Internet connectivity as a commercial value proposition

Just days after the strategic partnership between Growthpoint and Didata was announced, the South African Council of Shopping Centres (SACSC) released a study highlighting the benefits that social media plays in the retail environment. This article goes further by acknowledging the potential opportunity for shopping centres to increase customer satisfaction by offering free Wi-Fi. In line with this, the increasing trend with commercial landlords is to add value to their customers by providing efficient and reliable internet connectivity. Could this search for differentiation be a response to the long queue of commercial property funds waiting to list? While some property funds are promoting the “green revolution”, others are now embracing the tech revolution in the form of offering world class internet connectivity to their tenants. In light of the SACSC study, this is good news for shopping centre tenants. While there has been some negative sentiment as a result of the long queue of funds waiting to list, this new move by property funds as a way to increase their value proposition might just be the hidden gem that silences the critics.