Tap into the influx.
When the two mega malls at the Tsawwassen First Nation open their doors in the spring of next year, shoppers will flock to these parts like never before. Tsawwassen Mills, the larger of the two at 1.2 million square feet, isn't going to be your ordinary suburban shopping mall. Not only will it be considerably bigger than most, it's being positioned in the marketplace as a "destination" mall, one that will attract shoppers from throughout the region and beyond.
Walmart, which will be one of the anchors in the adjacent Tsawwassen Commons, is counting on Tsawwassen Mills' drawing power as there's no way the retail giant would build a store in South Delta if it had to rely solely on the local population. It believes a certain percentage of shoppers searching for fashion bargains will also make their way next door for housewares, electronics and a host of other items.
Given Walmart has had a bit of success in the retailing game, I'm apt to agree with that school of thought, but the bigger question around here is does that spin-off also translate into more shoppers in the commercial cores of Tsawwassen and Ladner?
For the sake of our local merchants, I certainly hope so, but I have to wonder if the malls' coattails will extend much beyond the land on which they're constructed. The idea of increased signage to promote other shopping opportunities is definitely worth pursuing, but the malls' convenient highway access is going to be a big deterrent to spill over as it will be far too easy for shoppers to bypass the surrounding area.
Those that frequent a destination mall like Tsawwassen Mills are a little different breed from your run-of-the-mill shopper in that they come from further away, stay longer and spend more. They are there for a specific purpose, so getting them to go somewhere else isn't necessarily an easy task.
Tsawwassen already has a significant amount of through traffic, but is there much bump to the local economy from the millions of vehicles that use the ferry terminal each year? What about from the parade of taillights headed to Point Roberts to fill up the tank or pick up online purchases?
I suspect there has to be some spin-off from having all those visitors come to town, but building a rapport with those that live here is far more important.
And I imagine that will continue to be the case even after TFN's mega malls change South Delta's retail landscape forever.
