The other evening I visited a shopping centre because I wanted to have a meal at the steakhouse located there. After my meal, I found myself wondering: why was the steakhouse—and the centre as a whole—so empty?
My conclusion: a lack of variety in the stores.
This shopping centre has a Pick n Pay supermarket on one end and a Woolworths on the other, with a few chain clothing stores in between. During the day, the only real variety comes from two spots—a bookshop and a coffee shop. That’s it.
Let’s look at this a little more closely. Shopping centres have become expensive for small businesses. While this was what you might call a medium-sized centre, the trend is clear: when tenants vacate, management usually looks to fill the space with another big chain—especially clothing stores.
But what does this do for variety?
It seems like gone are the days of quaint, independently run stores in shopping centres. And while I’m not here to tell centre managers which tenants to approve, I’ve seen the difference it makes when someone puts real thought into the mix.
I remember a great example in Randburg. There was a smaller shopping centre where the manager was quite deliberate about who he allowed in. He wasn’t just chasing rent—he wanted stores that would genuinely add value and variety for customers in that area. He brought in interesting shops, small eateries, and service providers that made the place feel like part of the community. And people returned—again and again.
Some feel that there is a real and growing concern in the South African retail landscape: the homogenisation of shopping centres. When every mall starts to feel the same, there’s less to entice people to visit—especially when online shopping is so convenient. Fortunately, there are initiatives gaining traction that aim to bring life and diversity back into our shopping spaces:
1. Retail Incubators and Pop-Up Spaces
• Soko District (Rosebank Mall): A curated retail space built to give small, local brands a chance to grow. With flexible leases and lower setup costs, it allows online-first or emerging businesses to step into the physical retail world. It’s an exciting model that’s set to expand.
• EGG (Cavendish Square & The Zone @ Rosebank): Think of it as a next-gen department store where multiple small brands—both up-and-coming and established—get exposure. It offers a vibrant mix and a sense of discovery.
• Pop-up shops & markets: Increasingly common, these give small businesses a way to test the waters without long leases. For shoppers, they provide something fresh and unexpected.
2. Community-Focused Developments
• Mixed-use spaces: Retail centres that blend residential, office, and leisure elements often end up with a more diverse tenant mix—like local coffee shops, niche grocers, or wellness studios that serve people who live and work nearby.
• Activated public areas: Newer malls are adding areas for dining, relaxing, or events, opening the door for experiential businesses and artisanal offerings.
• Local-first planning: Developers are starting to do more detailed studies to understand who actually lives nearby—and what they want. This can lead to tenant mixes that are better tailored to local needs.
3. Support from Big Retailers and Institutions
• Retailer supplier programs: Shoprite, for instance, has initiatives to bring in small local suppliers. While not always about storefronts, this can help businesses grow to a point where they can move into physical spaces.
Challenges Remain:
• High rentals: Still the number-one barrier for small shops. Models like Soko District succeed partly because they offer affordable alternatives.
• Local demographics: As I said earlier, context matters. What works in Rosebank may not work in Randburg or Rustenburg. Successful centres match their offerings to the people who live nearby.
• Support for small players: It’s not enough to give small shops space—they often need help with marketing, operations, and compliance.
• Curated synergy: Simply adding random small businesses isn’t the answer. It takes thoughtful curation to create an experience worth coming back for.
The emptiness I saw in that shopping centre the other night might seem like a small thing—but it reflects a larger pattern. People are looking for more than just another chain store. They want variety, uniqueness, and a sense of place. When malls feel like carbon copies, foot traffic drops. When they offer something special, people return.
South Africa’s shopping centres don’t need to become giant marketplaces overnight—but even small steps to welcome in interesting, local, and community-aligned businesses can make a huge difference.
Let’s hope more centre managers start thinking this way—because a little variety might be exactly what brings the crowds back.
