Guiding Lines: Convenient Shopping: From the Simple to the Complex.

In the choice between three shopping centers - Atrium (one of the first to appear in Moscow), Okhotny Ryad (because of it’s location in the city centre) and Evropeisky (one of the largest, most recent, and also almost in the center) Evropeisky is the leader. The arguments are that there are comfortable benches to rest on practically on every corner, and lots of cash machines. But the most hotly discussed topic was surrounding toilets. Or to be exact - their presence and facilities. It appears that for visitors of shopping centers, toilets are extremely important.

In Evropeisky there are sufficient toilets on each floor. They are big and clean: no bad smells or unsanitary conditions. And, more importantly, they are absolutely free-of-charge. Of course, toilets are not a major factor in choosing a place for shopping, but are definitely a significant plus.

Just remember what it’s like at Atrium and Okhotny Ryad. In Okhotny Ryad it is easy to find the toilets only on one - the second - level. And in Atrium - in the corner on the first floor, but they are not easy to find. The joy at finding the toilets soon disappears from the unpleasant sensations you feel standing in the long queue. Toilets in these shopping complexes are not free (they cost about 15 rubles). It’s not a lot of money, but it’s not nice to pay for a dirty and smelly toilet.

Head of the consulting department at Astera Alexander Osipov agrees that the level of additional conveniences in Moscow shopping centers leaves much to be desired. For example, he wonders why there are no smoking rooms in Moscow shopping centers. It is more or less clear: the whole world is against smokers, but Moscow is one of the most loyal followers of this bad habit. There is also no service, whereby a buyer can purchase goods, leave them in the shop and continue shopping without having to carry a mountain of bags around.

"There are not enough toilets and it is in fact possible to safely make the woman’s toilets twice the size of the men’s," the expert says in support of our survey and even gives an example – Moskovsky Prospekt in Voronezh. Osipov says that he has never seen toilets like here. The men’s toilets, according to him, measure no less than 50 sq.m, have three huge mirrors and are absolutely spotless. And in this shopping center, in a separate premises, a smoking room has been allocated.

In Moscow’s shopping centers in the near future developers probably won’t make additional conveniences. Land in Moscow is expensive and the cost of construction is growing quickly, argues Osipov. In such conditions nothing remains for developers, except to try and receive maximum income per square meter. Under such conditions there is no place for thoughts about the convenience to customers, he sums up. Although, we wish they would be considered. The head of the consulting department at Magazin Magazinov Ilya Kuznetsov also considers additional facilities as extremely important. The expert is sure that they influence the competitiveness of the shopping center.

In Kuznetsov’s opinion, conveniences in shopping centers can be divided into two types: those that are necessary to be planned at the design stage, and those that the operating company will manage that don’t require "physical intervention" to the structure of the building. The first might include cloakrooms and playrooms. There are also innovative additional facilities, for example, storage rooms for hypermarket filled trolleys. Although such facilities are not yet widespread in Moscow, the expert argues.

Facilities that can be created at the operating stage of the shopping center include benches, chairs, cash machines, parking, etc. In some countries, for example in Australia, says Kuznetsov, restaurants with metal cutlery and glassware in food courts is common. In any case, added conveniences are introduced when the developer understands that competition is high and the consumer has a choice, including a choice of comfortable conditions for shopping. It is good when this understanding comes at an early stage of the development of the project.

The expert is assured that if everything is well thought over at the design stage, the developer will succeed. For example, if a cloakroom is not initially allocated in a shopping center project, then upon completion of its construction it will be either impossible to create a cloakroom or will require additional investment.

Natalia Oreshina, director of retail real estate department at Cushman Wakefield/Stiles Riabokobylko also thinks that additional facilities offered free of charge to visitors of shopping centers are extremely in demand. She is sure that in Moscow they are important for buyers. And, of course, toilets in shopping centers should be free.

Oreshina also thinks that such additional conveniences as post boxes and money transfer services would be well placed in shopping centers. And cash machines, in her opinion, should be from as many different banks as possible. It would be good to have a dry-cleaners, a workshop for repair work, or a dressmakers.

Moreover, there is an idea that represents, according to her, a big risk for the developer, but, undoubtedly, would be positively received by visitors, and that is fresh fruit and vegetable stalls in shopping centers. Because people days pay increasing attention to healthy diets, says Oreshina.

But this is an absolute fantasy. First we need to sort the toilets out. And then we can move from the simple to the complex.