One Step Ahead: How Astri Is Building the Future of Shopping Destinations

Estonia is widely recognised as one of Europe’s most digitally advanced countries, where customers naturally expect convenience, speed and seamless digital services.

Astri is one of Estonia’s leading shopping centre groups and uses the SmartGifty solution across four of its shopping centres .

We spoke with Marleen Kirss, Head of Digital and Analytics at Astri Group, about why they decided to introduce a new gift card solution, how digitalization is transforming their day-to-day operations, and how they connect the digital and physical visitor experience.

About a year ago, Astri introduced a new gift card solution across four shopping centres. What were the main reasons for making this change?

The main reason was innovation and the need to upgrade our existing solution. Our previous system had become outdated and was no longer being developed. We wanted a modern, cost-effective solution that supported both digital and physical gift cards, as we did not want to move away from physical cards completely.

Looking back at the first year, how has the new approach changed the way Astri manages its gift card programme?

The entire process has become more automated and transparent. Digital gift cards are sent automatically after an online purchase, without any manual work. All information and reporting are also available online at any time. This supports our wider goal of automating and simplifying workflows wherever it creates real value.

Stepping back from gift cards, what does digitalization mean to Astri as an organization?

Innovation is one of our core values. We aim to lead by example in adopting new solutions that make our work more efficient and create value for our organization, customers and partners.

Estonia is widely regarded as one of Europe’s most digitally advanced countries. How does this influence customer expectations and the way Astri develops its services?

People quickly get used to convenience. Today, for example, customers expect to be able to make everyday payments using only their phone or smartwatch. This means we need to look beyond today’s needs when developing our services.

Over the years, we have completed several projects that were ahead of their time. Successful development depends on a clear vision, strong project management and the right partners. The clearer we are about what we are developing and why, the smoother the entire process becomes.

Which of Astri’s digital initiatives or achievements are you particularly proud of?

For customers, the move to the new gift card platform has been a big step, and we have launched new websites where customers can buy gift cards and book pop-up spaces at our shopping centres' events.

For our partners, we have developed the KAZU platform (kazu.ee). It allows tenants across all our shopping centres and markets to report their turnover, manage store information, publish offers directly on the centre’s website and monitor visitor numbers. Although KAZU was originally developed for our own needs, we designed it to be scalable, so we can easily offer it to other shopping centres as well.

Internally, we have connected our different software systems and data sources to our data warehouse. This lets us analyze everything in one place and make better data-driven decisions. AI is accelerating that work: with AI-supported development we can prototype a new analysis or add a new metric in minutes, which means we can test ideas and improve our solutions far faster than before.

Astri combines the astri.ee platform with physical destinations such as Lõunakeskus. How do you connect the digital and physical customer experience?

The Astri Gift Card is one important link: customers buy it online and use it in our four shopping centres — Lõunakeskus, Pärnu Keskus, Fama Keskus and Astri Keskus.

The link also works in the other direction: all our shopping centres have self-service gift card kiosks, so customers can buy a physical gift card quickly and conveniently, even outside the information desk's opening hours.

Pop-up retail spaces are another. When an event takes place in one of our centres or markets, customers can choose and pay for their space directly on our website.

Gift cards are often associated mainly with the Christmas season. How does Astri keep them relevant throughout the year, including through corporate sales and digital campaigns?

Christmas is certainly our busiest period, but we run different campaigns throughout the year. We also have many long-term corporate customers who order gift cards regularly.

The Astri Gift Card is Estonia’s largest shopping-centre gift card and can be used across three cities. This makes it a convenient and flexible choice for companies whose employees are located in different parts of Estonia.

When evaluating a digital solution, what matters most to Astri: customer convenience, operational efficiency, access to data, flexibility, or something else?

All of these factors matter. However, we first consider whether there is a genuine need for the solution and what value and cost efficiency it will bring to both our customers and our own employees.

Looking ahead, where do you see the greatest opportunities for further digital development at Astri?

We see significant opportunities to improve the physical customer experience at our shopping centres and markets. Digital directories and better wayfinding are one part of this, but the wider goal is to create a seamless journey before, during and after each visit. This could include real-time information about events, services and parking, more accessible navigation, and more personalised communication based on customer needs.

Artificial intelligence is, of course, another major area. We are currently using AI to build and improve internal workflows. The technology is developing so quickly that it is exciting to see where it will take us next.

What advice would you give to other shopping-centre operators that are beginning—or reconsidering—their own digital transformation?

Start by mapping and analysing your processes: understand how they work today and how they should work in the future. Then identify where digital solutions can create genuine value. Most importantly, have the courage to experiment—you do not need to have all the answers from the beginning.