The T-Mobile kiosk at Destiny USA is specially marketing its services to Canadians.
/ Katie Corrado
SYRACUSE -- Destiny USA is working to attract more shoppers from Canada. The store has become a popular attraction for many Canadians visiting the United States.
Some of our tenants are telling us 25, 30% of their sales, even higher, they're attributing to the Canadians," Destiny USA General Manager Rob Schoeneck said about the mall's Christmas 2012 season.
Cassandra Bieles and Carly Spears of Toronto, Ontario visited Destiny USA on Friday while spending the weekend visiting a friend in Syracuse. "I had never been here before," said Bieles. "And my friend had told me about this mall because her friends go here, and I heard it was a crazy, huge mall - a bunch of stores I had never heard of."
With an exchange rate that is roughly even, Canadians are drawn by lower sales tax and stores they can't find at home. "I wanted to go to DSW," said Bieles. "We do not have that at home. Always amazing shoe deals there." "I wanted to do to DSW and Saks Off Fifth and the department stores," said Spears. "They're better here." Bieles added that she can receive an additional discount at Macy's, simply by showing her Canadian driver's license.
At a T-Mobile kiosk in Destiny USA, an advertisement reads "Welcome Canadians." An employee said he sells at least five SIM cards to Canadian cell phone users every month. The cards allow Canadian cell phones to work inside the U.S.
Destiny USA is working to increase visibility in Canada. "We're doing billboards in Canada - Montreal, Ottawa area," said Schoeneck. "We're doing a lot of media, advertising. [We have] a large program that started in June and is continuing through 2013."
The mall hopes its efforts will continue to drive traffic from outside the United States.
