Valley Mall initiative aims to ‘bring the mall to you

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New Valley Mall initiative aims to ‘bring the mall to you’ this holiday season

written by LAUREN LAROCCA

Over the past decade, holiday shopping has continued to migrate from in-store to online, but 2020 will likely see the biggest increase in shoppers going virtual. If COVID-19 restrictions are still in place by Thanksgiving, limiting capacity at retail stores, we aren’t likely to see the typical holiday buzz, bustling and long lines at Valley Mall, Hagerstown Premium Outlets, the Centre at Hagerstown on Garland Groh Boulevard and other shopping centers in the area. The limitations brought on by coronavirus, combined with many consumers facing financial hardship and planning to spend less on holiday shopping this year, likely will result in fewer people perusing shops. But holiday shopping can still be a fun tradition — and possibly less stressful — because of the shift away from crowded malls and toward leisurely online buying that allows items to be delivered right to your door, and to the homes of family and friends. Knowing that back-to-school shopping would be affected by COVID-19, Preit, the company that owns Valley Mall, as well as more than a dozen more malls on the East Coast and one in Michigan, implemented a new e-commerce initiative called sMall Surprises. It aims to “bring the mall to you,” said Heather Crowell, executive vice president of strategy and communications for Preit. Through smallsurprises.shop, parents, relatives and friends can order surprise boxes to be sent to students anywhere in the country. “We were thinking about the challenges the industry was facing, and the challenges the consumer and parents were facing,” Crowell said. “We were looking for ways to solve multiple problems: supporting the malls, bringing the mall to consumers and spreading some cheer. We thought, ‘let’s infuse some joy in this stressful time.’” Based on a short, online quiz about a child (name, age, favorite color, interests, personality, etc.), each gift pack is personalized and contains items that are selected by a personal shopper. Preit initially thought it would offer the Mystery Gift ($40), Fun Pack ($40) and Awesome Pack ($60) for a limited time, but because the boxes have been so popular for birthdays and other occasions — in addition to the start of the school year — the company decided to continue offering them. Additional boxes will be introduced, too, as the year goes on, Crowell said. Personal shopper and creative stylist Sarah

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Each gift pack is personalized and contains items that are selected by a personal shopper, based on information the buyer supplies about the child. Submitted photos

Gleeson is working with Preit to create fall boxes for men and women, as well as holiday boxes for all ages. ‘Is this still cool?’

Gleeson, who is based just outside Philadelphia, is responsible for hand-selecting items for each box. She shops at malls owned by Preit in the Philadelphia area, but packages are shipped all over the country. “I get the quiz results and start building their box based on their favorite color — or it could be a rainbow box or a metallic box — and their personality. Are they silly? Are they mischievous? Maybe I’ll put a whoopee cushion in there,” Gleeson said. “And of course, I curate the box based on their age.” An animal lover in second grade might get a Pet Shop dog, which is popular right now, Gleeson said. All things Baby Yoda are favorites, too, as are slime and fake poop. “I always try to make sure what I’m buying is on trend,” she said. “I shop all day, every day, and I’m always browsing online or reading about the latest trends. I also have eight nieces and nephews of all different ages, so I’m always asking them, ‘Is this still cool?’”

Gleeson makes sure to include educational items, too. A trendy item recently is the Disney Store’s build-your-own arcade kit, based on “Toy Story,” which is fun and educational. The fall boxes are catered less toward an individual and more toward areas of interest among adults. People can choose from categorized items. For instance, for the woman who loves to cook from home, a box might include a new cookbook, Moscow Copper mug, candle and face mask in fall colors. A box for a man might include a beer koozie or a scarf. “We’re trying to cater to a number of people,” Gleeson said. “People forward emails or Facebook posts, and I’ve been following the hashtag (#shopsmallsurprises), and I’ve seen a lot of great reaction videos.

“Especially for kids — how often do kids get a package in the mail?” she added. “We got this really fun packing tape that matches a lot of the stickers and things inside the boxes. I decorate the outside with their name and try to make it really colorful and personalized. I actually handwrite in each box individually. I want it to be really special.” More Information:

To shop for kid packs, fall packs and holiday packs, go to smallsurprises.shop. Follow the hashtag #shopsmallsurprises on social media to track the latest surprises. — Places