Shopping malls leave no stone unturned in wooing customers to their outlets while trying their level best to retain the existing ones. These attempts range from killer prices to shopping offers, special discounts and play centres, and activity corners for the kids but everybody would agree that never a gym or a jogging track for the adults who would do shopping side by side has been offered at least in this region.
But it seems that the health-conscious lot has identified the various uses of a shopping mall and are making the best use of the malls in the mornings and evenings to fulfil their need to sweat those extra calories or to stay fit.
Abdulrahman al Balushi, a public sector employee in his early 50s, visits the nearby shopping mall every evening without fail but with a difference. That father of four makes it a point to be dressed in his sport gear and sets his smartwatch’s jogging time to zero only to feel the accomplishment after an hour’s walk in the comfort of the mall.
His wife, Arwa al Balushi, a teacher by profession, keeps tab on her husband’s visit and tags along so that she could run some errands for the home when he is busy walking round and round the walkways inside the mall, if not everyday, on every alternate day.
Al Balushi is not an odd one out but with the summer getting severe by the day, a beeline of health-savvy people is seen at Oman’s various shopping malls mostly in the evenings making the most of their ‘walking time’, thanks to the sweltering heat outside.
“I come here at the Mall of Oman every day to walk for an hour or 10,000 steps, whichever is earlier as a means to stay fit,” says Abdulrahman. “The good part is that my wife keeps company with me but after a couple of rounds, she heads to the hypermarket to purchase some provisions almost every day,” laughs Al Balushi.
People who used to walk on the beaches and pavements on the roadsides do disappear from their favourite jogging tracks in and around the parking areas when the temperature rises high and drives them away to the shopping malls.
“My uncle who is a high diabetic and aunty who has some ailments visit Avenues Mall on a daily basis to carry out his jogging everyday as the mall is very close to their house,” said Maleeha, an expatriate working for a leading brand in Muscat.
Again, what makes the daily walk more interesting is that first, the activity is carried out in the comfort of air-conditioned surroundings which still allows one to sweat out, free, relatively accessible, and pedestrian-friendly environments for many mall walkers. Secondly, it is the opportunity to meet different people, accessibility to drinking water, and last but not the least, one can take rest at the food court munching on some light foods, confessed many.
From the mall management side, they often don’t take notice nor do they oppose their customers’ thirst for fitness occupying space in the mall.
“We have noticed some people come here just for jogging most of the days but we don’t oppose their activity because the next day they are seen at the check-out queue hence, neither do we promote nor do we discourage,” a senior manager of a shopping mall chain said.
Global Scenario:
Conversely, mall walkers are not a new concept in the world nor a thing to shy away from. Across the world, shopping malls are the second most popular venue for walking in many countries and it is a common practice so prevalent everywhere.
In some countries, shopping malls address mall walkers as ‘Mall Stars’ for the respect and promote and encourage them considering they are very special to them. Some shopping malls open early for them and keep a nominal number of their staff members to take care of them. Some malls give its walkers swipe-cards that let them track their time spent walking and provide them with periodic reports on their walking time and calories burned, as well as hosting monthly breakfast meetings featuring talks by wellness experts for a very nominal fee. Also, they offer some incentives and discount programmes for these ‘mall stars’.
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