Mall playgrounds offer many unique benefits for kids while their parents shop. Playing without screens or other electronic stimulation has numerous health benefits for kids, and a mall playground allows that active play to happen in a safe, climate-controlled environment even during bad weather. It also gives families a compelling reason to visit your shopping center, increasing foot traffic and overall dwell time.
Want to learn how to design a mall playground? Check out the key considerations below.
When to Consider Adding a Mall Playground
If your retail business or shopping center is considering building a kids’ playground, you may wonder whether it is the right time or place. Thankfully, you can do some research to help you determine the best environments for mall playgrounds and to know what to expect once your equipment arrives. Consider these factors in your research:
Weather
Though this may not be what you initially think of, consider the weather in your area. If you live where it’s sunny every day, there may not be as pressing a need for kids to play indoors often enough for your mall to see a massive surge. However, if you live somewhere that experiences all four seasons, extreme heat or heavy rain often forces families to get stuck inside unexpectedly. A mall playground would be highly beneficial to your retail business in these conditions.
Demographics
Ensure enough families with young kids live in the area, and that your shopping center would benefit from a mall playground. If you are looking to install one into your retail complex, food court, or outlet center, take a survey to see how many daily shoppers have kids first. You should also look into the ages of kids in your area to know what age level to tailor your mall playground toward.
Events
Consider how your mall playground could be the premier spot for kids’ parties and family events in your area. Promoting your retail play area as a birthday party space, a holiday event gathering spot, or a weekend community hub may give you the unique edge to bust into the competitive retail market and drive secondary sales.
Fitness
Mall playgrounds have several benefits, but the main one is that they keep kids moving and active between shopping stops. Look at the other choices kids in your area have for getting active, especially indoor options, and determine how your shopping center could stand out amongst those competitors by offering a convenient, active outlet.
Make a Budget
The budget for your mall playground should accommodate certain essential factors. Supply and installation costs vary by region, so consider how your expenses align with your retail center’s financial projections when determining your budget.
You should also determine how many kids your mall playground can handle during peak shopping hours. You can specify the final project cost using a formula based on the cost per child. The age you are tailoring your mall playground to should also be clear before you set a budget. Different age groups will require varying types of equipment to keep them safely entertained while parents take a break.
The play theme you want to incorporate will also affect the overall price, so if you are trying to keep your commercial budget as low as possible, consider whether you need a highly customized theme or a standard retail play setup.
Determine the Size and Space
Evaluate your available space within the shopping center for installing a mall playground. Your ceiling must be high enough for the kids to toss a ball in the air or climb a multi-level structure without causing damage or hitting overhead mall fixtures. You could also consider adding space around the food court for parents to sit, eat food court meals, and easily use the nearby family restrooms.
To determine exactly which structures you want, add a centerpiece component and work outward from there to fill your designated retail space. Whether it is an empty storefront or a central atrium, map out the traffic flow.
You need to ensure that the footprint doesn’t block the line of sight to surrounding retail stores. The mall playground should serve as an anchor attraction, drawing shoppers in without obstructing the walkways or creating bottlenecks during busy holiday shopping seasons.
By carefully measuring the square footage and noting the locations of structural columns, escalators, and seating areas, you can create a perfectly integrated play zone.
Think About Its Use
There are many factors to consider when designing a mall playground, including its intended use. This aspect will help you recognize the importance of the play space and the various uses it can serve, which will affect its design. Perhaps the most important consideration is your retail strategy and whether your mall playground makes sense with your surrounding tenant mix. Decide which of these categories it falls into:
Safe space: Mall playgrounds give kids a safe space to play with kids their age, whom they can relate to and learn from, while parents take a shopping break. An indoor mall space also protects kids from slipping on cold or wet outdoor surfaces, and the surfacing can be made softer without the fear of weather damage.
Creativity: Numerous structures include options to build or design pieces that let kids exercise their creativity between store visits. Kids will also have many obstacles and surfaces to use their imaginations while waiting for their parents.
Learning: Mall playgrounds help kids learn new skills like teamwork, sharing, friendship, problem-solving, patience, and more. Whether playing with their friends or alone in the shopping center, they will learn new things about themselves, others, and the world.
Social skills: Kids will build social skills while using your mall playground. Some playground components may require two or more kids to operate, helping them learn to work with others and build friendships with other kids visiting the mall.
Health: Kids need exercise to develop their motor skills, and mall playgrounds offer a fun way to get active during long shopping trips. Fitness at a young age sets kids up to be healthier for the rest of their lives.
Amusement and Attractions
Mall playground structures can enhance retail center experiences by providing immersive play for visiting shoppers. As with any relevant market in the play space sector, the key to success in the retail and attraction industry is to target the right demographics and implement inclusive design.
Aquatic and Water Parks
While rare in standard malls, incorporating water-themed sensory experiences allows families to enjoy those experiences together. Your playground equipment should thrill families with adventures they’ll want to return to week after week. Your structures should provide a highly valuable, fun time for all families. You can incorporate many aspects of a themed park with a mall playground, including:
Splash pad-style elements: This part of the play area features engaging sensory elements that let kids — especially young ones — interact with liquid-filled tiles or interactive light projections without getting wet. They can use elements like sensory tunnels, climbers, or interactive walls. The floor is also soft, so kids can walk around safely.
Water walks: Themed floors make kids feel like they are walking on water. The interactive features can come in various designs and configurations to fit your mall’s specific aesthetic needs.
Floatables: Adding a large, unique soft-sculpted element to your park is a simple way to excite kids. You can customize your soft play pieces to be any size, with anchor points in any designated toddler area.
Daycare
Mall drop-off centers are always looking for ways to help the kids who come there grow and develop mentally, socially, and physically while parents shop. Several types of developmentally inspired play structures can help maximize developmental outcomes healthily and safely:
Soft-sculpted foam: Soft foam structures provide a unique element of safety in mall play areas for kids. Whether predesigned or custom-built to fit your atrium space, the soft foam will create a fun, vibrant retail experience.
Independent play systems: These stand-alone systems are unique in that they are a single item for children to play on, rather than several separate pieces, as in most outdoor playgrounds. Independent play systems are ideal for toddlers, who make up most of the mall playground demographic. These structures also fit in smaller retail spaces, which many malls will likely need.
Small play structures: Shopping centers are often limited to a small central space, but independent systems and small play structures can offer plenty of fun with limited available space. They are also a great option for tighter retail budgets.
Entertainment Centers
Mall playgrounds can be a great addition to your family entertainment center wing, increasing retail sales, attracting customers, and building your mall’s brand. Once you determine how traffic flows through your concourse space, you can decide which part of your shopping center would best fit a mall playground.
Whether you own a kids’ clothing store, a mall arcade, or a retail food court, a mall playground could greatly enhance your business. Consider adding any of the following features to elevate it:
An interactive challenge course
A retail-themed playground
An immersive shopping experience
A toddler play system
Places of Worship
Malls often host community groups or seasonal events, and mall playgrounds are a great way to keep kids involved. In fact, adding a playground can boost weekend mall attendance and make families feel more welcome. Mall play areas can have many benefits for your community beyond just appealing to the kids:
Welcoming families: When parents know you care about their kids’ experience, they will feel more welcome and comfortable in your shopping center. Mall playgrounds combined with family lounges can create that bridge.
Kid safety: Providing an indoor space for kids in your retail center to play in is a unique opportunity to boost safety, especially in regions with unpredictable weather.
Learning opportunities: The kids in the mall will learn more about themselves and others as they play together. You can also incorporate community elements to help them learn more about their city while playing.
Restaurants
Take your food court customers’ dining experience to a new level by adding a kids’ play area for them to enjoy while waiting for their food or after they finish eating. Parents will appreciate the distraction for their kids and the chance for them to socialize while finishing their meals. You can also create a play space that includes your customized mall branding.
Consider the Age of Your Audience
Understanding your demographic is crucial for mall playground design. Before you choose which age(s) you’ll tailor your concept to, determine which age groups in your community could most benefit from a mall playground. Whether you are building a playground for toddlers or older kids who are more independent while parents shop, it is important to understand their needs and capabilities before you begin. You could even build playgrounds that accommodate teenagers and adults — everyone in the mall should be able to play.
Here are some examples of how you could distinguish between these age groups:
Toddlers: Kids under 5 are learning so much about life and how the world works. Their motor and social skills are just beginning to develop, and play helps them advance those abilities. Since they are more likely to fall and need more stimulation, their mall equipment should be soft and brightly colored.
School-age: Six- to 12-year-olds have developed basic motor skills and practiced their social skills for some years. The equipment should challenge them mentally, emotionally, and physically between stores. It should facilitate relationship-building with other kids their age visiting the shopping center.
Teenagers: Teenagers tend to be far less physically active than younger kids while at the mall. Play allows them to break free of anxiety-inducing environments and escape the screens. Building an obstacle course or interactive digital course for teens will help facilitate that.
Adults: Adults benefit from adventures that are rejuvenating and completely different from their normal routine. Participating in advanced mall attractions allows them to connect with their kids during a long day out.
Choose Your Theme
Understanding how to build a mall playground around a theme will set your shopping center apart. Choose colors and a theme that draw attention to the play area while working well with the surrounding retail architecture. Your theme should also suit the kids you are creating it for. For young kids, you could take a fun route like a wild safari or a Candy Land concept that ties into nearby stores.
Whatever your mall establishment is known for, it is important to coordinate your theme and colors with your property management company’s or organization’s brand. You can even integrate the mall logo, mascots, or other retail symbols into your design plans to make the playground feel more cohesive.
Using specific color palettes that match your shopping center’s interior design ensures the playground doesn’t look out of place. It creates a seamless visual transition from the high-end retail corridors right into the designated family entertainment zones.
Create an Engaging Layout
Your mall playground layout should maximize fun and safety. It should ensure a smooth traffic flow, allowing kids to play without crashing into each other or the equipment, and keeping mall walkways clear for shoppers. The main areas of interest, or the coolest features, should be spacious enough to accommodate many kids and allow them to experience the full range of effects without overcrowding.
When picturing the layout, you should also consider the contrast between active play areas and quiet zones for overstimulated children. It’s crucial to ensure quiet areas are sufficiently far from loud food-court noise or have a shelter that makes them feel secluded. In active areas, there should be enough space for kids to express their energy and structures to keep them secure as they play.
In addition to active and quiet areas, there should be sufficient open space where kids can run around and play imaginary games with friends. Guardians and caregivers should also have a place to sit, place their shopping bags, and watch over their kids. All areas in the layout must be visible to them, and in closed structures, there must be a window or gap for parents to watch their kids while taking a break.
Types of Equipment to Include
Once you consider all these factors, it’s time to choose which components to include in your mall playground. We have various systems that will provide turnkey, custom-designed solutions to fit your shopping center’s needs.
Dura Frame Systems
Dura Frame systems fit your needs, budget, and vision, and they have a layout designed with superior engineering for high-traffic mall environments. The framed structure can be customized to align with your mall playground plan and be attractive to the kids. There are several benefits to choosing this type of system:
Easy maintenance: The Dura Frame system is easy to maintain. Its sturdiness helps it last a long time with minimal maintenance, and the design makes it easy for mall janitorial staff to keep it clean, saving you money on upkeep.
Simple design: This type of system features a structure with 3 1/2-inch-diameter posts that require no additional parts, so you won’t need to replace post pads or netting frequently. The design is polished and will complement other retail decor and elements in your space. If your mall’s look is already sleek and modern, this system will enhance it.
Customizability: The simple design makes it easy for you to customize the structure. Feature your shopping center’s brand colors and incorporate your property’s theme with a range of powder-coated color options.
Play: Dura Frame systems promote spontaneous play and let kids use their imaginations to go on adventures while parents shop. They often incorporate slides, climbers, and multiple interactive options so kids learn about themselves and those around them.
Natural Elements Collection (NEC) Systems
NEC systems provide a new and innovative way for kids to play in a retail setting. The structures challenge kids in a fun, natural way that helps their motor and cognitive skills develop as they grow confidently. They enable you to build a mall playground that makes the fun functional and aesthetically pleasing.
NEC systems are totally different than Dura Frame systems and bring their own set of benefits to the retail table:
Function: NEC systems feature a natural-wood design, with posts measuring 4 1/3 inches in diameter. Because of the wood structure, it takes longer for wear and tear to set in and lead to parts replacement. This saves your mall management time and money.
Aesthetic: The wood design offers a modern, industrial aesthetic and can enhance a retail space that already embodies an upscale vibe. The wood can go well with numerous themes if you plan to set a specific organic theme for your mall playground.
Environmental-friendliness: The NEC system features organic play elements with a smaller footprint than traditional playgrounds, making it ideal for eco-conscious shopping centers.
Play: Kids can face challenging climbs, twists and turns, and various textures in an NEC system, which will attract their entire family to your retail business and mall playground. The structure lets kids use their imaginations thanks to its whimsical and open layout. The transparent layout also benefits parents as they can easily see their kids from outside the structure while holding shopping bags.
Soft Sculpted Foam
Soft sculpted foam structures are perfect for younger kids in malls, food courts, and toddler-play areas. Kids can climb on and interact with durable, fade-resistant sculptures available in different sizes, colors, themes, and materials. These elements add imaginative and educational value to any retail space as kids engage with life-size animals and nature-inspired structures.
These products are ideal for a wide range of retail locations, budgets, and size requirements because they’re fully customizable to fit your needs and offer flexibility when designing your atrium space. From our in-stock options to branded or licensed sculptures, we can help you leave a memorable impression on families enjoying playtime while making it easy for you to clean and maintain your area. Other benefits of these products include:
Long-lasting fun: We design our sculpted play elements to withstand high-traffic mall environments and maintain their quality and condition over time. They also have a strength-to-weight ratio comparable to steel, enabling them to handle high pressure from thousands of daily visitors.
Inclusivity for younger kids: Our soft, sculpted foam structures are suitable for a younger audience over 6 months, allowing toddlers to enjoy engaging play even if they’re not quite ready for playgrounds designed for school-age kids.
Boosted imagination: From butterflies and cars to trees and dinosaurs, kids can explore their creativity and learn to engage with others as they play make-believe and make connections to the retail world around them.
Convenience: Our soft sculpted foam elements are lightweight, making them easier and cheaper to ship and providing a seamless setup at your mall location without heavy construction.
Traditional Systems
Traditional play systems offer a more conventional approach to mall play, leaving the door to customization wide open. These structures come in designs that are a blast for the whole family and can work for various ages visiting the center:
Design: Traditional play systems look entirely different for each commercial customer, but at their core, they offer 2-inch posts and pads that can be paired with your choice of netting. The system components can come in numerous colors to fit your mall theme, brand, or both.
Customization: We offer a variety of posts and pads for Traditional play systems, so the type and color are completely up to you. You can choose whatever works best for your retail brand, theme, and budget. And if you ever remodel your mall space, you can swap out post pads for new colors to give your entire system a new look in a flash.
Budget: Because the Traditional play system is highly customizable, you can create a mall space that fits your budget, whether it’s big or small. We have multiple add-ons that can enhance your design, like ladders, scoops, rope swings, monkey bars, and spinning barrels, but these aren’t necessary if they don’t fit your retail budget. You can mix and match components however you like to create an exciting and interactive playground that works for your property.
Maintenance: All Traditional play systems are long-lasting, but you can choose between polyester netting and TuffNet for added durability, if your commercial budget allows.
Safety Considerations for Your Mall Playground Design
One more major factor to consider when building your mall playground is how to make your retail play space as safe as possible.
Most Common Safety Risks
It’s important to be aware of the potential risks of mall playgrounds so you can best prevent them when designing and building yours. Some common ones include:
Playground surfaces can easily harbor bacteria due to high foot traffic.
Kids can injure themselves if the mall’s equipment doesn’t provide an open layout that allows adequate parent supervision.
Kids can trip and fall while on equipment if they are wearing inappropriate footwear, such as slippery socks.
How to Minimize Safety Risks
You can take many simple steps to minimize safety risks. Leave plenty of space between playground components and the main shopping walkways. The number of kids you expect on the playground at once should be enough to use the equipment without overcrowding.
You should also have your mall janitorial staff clean your playground thoroughly and frequently to avoid bacteria buildup. Perform regular maintenance inspections to ensure there are no underlying, potentially hazardous issues for your shoppers.
Let inqilaplay® Transform Your Space
Considering a playground plan for your mall or retail business? Partner with Inqilaplay for help through every step of the commercial design and installation process. With years of dedicated industry experience, inqilaplay has a wealth of knowledge on developing the most innovative products and secure, high-traffic designs tailored specifically for shopping centers.
We understand that a mall playground is more than just equipment; it is a vital asset for increasing foot traffic, extending shopper dwell time, and building profound brand loyalty with families. Our expert team offers full customization, ensuring your new play area perfectly matches your mall’s aesthetic and demographic needs while adhering to the strictest safety standards. Ready to elevate your shopping center experience and create a lasting impression on your visitors? Contact Inqilaplay today to request a quote and discover how our premium play solutions can transform your retail space!
