Could Soft Play Areas Save the Retail Industry?

It has been widely reported that shopping at malls is on the decline, and Internet shopping is slowly but steadily rising. Fourth-quarter retail sales have declined greatly, as shown by this graph:

 The opposite is happening for online shopping. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that e-commerce made up 6% of all retail sales in 2013, up from just 3.5% in 2008. 

So how do we get customers back in the mall instead of shopping online? Soft play areas might be the answer. Well, not the entire answer, but a big part of it. Malls need to become a destination in today's market. They can no longer just be the landlord of several stores. Shoppers need a reason to venture outside of their houses and go to the mall. Soft play areas provide a meeting place. Visitors don't need to purchase items while visiting the play place, but they often do. Shopping centers will find the money to install a soft play park is quickly returned with this increase in sales.

In times like these, traditional malls need to think outside the box to get the sales they need to survive. A soft play park by DW Designs Inc might be the solution to their financial woes.