Centre Manager Anthony Wilson says the top priority remains the safety of everyone who visits and works in the centre and extended hours will give customers more time to shop outside of the busiest times.
“We are following healthy distancing and hygiene requirements and, importantly, all Santa photos will need to be booked online,” he said.
“Social Distancing Officers will be nearby to ensure everyone’s doing the right thing and our cleaning team will be helping to keep the Santa set safe.
“If you are in the centre, you can find our virtual Santa using QR codes.
“This virtual Santa experience involves an Instagram filter and all you need to do is find the QR codes throughout the centre and Santa will appear in the photo next to you.”
So you can shop early, shop safely and shop local at Bankstown Central this Christmas, the team has introduced new technologies to boost existing safety measures.
These include: A new digital queuing system to manage capacity in retailers’ stores and reduce congestion in common areas; real-time traffic data will soon be displayed on the centre website to inform customers of busy periods; and Vicinity’s heat-mapping technology, which monitors capacity and density, enables staff to respond in real time to maintain effective social distancing.
Customers can also pre-book a time to shop at participating retailers including Kmart, using new digital queuing system, SocialQ.
“Pre-booking a visit to their favourite store will save customers time and offer a more convenient shopping experience as they’ll skip the queue and be able to get into the store as quickly as possible,” Mr Wilson said.
SocialQ is available at Vicinity’s centres, with booking available via SocialQ’s or the retailers’ websites while customers in-centre, can use a QR code to join a virtual queue, rather than lining up, if capacity is reached in-store.
Magical month with ‘safe’ Santa
ENSURING that the magic of the season is still there for everyone to enjoy, Bankstown Central has welcomed back Santa this year and while the traditional photographs will look a little different, families can still tell Santa what’s on their Christmas lists.