Connecting brick-and-mortar stores with Millennials who are savvy online consumers can be a challenge.
A fashion bash hosted by a popular style website can help.
That’s the approach Indianapolis-based Simon Property Group LP took when it joined with website Refinery29 to host The Shopping Block to offer something new to shoppers at its Brea Mall on Oct. 18.
The event featured pop-up shops from local boutiques and larger retailers, with a lineup that ranged from Huntington Beach-based Cleobella to Specialty Fashion Group Ltd.’s City Chic and Macy’s.
“It’s really exciting to see The Shopping Block come to life,” Piera Gelardi, Refinery29’s creative director, said in a statement. “The event is a great way for us to interact with our millennial audience and bring the Refinery29 brand offline in a fun, interactive way.”
The website dubs itself as a “lifestyle platform that delivers nonstop inspiration to help women live a more stylish and creative life.” It reports 10 million monthly visitors and 1.25 million email subscribers for content that runs the gamut from shopping trends to news on celebrities.
Some 2,500 visitors to the event at the Brea Mall were offered mini makeovers and tips on the latest beauty trends from Refinery29 staff. TV personality and blogger Grasie Mercedes mingled with the crowd, while DJ Lola Langusta took care of the beats.
Shoppers were invited to “contribute to the buzz and share their fashion experience” and get a chance to win a $500 gift card from Simon Property by using the #FoundAtSimon and #TheShoppingBlock hashtags on their social media accounts.
“The event … spoke to the way millennials shop by enhancing the various experiences that they crave all within the mall landscape,” said Anna Cotter, the mall’s director of marketing and business development.
Brea Mall was the only California stop on The Shopping Block’s six-city tour, which took the event to Miami; Central Valley, N.Y.; Braintree, Mass.; King of Prussia, Penn.; and Cypress, Texas.
