People are "sick of being bored" by malls and are challenging developers to build lifestyle town centre precincts with more than just shops.
Research undertaken by the multi-million dollar Westgate Town Centre project has steered the development towards a new style of shopping district now known as "experience zones".
Community groups impacted by the Westgate transformation identified with a global trend which views these "zones" as places where people not only shop but live - and have access to a wide range of services and attractions like restaurants, offices, hotels, walking trails, even theme parks and artificial ski slopes.
Experts say with time an ever-increasing commodity in people's lives, many value the convenience of having these amenities in one place, often within walking distance of their homes. At the same time the lifestyle centre concept satisfies a deep need many have to re-build communities.
The trend is real and measurable. In the United States the traditional mall has been hit hard in recent years as it battles the growth of online shopping, the loss of giant "anchor" stores and a reduction in the "allure" malls have for teens and younger people. Two dozen have closed since 2010 giving rise to a new website - deadmalls.com - devoted to telling their stories.
Analysts believe 60 more are at risk of closing while estimates are that up to 15 per cent are likely to disappear in the next 10 years. US real estate researchers Cushman and Wakefield say that in November and December 2010, the two biggest shopping months of the year, over 35 billion visits were made to US malls. In the corresponding months in 2013 the number had dropped to 17 billion visits, a decline of 50 per cent.
This predicament is one of the reasons for the growth of outdoor lifestyle town centres like Westgate, itself a mirror of those in the United States (where there are 400) and other parts of the world - many featuring unique attractions.
In New York the $20 billion Hudson Yards development to be completed in 2019 will, as well as shops, include condominiums, a public school, restaurants, parks forested with over 28,000 plants and The Shed, a centre for the arts.
In Dubai a complex known as The Beach has shops, high class restaurants, an outdoor cinema and, yes, a beach. It boasts it is one of the few places you can feel the sand between your toes moments before going shopping.
Michael Beyard, retail and entertainment chairman of the Urban Land Institute, an organisation headquartered in Washington DC that researches responsible land use, says lifestyle centres tap into "the emotional desire to re-build" communities.
"As developments get larger and larger people want to decentralise and build personal feeling back into their lives. Suddenly people realise this mall formula is everywhere and is getting boring," he says.
But indoor malls in the US are themselves are getting in on the act. Plans are on the drawing board for a 200 acre mega-mall in Miami which will feature a hotel, artificial ski slope and a sea lion show; the Mall of America in Minnesota has an indoor theme park; the Biltmore Square Mall in North Carolina has 'de-malled' by ripping its roof off.
Meanwhile Westgate is edging closer to completion. In late September its dining precinct opened with 20 new cafes and restaurants while a temporary outdoor cinema in the new town square is showing movies on Friday evenings. The square, located near the North West Mall which opened in 2015, is called Te Pumanawa Square, a Maori phrase meaning 'heartbeat of activities' in recognition of its role as a meeting place, somewhere to perform music, enjoy entertainment or just sit and relax.
Westgate's retail zones are fast taking shape - up to 30 stores now occupy sites in the lifestyle and home, trade and build precincts - while still on the drawing board or yet to be completed are a library, residential apartments, office space, business parks, transport services, parks and walking tracks.
Sara Johnson, general manager marketing and communications for Westgate developer New Zealand Retail Property Group (NZRPG) says while people here still want the 'big brands', they are also looking for a variety of exciting alternative attractions - or a "rebellious environment" in the words of the research study.
"This means we cannot afford to look conformist," she says. "We need to build something that fits the notion of conformity and at the same time fits comfortably into a rebellious environment; doing this will overcome the difficulties of malls where people are sick of being bored."
Johnson says their research shows people retain a strong level of affection for the old outdoor Westgate Shopping Centre, particularly its openness and sense of space, and are keen to see the new development integrate 'green' spaces as a throw-back to the orchards that once thrived on the site.
It also observes that while most people are "proud of being Westies", are straight talking and lacking in pretention, they also recognise the west is becoming classier, keeping the good characteristics while leaving behind the bad.