Mall owners today realise that the purchasing power of children is significant. Children's tastes and interests have a strong influence over the way their parents make spending decisions. Retailers now know that there are many benefits to making kids welcome into malls. Almost all the malls in Pune and other cities have activities fashioned for kids. Festivals, special days, and weekend specials…all kinds of promotional activities keep the kids interested and involved round the year. Musicians, tattoo artists, hair braiders, magicians, Santa, toon characters, and other performers bring a carnival atmosphere to malls. Little wonder that kids just love malls.

At Westside, kids are a significant focus area. The mall has an entire range of merchandise for kids; their in-house labels Urban Angel and Street Blues cater specifically to kids who aspire to dress like trendy young adults. The mall's annual events, 'Summer Carnival' and 'Christmas Magic' focus on activities for children such as hair braiding, tattooing, quiz contests and even a treasure hunt in the store. Smita Neogi (Manager - Communications) tells us that one of their stores recently even organised a free cricket camp for kids with Yuvraj Singh. At the newly opened Vishal Mega Mart, besides the seasonal kids' festivals, the toys, books and apparel sections, there is also a recreational space - a fun zone with trampolines and other toys with which the kids can play while their parents shop. And of course, old favourites are never forgotten. "Children simply flock at the popcorn and candyfloss kiosks," says Kailash Prakash (Store Manager).

Piramyd Mega Store too, has over the last couple of years held some greatly successful kids' events such as the 'Hot Wheel Circuit', 'Hakuna Matata', and 'Piramyd Boy' and 'Piramyd Girl' talent contests. One year they created a huge Barbie dollhouse, which fascinated hundreds of little (and not so little!) girls. The atrium is usually used for these events and cartoon characters, puppet and magic shows enliven the space. Says Shashank Pathak (DGM - Operations), "We know kids affect buying decisions and we are especially tuned in to their needs." Besides the promotional events that they hold each summer and winter, Piramyd also has on-going tie-ups with Inox and Pizza Hut.

Shoppers' Stop, which has been the front-runner of malls in India, has always connected with kids on an emotional level. It's no surprise then that their two labels 'Boys' Stop' and 'Girls' Stop' are such a huge success. Their 'Back to School' concept, which was born 5 years ago, has been emulated by a lot of other players. Everything that kids need when school re-opens is offered in exciting packages - Tiffin boxes, colour pencils and crayons, school satchels, and water bottles. They also have regular amusement activities such as magic shows, tattooing, hair braiding and painting competitions.

Two years ago, they held an interesting and instructive event called 'Trading Places'. Umesh R. Iyer (Customer Care Associate & Unit Head at the Shoppers' Stop outlet in Nucleus) describes how kids were invited to actually swap places with mall employees and stand behind counters. "Some even played the role of mall managers and pulled up the staff," he smiles. "What it gave them was an actual feel of how business in a mall is carried out and was a lesson in taking responsibility," he adds. Shoppers' Stop often does value addition events such as this one. The store also reaches out to mothers with infants. Prams and strollers are provided for easy maneuverability in the aisles.

At Pune Central, there is something new for kids to do on most Sundays. It could be a story telling session, a magic show or even a dance party in the atrium with a live band playing. The food court at Pune Central, which is aptly christened 'Fuel Station', is also the venue for a number of kids' parties. Roch D'souza, Marketing Head, says, "Our philosophy of 'shop, eat and celebrate' also applies to kids." Their in-house brands 'Chalk', 'Disney', 'Base 7214', 'No Rules' and 'Popeye' are tremendously popular with the young ones.

If you thought kids have it good, you will be happy to know it's going to get even better. With the opening of Nucleus, you can expect a 6,000 square foot store plus an entertainment area dedicated exclusively to kids says R. Vasudevan, CMD, Vascon Builders.

Kids have come a long way from the days when they were told to be 'seen and not heard'. In fact, for retailers, surely these little customers are today's kings!

Ritika Ramtri Kumar