Vicinity Centres is introducing a new retail wellness experience exclusively at the QVB, The Galeries, and The Strand Arcade, on the back of its own research which showed that consumers enjoy in-store shopping for its mental health benefits – an easy and accessible way to improve their mood, as well as relax and escape the stress of everyday life.
Visitors can experience three unique and multisensory wellness therapies on offer – Fractal Therapy, Chromotherapy and Sound Therapy – all created in partnership with sensory experts and designed to help bring a sense of zen to shoppers.
Customers can gaze upon soothing geometric light shows, immerse themselves in colour therapy installations and experience the relaxing and energising benefits of sound therapy. As part of the new initiative, Vicinity has partnered with positive psychology expert Dr Tim Sharp (aka Dr Happy).
“Wellness has become such an important part of our lives, so anything we can do to improve our happiness and wellbeing is incredibly valuable,” Dr Sharp said.
“I’m thrilled to be partnering with Vicinity to launch these three new wellness offerings in the CBD, designed to help boost shoppers’ mood and provide some much-needed positivity.”
Vicinity Centres head of marketing, brand and experience, Corrine Barchanowicz said, “Looking at the research, we know that in-person shopping and wellness are two areas of interest for Australians, which is why we’ve created these immersive and holistic offerings at three of our top locations.
“We spotted an opportunity to bridge the gap between both retail and wellness, giving a whole new meaning to the concept of ‘retail therapy’ to offer a truly unique experience.”
The unique in-centre activities are available to enjoy for free from April 6 to May 7, 2023.
The Vicinity Centres research also revealed that over half (53%) of Australians prefer in-store retail therapy, as opposed to shopping online.
While purchasing an item is a key part of a ‘successful’ retail therapy session (49%), walking around (43%), food and drink activities (40%), enjoying in-centre experiences (27%) and socialising with peers (25%) were among the other top factors of a day out at the shops.
Respondents explained that wellness experiences were of huge importance to them, with 72% citing that one of the main reasons they engage in wellness-related activities is to improve their mental health. In fact, shopping was considered one of the best ways to practice self-care, with 35% believing that retail therapy is a fast-acting and more immediate mood booster compared to other wellness activities such as yoga, fitness classes, meditation and hiking.