Yesterday, I went Spring shopping and noticed my local mall is, once again, changing – new stores, closed stores, and closed for construction signs. While the emergence of few new stores is good, the change is a reminder of the vacancies the mall had. In fact, the new stores reminded me of previous “new” stores and left me wondering if the stores would stick around for maybe a year to only close like previous ones. “Malls Face Surge in Vacancies” by Kris Hudson and Miguel Bustillo fed my pessimism as the article reported, “In the top 80 U.S. markets, the average vacancy rate was 9.1% up from 8.7%”. The article also reported an 11.1% vacancy rate for strip malls and shopping centers. Both rates are the highest numbers in at least 10 years. This makes my pessimism seem a little more rational.
Malls, strip malls, and shopping centers are still feeling the burn of the bad economy and the effect of changing consumer habits. Online shopping is one of those habits. Leon Nicholas, a retail consultant, was quoted as considering online shopping a soon-to-be mainstream, not just an alternative. Another consumer habit is consumers attempting to live within their means, leading to less mall binges.
The mall or city shopping center is still considered the center of town. I prefer to try on clothes and see other products before I buy; I buy online for products sold exclusively online or those I’m most familiar with. But with online shopping as the great alternative, malls can only see a positive turn around when their stores see it also. Thus, retailers need to work harder for those consumers who still choose to show up and shop. The future of malls is in hands of retailers. With some major names filing for bankruptcy and many consumers unemployed, shopping centers and malls will have to be patient.
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