Consumers have turned to local consumption; to what generates the most confidence, and also to what is closest to their emotions; of their sense of belonging. Open-air service shopping centers integrated into a neighborhood not only provide this proximity, but also complement the experience that consumers are looking for today.

The closer connection between people and their communities and neighborhoods is a growing trend, which is breaking into retail commerce and changing the way we consume and relate to brands. “Localism,” as this trend is known, is consumers' preference for brands and businesses located near them. People choose these products and services because they connect directly with their needs and consumer habits.

But this localism is also driven by a conscious consumption, since people decided to start choosing authentic, nearby and locally manufactured products. Even brands that are not local to win the hearts and minds of consumers reconsidered their strategies and began to adopt a closer approach seeking connections with communities, such as supermarkets, pharmacies, beauty salons, banks, among others, always thinking about offering customer services specific to each neighborhood and a variety of services and amenities.

A concrete example of this trend is the proposal for Nuevo Quilmes Plaza, the only open-air shopping center in the southern area, which brings together proposals for products and services that managed to connect with neighbors directly, providing solutions to people's daily lives. “When we decided to open Nuevo Quilmes Plaza, we knew that one of the premises of the center was to bring to the neighborhood the brands, products and services that made the neighbors feel close to everything and that they could solve their needs and daily issues in one place such as health services, bank, gym, supermarket," highlights Marcelo Chane, member of the group of professional advisors of Nuevo Quilmes Plaza. “Local commerce has become the protagonist of consumption and this is demonstrated to us every day by the movement of the center,” he adds.

Another essential factor for the growth of this local consumption is the “digital world”, a dynamic channel that allows the growth of manufacturers and merchants and represents a substantial part for the development of sales and customer service such as; home delivery of purchases, reservations for beauty services, gym, communications about discounts and promotions, among others.

People look for brands that emotionally identify them, which makes them offer personalized and more “local” proposals, even when they are international or big brands. Local stores know their products very well and can advise the customer according to their preferences. Projects such as Nuevo Quilmes Plaza respond not only to this trend, but also offer a mix of specific commercial proposals in a special architectural framework: open spaces, in contact with nature, with few floors, which offer a different experience from traditional shopping centers.

"Today, local consumption is concentrated in mass supply items such as supermarkets, gastronomic spaces, banks, outpatient clinics of different medical specialties, entertainment and general services such as banking, mail," highlights Chane.

In short, local consumption is now a reality, driven by different factors, trust, security and transparency.