Large and small retailers can now connect with up to 65,000 customers a day.
Pitt Street Mall is set to host live music, events and performances under a new City of Sydney program designed to support the local retail sector.
The program will see up to 12 events hosted during an initial 12-month trial.
It follows a dedicated September program to boost fashion sales across the city.
Retailers will be offered the use of Pitt Street Mall free of charge for events in a bid to draw more shoppers to the city centre.
Lord Mayor Clover Moore said the initiative is part of the City’s ongoing support for the local retail sector.
“Pitt Street Mall is Australia’s premier retail destination, and we want to ensure it retains this status by helping local retailers attract more residents, workers and visitors,” the Lord Mayor said.
“This program makes it easy and affordable for both large and small retailers to connect with more than 65,000 pedestrians who travel through the mall each day, as well as attract new visitors to the area.
“We encourage retailers to work together and think creatively about how they can use the mall to encourage more people to spend time in the precinct, and hopefully boost the local economy by spending money in nearby stores.”
The program has been developed in partnership with the City’s Retail Advisory Panel, which was established in 2010 to provide the City with specialist advice on how it can further support Sydney’s retail sector.
It follows the release of the City’s first Retail Action Plan late last year, which highlights the importance of creating innovative experiences that encourage shoppers to visit bricks-and-mortar retailers.
Retail Advisory Panel chair Margy Osmond said the initiative will aim to reinvigorate the city centre.
“A thriving retail sector is vitally important to the economy of the city, and Pitt Street Mall is the retail core of the city district with more than 36 per cent of CBD businesses retail related.
“Retailers are operating in a world where shoppers want more from their retail experience than ever before and this program will provide a boost to the precinct and generate new attention for and interest in the area – attracting shoppers to the city rather than online.”
The City will hold a briefing on the program for Pitt Street Mall retailers from 2-3pm on Wednesday 8 October at Sydney Town Hall.