Keep our retail dollars on P.E.I.

Why do people travel to shop and spend money?

Costco in Moncton is planning to move.

Sorry, P.E.I.: it isn’t planning to come here, but elsewhere in Moncton.

Maybe someday we’ll get one. And I know you care because every time I’m in Moncton, I see vehicles with P.E.I. licence plates mostly at Costco or the Champlain Mall.

At first, I was surprised. I wondered why travel all that way to shop?

It started to become clearer when Sears in Charlottetown was closing. Standing in the store’s parking lot, I asked customers their thoughts about Sears closing and the retail landscape on the Island. Many said they shop online or shop off-Island. Moncton and Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, were common destinations.

The options aren’t as good here, they said. I agree.

Here’s what I see in Charlottetown.

There’s less on the shelves, even at the big box stores, compared with Moncton.

I like to look at something in person before I buy it rather than make my decision by looking at a computer screen.

As already mentioned, I see a lot of Islanders visit the Champlain Mall in Moncton when I visit (which is what I’m doing this weekend), so let’s look at the mall setting.

To help with this, the Retail Council of Canada recently commissioned a report looking at shopping centres.

I also spoke with Jim Cormier, the council’s director for Atlantic Canada.

He notes that malls in Canada are not dead, but they are facing challenges.

Still, the ones in larger cities are succeeding and have figured out that it’s important to give people an experience and create a public space.

This is a move back to the way malls were once upon a time. I remember the Riverview Mall in my hometown near Moncton had a movie theatre, grocery store, barbershop, tavern, arcade, liquor store, at least two department stores – one with a restaurant. You could go there with your friends and spend a Saturday afternoon. The building is still standing but the mall is gone. Last time I heard, the tenants were a pub and two call centres.

But the Champlain Mall is still drawing visitors from outside the city, even with an anchor tenant like Sears closing – the food and beverage experience. The food court has well-known options like A&W, Tim Hortons and Pizza Delight and the mall has a Starbucks and a Second Cup, both with seating. It’s probably not the main reason, but it helps having that experience.

Ask yourself the next time you’re in either of Charlottetown’s malls: what is the food and beverage experience? But also, how do the malls here compare when it comes to high-end tech or fashion r etail?

The good news is Costco hasn’t built a new store yet. The proposed location on Elmwood Drive off the TransCanada Highway is certainly more convenient for anyone travelling from P.E.I. compared to its current Trinity Drive location.

So, perhaps now is the time for Charlottetown to start looking at ways to improve its retail experience.

If you need more proof that there might be a problem, then let me remind you that the Town of Cornwall in November was promoting on Twitter Christmas shopping bus trips for Nov. 25 and Dec. 9 to Moncton.

The Island is constantly trying to figure out ways to keep its young workers from leaving the province.

Maybe it’s time to start talking about ways to retain our retail shopping dollars rather than giving them away to neighbouring provinces.