland Village in the Dallas-Fort Worth area,” said Kelly Smith, vice president of retail consumer marketing at JLL. “We host an annual art festival that just finished its 11th year, in partnership with the city of Highland Village. It’s become a signature community staple that supports the property’s broader marketing strategy.”

Tenant and community partners, such as the city government in Highland Village, Texas, help make these ideas come to life, Smith said. The end goal of every event or promotion is to create an authentic experience that delivers value to the property, its tenants and surrounding communities.

This collaboration is like a “secret ingredient,” because neither side can achieve that same impact on its own, Smith said. 

“Partnerships like these work so well together when we're trying to establish that credibility, build community and get exposure through the awesome tenants that we have on property,” she said.  

But deciding which initiatives will resonate with a particular customer base isn’t an easy feat, Sweeney said. It requires a deep dive into the data behind consumer preferences, shopping habits, regional demographics and more. It wasn’t too long ago that the team relied on gut instinct to guide its decision-making.

“We have so many data tools available to us now that we are able to really look at a particular shopping center, who the customers are, what their lifestyle characteristics are, and what types of stores and programs resonate with them,” Sweeney said. “We use that data to guide our marketing strategies.”

Every program or event coordinated by the JLL team is followed by an evaluation to review the performance to see if the event drove sales, increased foot traffic and was well received by the tenants. If an event doesn’t do as well as projected, tweaks can be made to future programming to increase return on investment, Smith said. 

“A lift in sales and traffic are the biggest barometers of success, and our tenants are going to be the first to let us know,” Smith said. “Constant communication with the tenants is really important.”

Today’s retail market is experiencing shifts, Sweeney said. E-commerce sales accounted for $326.7B during the first quarter — approximately 17% of total U.S. retail sales. It is increasingly difficult to compete with online retail, which makes meaningful activation of these properties even more essential, she said. 

“We’re creating opportunities and experiences that give you a compelling reason to get off the couch and come to the shopping center,” she said. “These experiences are the differentiator.” 

This article was produced in collaboration between JLL and Studio B. Bisnow news staff was not involved in the production of this content.

Studio B is Bisnow’s in-house content and design studio. To learn more about how Studio B can help your team, reach out to studio@bisnow.com.