Designing Women

Armed with the knowledge that women make up to 80% of consumer purchases, Texas developer Terry Montesi decided to approach the design of a new shopping center differently:

"I was involved in multiple design meetings where we'd all get together to do the preliminary design of a development," he explained. "We'd have 20 people in a meeting, and sometimes there'd be one woman, sometimes none. It didn't take a brain surgeon to figure out something was broken with that approach."

So for his next project, Mr. Montesi did something radically different. He made a point of involving women -- all sorts of women, from different backgrounds in the community -- at all levels of the design, construction and even landscaping of his next project.

The result of the approach is Watters Creek, a mixed-use center in Allen, TX guided by the opinions of 23 women from the local community.

They acted as a focus group and were consulted during the planning and early construction phase. And what they said was, to Mr. Montesi, a bit of a surprise.

How does this shopping center differ from other similar "lifestyle centers"? Where is a specifically female influence seen? Where is the line between marketing strategy and the attempt to cater to a specific mall-going population? Or is it both?

"The women said they wanted the place to feel more like a resort," said Mr. Montesi. "They wanted to feel like they were on vacation." That's one reason why Watters Creek was conceived as a "retail resort" which, when it is fully operational, will feature restaurants, green space, a hotel, residences, entertainment areas and office space in addition to stores. The women also told designers they were more interested in practical amenities -- good washrooms and safe parking, for example -- than in impressive-looking storefronts.

Of the requests that the group made of Montesi's project, the most unusual were a request for a fire pit; also notable was an additional emphasis placed on landscaping:

When he asked the focus group about it, their response was telling: They said it was not the warmth from the fire they were after, though it might be welcome on cool days, but the way the firepit looked and especially how it made them feel.

The women surveyed did not request that the shopping center broadcast symbols of femininity to them. Their concerns instead revolved around comfort and utility:

For example, in response to the women who were consulted, more money was spent on landscaping than is typical for such a project, and less on making the buildings look impressive. "They said: 'We don't much care about the buildings, we care about the landscaping.'" All of which was a revelation to Mr. Montesi, who concluded that attracting a female shopper "definitely wasn't about painting the buildings in pastels. It wasn't about making the buildings look feminine, it was about making the place more friendly to the women who use it."

Below, several photos of Watters Creek.

 

Comments

[Sarona Winfrey]

Nice piece -- good to see more people picking up on this unique aspect of Watters Creek. (Just FYI, the develpoment is in Allen, Texas, not Tyler.)

[Chris]

Oops! Sarona, thanks (where did I get Tyler from?).