Are people way more prone to rob an Aritzia than the Alo yoga across the hall? I don't doubt that it's the reason they did it (I'm sure you're totally right on the logic there), but it feels like if Alo can have display windows so can Aritzia. I get not having an entrance there, but windows would have been better than the blank wall we got.
My cynical take is that Cadillac Fairview prefers it this way.
This could be a fantastic outdoor space with cafes on both ends. But the customers… they would be *outside*. Mall owners want to keep people inside for as long as they can get away with.
There’s a well known tactic employed by department stores that the omission of windows is deliberate. You don’t want people seeing that it’s getting dark and it’s time to go home or that it’s sunny outside and maybe we should go out for a walk.
Then again, I question Cadillac Fairview’s tactics. For the longest time there was little to no seating in the mall. You know what I do when I get tired? I go home. Give me a seat to rest for a bit and you’ll get me shopping for a lot longer.
Maybe the same is going on with these outdoor spaces. CF thinks keeping them dead draws people inside but instead it could be keeping people in the vicinity of the mall for longer.
