Centro Bankstown has a new initiative that’s doing wonders for its Spring and Summer Fashion campaign: the Wardrobe. Now that’s no normal wardrobe—it’s the best thing since paper dolls.

The site lets shoppers take their pick of models and dress them up in all the season’s hottest fashions, mixing and matching to their hearts’ content. And it’s been very successful so far.

“As part of the three day campaign we featured free access to The Wardrobe via a bank of computer screens on level 2,” said Centro Bankstown marketing manager, John Klein.

“We received a terrific response during and since the launch with our data showing each visitor is spending an average of over 3.5 minutes on the site and the accompanying fashion competition has received almost 600 entries already.”

According to Klein, the Centre achieved a 2.4% increase in apparel sales in September as a direct result of The Wardrobe.

“We are delighted with the response so far and are expecting visitors to the site to continue to increase as we add even more fashion items in the lead up to the Spring Racing Carnival and Christmas party seasons.”

Everything is better when it’s a little more exclusive. Stockland Merrylands upped the ante of its most recent VIP evening by making it the center’s first ever Facebook Party.

Customers were invited attend the party – a three hour sales event – through Facebook. Two hours before the event commenced, secret sales and special hours started to show up on the center’s Facebook page. Shoppers who used their mobile devices to check in at the center got the inside scoop on the proceedings.

42 secret Facebook retailer sales were held from national and independent retailers, including Angus & Coote, Best & Less Kids, Betts Shoes, Cotton On, Crossroads, Crust Pizza, Forcast, Jay Jays, Jeanswest, Katies, Prouds, Tarocash, Yd and many more.

A paparazzi photographer roamed Stockland Merrylands throughout the night, capturing photos of customers in stores and walking the red carpet. A DJ playing the event brought the atmosphere to a new level.

Shoppers who weren’t able to make it to the party weren’t left out in the cold, either. Prizes and giveaways were given to Facebook fans via the page all night. In-mall, promotional staff roamed the center, assisting customers and handing out special prizes.

Center manager Craig Piper said the captivating event was a distinctive and successful introduction into the digital realm.

“The Facebook Party was executed well and created a buzz in the Centre. The event combined the marketing elements that our team is focused on – targeted marketing, digitally focused, retailer centric, and experience driven – all in a highly measurable format.”

“Our customers were engaged on a new level, requesting that more of these events are held in the future,” he added.

The numbers are in, and I think it’s safe to say that Black Friday was a smashing success. But you don’t need to take my word for it. Let’s look at the details:

According to the National Retail Federation, shoppers spent an estimated $52.4 billion, a 7% increase over last year. That’s a record breaking number, and it’s just one of several.

For one thing, 226 million shoppers walked through the doors of shopping centers and retailers on Black Friday, and they spent a bundle. The average shopper spent $398.62 this holiday weekend, over last year’s average of $365.34.

So what were they shopping for? According to the NRF’s survey, clothing and clothing accessories took the top spot, with 51% of shoppers partaking. Given the prominence of electronics in Black Friday advertising and discounts, they were the third most popular purchase over the weekend, followed by toys and then media, including books, music, movies and games. Department stores were big winners, as were discount stores.

Will the numbers hold out over the rest of the holidays? Only time will tell. But clearly shoppers were ready to spend, and not just online. This can’t help but be a good start to the season.

And while it wasn’t without injuries, violence and one tragic death, this Black Friday was fairly well controlled. So pat yourselves on the back, everyone. We survived another Black Friday, and the holiday shopping season has officially begun.

Sites like Groupon aren’t well suited to shopping centers, but that’s no reason to ignore the daily deal trend. Broadway on the Mall has jumped in with both feet with its Facebook Flash Sales.

Over the last couple weeks, the shopping center has been offering its Facebook fans extremely time limited discounts at center retailers. The center arranged with a number of its retailers to offer short term discounts — 20% off for two hours, free snacks and drinks with meals at eateries, that sort of thing. Rather than require up-front purchases like a daily deal site, the center tied in special code phrases.

It was a great way to drive traffic and add value to its Facebook page. The majority of Facebook users that engage with brands are looking for discounts, and this is the perfect sort of low-impact, exclusive treatment to keep them coming back.

Moms and Dads are often superheroes, especially to their little ones, so how awesome is it that Eden Shopping Centre celebrated Father’s Day with a Superhero Family Fun day?

The center brought together all kinds of super-hero goodies for the day. They brought in Titan the Robot (not strictly a super hero, but who doesn’t like robots?), Spiderman in full costume, and fantastic models of the Batmobile and Kit from Knightrider.

The little ones could make their own superhero masks or get their faces painted like their favorite heroes. Customers could also get involved by having their photos taken with the heroes or the cars and the win prizes by tagging themselves in the resulting online gallery.

The action-packed day was a big success, with a double-digit increase in sales. Car park dwell time showed an increase of 19%, too. To pull this off, the center held a number of superhero-themed contests on Facebook during the lead-up, and courted members of superhero fan sites and Facebook groups. The main competition (to win a TV from Eden retailer Sony Centre) attracted a record breaking 18,500 entries online via Eden’s website.