How Cinemas Are Guiding Retail Design

Cinemas are quickly becoming one of the most sought-after anchor tenants at retail centers—because they drive foot-traffic and increase the stay time at a center. As a result, this tenant niche is informing design plans and strategy in new retail development. We sat down with Mitra Esfandiari, senior principal at Retail Design Collaborative, to talk about how cinemas are changing retail design and the design trends inside cinema spaces.

GlobeSt.com: How are you approaching the design for these spaces and including them in new development?

Esfandiari: Due to the rise of at-home online streaming services, cinema operators are offering more meaningful experiences for consumers to keep box office sales up. Nowadays, offering popcorn and soda isn’t quite enough to draw a large audience to theaters, so there’s been a huge shift in the industry that has made a large impact on cinemas as a whole.

We approach design for these spaces based both on consumer trends, and the ever-evolving cinema operator prototypes. Design considerations are taken towards creating a more unique destination to provide for a longer and more comfortable experience- both within the lobby and common areas of a theater, but also into the theater itself.

Our goals are to integrate cinemas into the broader retail environment. By creating destination places where the consumer wants to gather, we’re act as the “glue” between retail and cinema.

For theater design, we collaborate with operators to provide unique design solutions in response to their brand identity or collaborate with them to help redefine their brand in response to the evolving trends in cinema industry.

GlobeSt.com: As this space has grown, what are some of the new design trends that you are seeing for cinemas?

Esfandiari: With various affordable streaming services out there, movie theaters need to keep finding new and unique ways to attract audiences and encourage them to choose a night at the theater over staying home. Providing additional food and beverage offerings is one-way operators been doing this, but architecture is also key component.

In the past, theaters would be packed with thousands of moviegoers in multiplex cinemas. The movie theater industry has evolved by bringing the comfort that one feels at home into the theater and consumers are willing to pay for the ticket. Today’s theaters include much larger and more comfortable recliner seats where guests are able to relax. At the same time, the introduction of waiter service in-cinema has also dramatically altered the functional design of theater spaces.

GlobeSt.com: How do you create a design to appeal to multiple demographics?

Esfandiari: The largest population of frequent moviegoers falls within 25-39-year-olds. We are designing, predominantly, for a millennial and Gen-X population, who are focused on social experience. By analyzing these demographics, we are better able to design for a particular consumer base and provide specific elements based on what this consumer base demands.

For design to appeal to multiple demographics, it’s imperative to understand the demographics of the surrounding community. Hyper-customization and localization will draw local communities to their respective theaters, and the popularity will naturally draw even more people to the retail center.

GlobeSt.com: Do you have any examples?

Esfandiari: One example is Maya Cinemas’ business model, which creates theaters for underserved communities and a predominately Latino consumer. In addition to providing a luxurious cinema experience through amenities including recliner seats, they are focused on serving families by providing food and beverage options that are appealing, state-of-the-art audio visual systems and viewing rooms for families with children.

Another example is the creation of more unique indoor/outdoor experiences. We’re seeing these designs now pop up across the country, which were originally designed to appeal to the Southern California lifestyle. For the most part, the cinema operator dictates their program, food and film offerings, but as architects, we have latitude to dig into local demographics and ensure that our designs are spot on to the local context.