New Online Mall Actually Looks Like a Shopping Mall

The excitement of shopping at a mall is brought into the home with the Internet launch of the Mall down the Street. This online mall really looks like a mall.

(PRWEB) October 7, 2005 --The Mall down the Street, a new online shopping center that really looks like a mall, is holding its grand opening. The mall, at www.mallDTS.com, is intended to bring more of the excitement and enjoyment of mall shopping into the home.
    
Thirty-four retailers are in the mall, only three short of capacity. They include some of the biggest names in offline and online shopping and many specialty stores. One store is reserved for a charity. Eight more online businesses can be accessed through two stores run by the Mall, the Bookstore down the Street and the Internet Click Store.

Visitors to the mall can buy everything from pet food, chess sets and web hosting to expensive furniture and high-quality apparel. And in the food court, there are cookies, Mexican food and food gifts.
    
The Mall marks a new frontier in affiliate marketing on the Internet. Thousands of merchants on the Internet have affiliate programs which enable other web sites to be compensated for bringing Internet visitors to the merchants’ web sites. They usually pay a commission on sales or a flat fee to their affiliates.
    
The Mall down the Street is an attempt to adhere closely to the rules of affiliate marketing laid down by the merchants while at the same time bringing new excitement to the online shopping experience.
    
“We intended to start with one wing of a mall,” Gilhooly noted. “But there were so many types of businesses we wanted to include in the mall, the concept grew until there were four wings and a food court.”
    
Were the months of design work, planning and contacts with retailers worth it? “Absolutely,” he said. “I accessed the mall today, headed for a shoe store and seconds later was in the store looking at a large selection of shoes. It was almost like actually being in the mall. I loved it.”

Plans are already in the works for other mall-related projects if the launch proves to be a big success.
    
Gilhooly noted the Mall down the Street has an advantage over offline malls: “This mall is open seven days a week, 24 hours a day. And there’s never a problem finding a parking space at the Mall down the Street.”

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