What is it like to play script killing for free in a 15,000-square-meter mall? BOM Hip Fan Li, tell you!
In recent years, many traditional businesses such as department stores, shopping malls, and hypermarkets have been constantly trying new formats and seeking transformation and upgrading, of which creating immersive experiences has become one of the important means.
From the creation of the "Urban Natural Community" of Chongqing Halo Shopping Center, to SKP-S's use of digital and artistic to tell the immersive shopping experience, to the in-depth combination of Wenheyou IP and regional culture, more and more "immersive" content has been applied to commercial projects.
What is the story of "immersion" in BOM?
Through the way of virtual combined with reality, to create the first offline "meta-universe" theme business, the online and offline boundaries dissolved, the traditional demand-based consumption and cultural consumption, experiential consumption combined, to provide young people with a consumption space that can easily interact, BOM Xifan This move has achieved great results, can it create a small-scale "business miracle" as desired?
Recently, the Beijing News shell financial reporter came to BOM Xifanli in the trial operation stage for field visits, not only personally experienced its script killing, but also interviewed a number of merchants, consumers, shopping mall staff, and also talked to Liang Yifan, the project leader of BOM Xifan, to explore the origin, status, development potential and market prospects of the business model.
Come to BOM Hip Fan and enter the "other world"?
Take Metro Line 15, exit Exit B of Liudaokou Station, turn around and see the eye-catching "Xifanli" three large characters embedded in Block B of the original Jinma Building, a 1-minute walk away.
BOM Xifanli is known as the country's first large-scale immersive theme business, an offline social field tailored for the "Generation Z" group.
BOM Hip Fan Li Mall.
Among them, Xifan is the harmonic sound of "like you", at the same time, "Xi" is the meaning of happiness, "Fan" is a two-dimensional term - "Fan Opera", "Li" is a concept of a figurative place name, such as the alleys of Chengdu, Shanghai, Hutong, etc., "BOM" is an onomatopoeia word, containing the expectations of the founding team, they hope that this project can be "very burning, very explosive".
"Our goal is to make Xifanli into a label, BOM Xifanli is only the first project in this series, and we will have many projects such as ×× Xifanli or Xifanli ×× in the future." Liang Yifan, head of the BOM Xifanli project, told the Beijing News Shell financial reporter.
Mall script kills NPCs.
Walking into the BOM Xifanli mall, the first thing that catches your eye is not the goods and shopping guides, but instead an NPC (non-player character) narrator.
On the afternoon of February 13, the Beijing News shell financial reporter came here to visit, just looked around, and was caught by the narrator, who enthusiastically stepped forward, invited the reporter to experience the script killing game of the mall, and vividly introduced the background of the story.
As soon as they enter the door, consumers are given a "new identity", and after choosing the corresponding game camp, they can experience different story lines, which is the beginning of the immersive BOM Xifan.
At the same time, at a specific time of the day, there will be immersive theatrical performances, corresponding to the development of the game plot, and consumers with performance desires can interact with the scene to "play".
In addition, at the door of different merchants, you can find their "nickname" in the game world, and thus find relevant puzzle clues...
The reporter noted that the current story line of the script only covers the first and second layers, and some of the puzzles on the story line only need to be discovered through observation, and some need a little brain power to crack; in the process of solving the puzzle, the reporter also follows the story line to visit the mall by the way.
This form of game is more like a surprise to the daily needs of consumers, whether it is to eat a meal, buy a cup of milk tea, or go shopping and consumption, it is possible to "meet" npCs in the mall, so that consumption, entertainment, interest and socialization can get one-stop access, in the process of playing, the street shopping, the appointment, buy the beloved things, enjoy delicious food... It gives young consumer groups a sufficient sense of "participation".
The essence of the zero-threshold mall script killing is that the mall uses this to drain the flow of merchants, "the close combination of the setting of the game story line and the participation of the merchants further promotes consumption." ”
So, for this form, do consumers pay? Can the so-called immersive business win the favor of the "Generation Z" group?
In December last year, BOM Xifanli conducted a week-long internal test. Liang Yifan told the Beijing News Shell financial reporter: During the internal test, their shop opening rate was only 30%. As the internal test is mainly based on the content of the test experience and has not been widely publicized, as of the Lunar New Year, the internal test still attracted nearly 50,000 people, and during the New Year's Day holiday, more than 3,000 people participated in the immersive game experience at the same time.
"These achievements have exceeded our expectations. And from the feedback questionnaire, we learned that the 'Generation Z' crowd (18-25 years old) who came to the scene accounted for more than 60% of the total consumer population, and the group under 30 accounted for nearly 90% of the total consumer population, which reflected the accuracy of our project positioning. Liang Yifan said.
How do multiple retail and immersive script killing blend?
BoM Xifanli project has a total of 4 floors, is still in the soft opening stage, the shops inside have not yet been fully opened, and even some of the shops have not yet been renovated. As far as the current store opening situation is concerned, the formats in BOM Xifan are diverse and rich, and the consumer positioning of the products is accurate and the vertical "Generation Z" group.
For example, Play Art, Lane Coffee, Cat Fu Gong, RQ Antique Jewelry Store, WZX Fashion Brand Women's Clothing Store, Siwa Solitaire, Yue carved e-cigarettes, Finger E-sports, Sing Bar Is Not Bar, Qiyue Nail Art, Quao Father Fried Skewers, Hongu's Tea, Snail's Tavern, etc., blurring the boundaries of the format layout, making the diversified retail and immersive script killing organic integration.
Goods in the mall.
Regarding this project, the BOM Xifanli team still has many ideas that are gradually being landed.
"We define this project as an 'offline meta-universe mall.'" Liang Yifan said: "This is not a rubbing concept, we are seriously practicing. First of all, our customer positioning is perpendicular to post-95s. We believe that many post-95s have been exposed to the Internet since birth, or that they have been exposed to more of the outside world than the post-80s and post-90s. The post-95s and post-00s, which is what we call the 'Z era' group, they are actually the indigenous people of the metaverse and our core customer group. ”
"Secondly, in addition to user matching, what the metaverse wants to do is the combination of virtual and reality, and we are one of the best footholds in reality in the metacosm." From the moment the consumer enters the mall, as long as he joins our storyline, we will give him a character identity and worldview identity that is different from the current universe. ”
Based on the above logic, the BOM Xifanli team also set a lot of thresholds when introducing merchants, "First of all, these merchants should be very distinctive, have a distinct style, and their commodity consumption groups should coincide with our target population; secondly, they must be able to understand and accept our game mechanism, and they are very willing to cooperate with us to jointly create a new worldview scene for consumers." Liang Yifan told the Beijing News shell financial reporter.
During the visit, the reporter found that at present, in the "Mirror of Dreams" story, only two story lines have been opened, and the material settings on the moving line are not yet complete, the moving line only covers the first and second layers, and in the process of solving the puzzle, the interaction between players and merchants is not high.
Liang Yifan explained: "This is mainly because we are still in the soft opening stage, the merchants have not yet opened, in this regard, we are also in the process of continuous optimization and improvement, at the same time, according to our vision, the moving line will also cover the third and fourth floors." ”
So, how effective is the shopping mall in creating a script to kill the merchants to drain the flow?
The reporter randomly interviewed a number of merchants in the mall, and said that they were very optimistic about this model, "This model may be a popular trend in the future, because by playing games, consumers can interact with merchants in the mall and give us drainage!" "Our store is on the 3rd floor, and we don't feel anything at the moment, but we can see that some consumers are running to the script to kill, and the drainage effect on the first and second floors is more obvious."
The small size is complained by consumers, how to improve the user's stay time?
BOM Xifanli is a new offline "Meta-universe" theme commercial project launched by Capital Langyuan, which is renovated from the original Block B of Jinma Building and opened for internal testing on December 24, 2021.
Through Liang Yifan's narration, the Beijing News Shell Financial Reporter learned that Capital Langyuan got this project in February 2020, initially planning to do a new business based on e-sports, and slowly extended to the direction of e-sports + two-dimensional.
All along, the BOM Xifanli team has planned to build a commercial complex with young people as the main body, and the BOM Xifanli team has a question: "Why is it more and more difficult for offline business to attract the 'Generation Z' crowd?" ”
After half a year of research and exploration, "round after round to screen, through the narrow incision step by step to dig, user portraits in the massive data gradually refined." Slowly, they figured out the answers and understood the blueprint for the project's transformation.
"Now a lot of young people are putting their consumption online, in the virtual world." Liang Yifan explained to reporters: "We opened a brainstorm to study the interest points that attracted them to online shopping, and we found that the underlying logic of buying skins in the glory of the king is the same as that of many post-80s and post-90s people buying clothes in the mall, the difference is that the social field of 'Generation Z' is in the game world or other virtual worlds, rather than offline physical stores." ”
In Liang Yifan's view, the main store of traditional commerce is often a clothing department store, a supermarket or a movie theater, "you want to buy clothes, buy household items, watch movies... Come to a shopping mall, by the way to visit this business circle, these types of shopping malls can help the post-80s, post-90s to achieve dating, shopping and other needs, but the post-95 social media and them are not the same, many post-95s are not so fond of movies, they are even more willing to go to the B station to watch dramas, brush bullet screens. ”
"If we want to shift the interests of the post-95s from online to offline, we need to create a scene for them that meets their social needs." This is the meaning of the birth of BOM Xifanli.
"Engagement is the core code for pleasing Gen Z, and socializing is a fundamental need for Gen Z." The BOM HipBandi team thinks.
"What we set for the project is a large 'play field', its essence is still business, but on top of business, you can experience, you can play, you can interact and socialize, which is the most critical." Liang Yifan said.
In the process of visiting, Shell financial reporters noticed that compared with many hypermarkets, the space in BOM Xifan is not large, and the difficulty of the script puzzle is relatively simple for old players, and even some consumers said, "Half an hour can be finished, a little disappointed." ”
"In our opinion, the deep reason why users complain about the small size of the mall is that they haven't played enough, and the mall has not allowed them to stay longer than they expected." Liang Yifan told reporters that in the internal testing stage, they also received similar feedback, "This is also one of the contents we are currently adjusting, and we are doing the integration of gradients in this regard." ”
Liang Yifan specifically introduced: "Regarding the allocation of time that users spend in the mall, we are improving, and the content that needs to be considered includes how long our script killing game can make users play, how long the interpretation of the characters in the script can last, and then how long the supporting facilities such as catering, milk tea, and chaopai stores can occupy users. The current idea is that if consumers come to the mall at two o'clock in the afternoon, it takes about 1 hour and 10 minutes to play pure games, and it takes about two and a half hours to play with the belt, and then we also have immersive theatrical performances at specific times of the day, which can also attract players to stop and participate, in addition, we are also adding new ways to play in the mall, such as different camps of players can fight each other. In this way, by satisfying their gaming experience, consumers can have a deeper, longer-term stay in the mall. ”
What can immersive malls expect in the future?
BoM Xifanli, formerly known as Wudaokou Garment Market with a history of nearly 30 years, is located in Block B, Jinma Building, No. 38 Xueqing Road, Haidian District, in the northeast corner of the intersection of Xueyuan Road and Qinghua East Road, where beijing's colleges and universities gather.
The gathering of colleges and universities means that there are many students, and these students are also the core user group in BOM Xifan, in the words of Liang Yifan, "we build an offline 'meta-universe' in the 'center of the universe'".
But is Gen Z really a reliable "gripper"? Will winning them be able to seize the future of business?
Some market voices questioned, "Can the consumption power of the post-00s support a business circle?" "Does an innovation model that only attracts young people have long-term vitality?"
According to the "Generation Z Skin Care and Beauty Consumer Insight Report" released by the China Chain Store & Franchise Association, it shows that "Generation Z lives a rich life, with per capita disposable income of up to 4193 yuan / month" "According to the survey, more than 70% of the Z generations surveyed have a monthly disposable income of more than 3,000 yuan, and the main source of their income is on their own rather than family assistance." ”
In the face of questions about the positioning of the business model, Liang Yifan believes: "The bigger the heart, the narrower the road. ”
"If you want to serve everyone in all categories, this company may actually have problems with its own positioning." Our positioning is that the future of Xifanli is to serve this group of 18 to 28 years old, and it is already good that we can serve this group of people well. Our goal is not to fish for needles in the sea, but to catch big fish in small ponds. Liang Yifan said.
As it stands, BOM Xifanli is still in the soft opening stage and is scheduled to officially open in late March. At present, the project still has many shortcomings, and the team is actively adjusting and improving according to customer feedback.
Liang Yifan said frankly: "In fact, we are currently under great pressure, after all, the cost of this project is not low, the cost mainly includes two aspects, one is rent and property, and the other is operating costs." ”
However, as far as the current internal testing situation in BOM Xifan is concerned, Liang Yifan is very optimistic about the prospects of immersive business themes.
During the trial operation from December 24, 2021 to January 10, 2022, bom Xifanli attended more than 20,000 customers. According to statistics, even if the basic facilities such as catering are still in the renovation period, 90% of customers still have secondary consumption, and 56.8% of customers think that the shopping mall experience is already very good, and 39.5% think it is not bad.
"Our mall is small, the business model is highly replicable, and we didn't plan to do just one project from the beginning. We have a lot of projects to do, and now a lot of old shopping malls are in urgent need of transformation and upgrading, and we can work with them to help them attract young people and activate them. Liang Yifan said.
"We don't want to be short-lived, what we're doing is a long-term thing."
Beijing News Shell Financial Reporter Yan Xia Photography / Beijing News Reporter Qi Mingyuan Editor Yue Caizhou Proofreader Jia Ning