Over 18,000 people flocked to The Maze at Westquay, Southampton during its 10-day run in May, demonstrating the continued appeal of experiential events. The 400m Maze with eight ft hedges was held in Westquay’s unique event space, and for the first time ever it had an Urban Treehouse at its centre.
The event boosted footfall by 2.7% year-on-year, with footfall rising by 12% over the Easter Bank Holiday Weekend, and by 7% on the closing Saturday and Sunday of Half-Term. The Maze also attracted consumers to the destination who had not been before, providing a new audience for Westquay’s brands –14% of visitors to the Maze were new.
Brands used the event to build awareness and excitement locally, by organising their own activities in partnership with Westquay. These included a teddy bears picnic with John Lewis & Partners, a diamond treasure hunt with Laings, and tastings and giveaways from Bill’s. In addition to the successful retailer engagement the treehouse roof delivered an exceptional space for yoga sessions, which were oversubscribed and generated great instagram content.
The Maze is part of Hammerson’s £2m 2019 experiential events programme, and follows similarly successful events across its portfolio, including the Festival of Light which toured Dundrum (Dublin), Bullring & Grand Central (Birmingham), and Westquay earlier this year. These events drove significant footfall at all three destinations, and attracted over 125,000 people in total.
Kathryn Malloch, Head of Customer Experience, said, “More and more of our customers are looking for a real experience when they visit our destinations, whether that’s great food or an engaging event, and the Maze is just one example of how we are delivering that.
'Not only do events like the Maze drive footfall, they also boost sales and generate excitement for our brands. We’ve got a lot more events and surprises planned for 2019, including a Summer Sensory Garden at Westquay this month.”