Interior Layout
$2 in ION vs. $60 in ION
Replicability
ION is the pioneer of dynamic retail experience, being the first of its kind to provide what it has claimed to be a “beyond shopping experience” for its patrons. However, the layout and design of its shopping mall can be, and has been, replicated.
Compartmentalising shops according to its price point allows patrons to locate shops that they are interested in. Although the traffic flow in ION is unconventional, the crowds observed in ION indicate the success of their model.
Take The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands for instance.
It was opened just a year after ION. Similar to ION, their stores are arranged such that the luxurious brands are separated from the less luxurious ones.
But unlike ION, this layout is done horizontally, by stretching the length of the floors instead of separating it by level.
When you enter The Shoppes, affordable brands like Irvin's Salted Egg Yolk Chips are seen first. But as you walk deeper into the mall, the stores get more and more luxurious to the extent where high-end car brands Ferrari and Porche are featured as well.
Additionally, ION was able to build an identity of its own through luxurious facilities like ION Sky, ION Art and ION Suite, setting itself apart from other malls. But as always, parallels are inevitable - ION’s structure will soon find its way to newer malls. For example, The Shoppes has the Mastercard Theatres welcoming critically-acclaimed acts.
ION is the first mall in Singapore that classifies shops
based on their degree of luxury; but it will definitely
not be the last.
ION is the first mall in Singapore that classifies shops based on their degree of luxury; but it will definitely not be the last.