Turning Mall Walking Into a Community Wellness Experience
STEPPI partnered with The Galleria Abu Dhabi to launch “Let’s Walk” — a community-driven wellness initiative designed to keep residents active during the hotter summer months, when outdoor activity in the UAE becomes more challenging.
The program transformed the mall environment into an indoor fitness destination through guided walking sessions, activity tracking, gamification, and rewards. By combining community engagement with STEPPI’s wellness technology, the initiative created an accessible and motivating experience that encouraged participants to stay active while driving increased footfall and retailer engagement within the mall.
Hosted twice weekly at The Galleria Abu Dhabi, the program attracted more than 2,000 participants and successfully built a growing wellness community around movement, accountability, and shared fitness goals.
The Challenge
During the summer months in Abu Dhabi, extreme temperatures create barriers to outdoor physical activity, leading to lower movement levels and reduced community fitness engagement.
The Galleria Abu Dhabi wanted to create a wellness initiative that encouraged residents to remain active in a safe, indoor environment while also increasing community engagement and footfall within the mall during quieter periods.
The client required a technology partner capable of delivering activity tracking, gamification, fitness goal setting, and participant engagement — while also connecting the wellness experience to mall retailers through rewards and incentives.
The summer climate in Abu Dhabi limited opportunities for outdoor activity, creating a need for an engaging indoor wellness alternative that could motivate people to stay active consistently.
The program also needed to create long-term engagement beyond simple walking sessions by incorporating fitness tracking, gamification, goals, and rewards into the participant experience.
In addition, The Galleria wanted to increase community interaction and footfall within the mall while creating meaningful value for participating retailers through customer engagement and loyalty.
The Solution
STEPPI designed and delivered a fully connected wellness experience built around guided indoor mall walks, community engagement, and gamified activity tracking.
Participants joined scheduled walking sessions hosted twice weekly at The Galleria Abu Dhabi, using the STEPPI platform to track activity, measure distance, set personal goals, and stay motivated through fitness-driven engagement features.
To extend the experience beyond movement alone, STEPPI also launched a dedicated Galleria Rewards category, allowing users to exchange steps earned within the mall for offers and discounts from participating retailers — connecting wellness directly to customer loyalty and retail engagement.
The Results
“Let’s Walk helped transform The Galleria into a community wellness destination during the summer months — creating meaningful engagement for visitors while driving footfall and retailer participation.”
How the programme unfolded
Features that drove results
The Impact
The “Let’s Walk” initiative successfully transformed The Galleria Abu Dhabi into a wellness-focused community destination during the quieter summer season. By creating a structured indoor walking experience, the program helped residents stay active despite extreme outdoor temperatures.
The initiative attracted more than 2,000 participants and built a growing community of like-minded individuals focused on movement, accountability, and healthier lifestyles. Gamification, fitness tracking, and rewards helped sustain engagement and increase participation throughout the program.
Beyond wellness outcomes, the initiative also delivered commercial value for The Galleria Abu Dhabi by increasing early footfall, strengthening customer loyalty, and creating additional engagement opportunities for participating retailers through rewards and in-mall activity.
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