Indoor gardens and rooftop sports highlight SM Supermalls’ next phase

The retail giant plans to invest ₱150b by 2030 in new malls and upgraded experiences.

SM Supermalls is transforming the mall experience in the Philippines with 3D mall designs, indoor gardens, rooftop sports facilities, and personalised digital programs.

The retail giant plans to invest ₱150b by 2030 in new malls and upgraded experiences. Jonjon San Agustin, executive vice president for marketing at SM Supermalls, said the company will soon open a new mall featuring a “3D and indoor air-conditioned garden,” designed to encourage visitors to spend more time inside.

“One of the things that we want to do is not necessarily only to make people want to come back more often, but we want them to stay much longer, and we give them reasons to,” he told Retail Asia Summit Philippines -2026.

The garden will include retail shops and coffee spots, offering spaces for relaxation and casual gatherings.

The company is also rolling out unique rooftop sports facilities, including an official FIFA-grade football pitch at SM Mall of Asia Sky. “Where in the world would you be able to find an experience like that, where you have an official FIFA-grade football pitch on top of a roof?” he said.

The company is also using technology to better understand customer behavior. Through Wi-Fi tracking and data analytics, Agustin said SM Supermalls can identify areas where visitors gather and offer targeted promotions.

This approach targets specific “tribes” such as pet lovers, gamers, and health enthusiasts via the SMOS app. “We have an SM Malls online app, wherein we are able to implement AI and personalise the pages inside that app in order to serve those tribes personally. Before, it was a one-size-fits-all,” he added.

The company’s innovative programs include the ESR Active Coffee and Active Hub, the nation’s largest playground for sports like 3-on-3 basketball, ping-pong, and running. In the past year, the initiative hosted 39,000 events and registered more than 110,000 members, with participants showing higher engagement than regular app users.

Rather than focusing solely on shopping, Agustin said that the company considers the entire ecosystem, including tenants, employees, operations, and customers.

He said that every component, from marketing to engineering to leasing, is aligned toward satisfying shoppers.

The developments are part of a broader strategy to respond to changing customer behavior. “Never be afraid of change," said Agustin. "It’s the thing that’s going to keep you going, it’s the thing that’s going to keep you on your toes, especially in a very competitive market that we have today.”