Retail experts have long sounded the alarm on malls in the US. But malls are not dying, they are merely adapting to a new environment.
In fact, many US malls have reported robust occupancy levels and bigger crowds than before the pandemic, according to a market analysis from Coresight Research released in June.
The report found foot traffic in top-tier malls, where the average shopper makes $200,000+ a year, increased by 12% in 2022 compared to 2019, while traffic in lower-tier malls was still up 10%.
Between 2020 and 2022, top-tier malls reported an annual growth rate of 5% with $7.5 billion in total revenue last year. While lower-tier malls lagged slightly behind in revenue — reporting only $6.4 billion — they experienced a larger growth rate of nearly 9%.
On average, top-tier malls were more than 95% leased last year, while space in lower-tier malls in less-affluent regions were about 89% leased.
What’s Fueling the Resurgence in Malls?
While it once looked like the rise of e-commerce would kill the mall, brands have figured out that customers want both. They have invested in “omnichannel” marketing, which promotes both online shopping and physical stores, to drive growth, per Coresight.
The numbers still lag slightly behind pre-pandemic levels, but remained promising.
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Market Recap Week of 8/14/2023 Through 8/18/2023