Despite the growth of traditional brick-and-mortar retail, shopping malls, particularly those of a lower tier, are having trouble maintaining their relevance.
While high-end developers command high square footage prices, class B, C, and D mall operators struggle to attract tenants and shoppers, according to a report by Insider Intelligence/eMarketer.
Mall traffic is still well below pre-pandemic levels. Moreover, the recovery of outlet malls, in particular, has been much slower than indoor and open-air malls, indicating that the prospect of a good deal is no longer enough to entice visitors.
According to Placer.ai, September traffic to indoor malls was 0.9% lower than the same month in 2019. Traffic to outlet malls fell by 4.5%.
Ariel Ben Solomon is the Growth and Strategy manager at Ecomhunt. He is the host of the Ecomhunt Podcast. Can be followed on Twitter at @ArielBenSolomon
