Bricks-and-mortar’s new must have: digital experiences

Retail stores were among the first businesses to blend in-store experiences with online convenience. Now those digital-physical strategies are being applied across all commercial real estate sectors.

Office employees are using apps to adjust desk heights or order coffee – all before arriving at work. Hotel guests can check-in, control temperature or order room service at the tap of a button. Museums are taking visitors on immersive journeys with augmented reality. Entire newly-built districts are connecting people and places with digital wayfinding systems.

“The digital world has been with us for some time now,” says Lee Daniels, MD Global Growth and Innovation Leader. “People have started to expect digital elements at home, work and beyond, for greater convenience and better experiences.”

With more than two-thirds of people preferring to use the latest technologies in their daily life, according to JLL’s recent Experience Matters consumer survey, real estate leaders are being forced to cater to these expectations or risk feeling out of the loop.

Pulling it off requires long-term thinking. From how space is used, to ESG metrics and wellbeing data, digital technologies are helping tailor the design and construction not only of smart buildings, but entire smart cities, Maroun Deeb, Head of P&DS KSA & Bahrain says.

“Effectively embedding digital tools and data from the outset, gives investors comfort that the end result will maximize value by being designed to appeal to end user preferences and behaviours,” Deeb says.

Take the Saudi capital, Riyadh, where smart city the King Abdullah Financial District (KAFD) has been built with a comprehensive digital infrastructure that integrates data, AI applications, and a robust network of smart technologies across 1.6 square kilometres and 95 buildings. As well as advanced energy, waste and HVAC systems, features such as smart security, mobility and parking are designed to enhance city life for residents.

Besides adding value at each stage of the real estate cycle – from analyzing markets, managing construction costs with tools like PROBIS to improving operational sustainability – Deeb says adopting digital tech is equally important once buildings are complete.

“The data available from these tools gives real estate leaders the answers they’re looking for, helping them continually improve and customize the building experience,” he says.

Connecting people with places

As business leaders focus on boosting office attendance, the integration of digital and physical experience is key to workplace culture.

Improved office collaboration technologies are one way that firms are adding value.

“Teams across various sites can now link up and collectively enjoy meetings and brainstorming sessions in a far more immersive and personal way,” Deeb says.

In Chicago, Accenture has taken this up a notch, combining a digital studio with an innovation hub featuring 100 plus modular media screens, partitions and fixtures that can be rearranged on any given day, to foster remote and in-person co-creation.

Meanwhile firms are also employing digital techniques to build emotional connections, creating a sense of place and belonging.

In downtown Dallas, AT&T reinvented their headquarters with interactive spaces and storytelling platforms to heighten brand awareness and connect employees to the local community.

Daniels notes how one global bank has incorporated digital projection mapping into their workplace designs, creating large open staircases spanning several floors at each building’s core.

“It’s now a focal point for key events where the workforce can physically gather to enjoy memorable shared moments, enriched by immersive storytelling projected onto the staircase walls,” he says.

The emergence of interactive cityscapes

Digital tools are increasingly influencing where people choose to go and how they interact with the spaces and places around them.

Take My Paddington Central, an app that helps users of the redeveloped 11-acre mixed-use London campus with contactless entry to offices, meeting room bookings, ordering food and drink from local cafes, bars and restaurants, and much more.

Or “Hello lamppost,” which uses QR codes to help people engage and connect with cities in multiple ways, such as finding local events and community groups, learning about local history or even giving feedback about planned building developments.

It comes as many CBDs focus on transforming to mixed-use EBDs or “experience business districts.”

Both UK developer Olympia Estate and the city of Brisbane in Australia, have appointed a chief digital officer to embed digitalization into their masterplans. In Saudi Arabia, the historic city of Alula is partnering with leading global tech companies to help deliver its vision for regeneration, urban transformation, and heritage conservation.

However, Daniels says the most important thing is not to lose sight of the human element.

“The reality is we’re building places for people, so first we need to understand what they want,” he says. “Only then we can incorporate digital with purpose, to shape their preferred experience.”