The malls of America have begun to recover from the consumer exodus spurred on by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Well, at least some of the malls have, according to a recent study from Coresight Research, which tracks consumer, retail and tech trends.
Since the lifting of restrictions and consumer behavior began returning to pre-pandemic normalcy, physical retail has bounced back, Coresight Research said. More stores opened in 2022 than closed – the first time that’s happened since 2016 – and malls’ sales grew more than 11% in 2022 to nearly $819 billion, the firm said in its The State of the American Mall report.
At the end of 2022, mall occupancy was at 95.1%, up from about 92% in 2020, Coresight says. “Anything over 92% is a full mall, because you want to leave flex space,” Coresight Research founder and CEO Deborah Weinswig told USA TODAY. “You need constant turn, in a good way, in a mall because you need new tenants.”
Consumers are returning to the mall, too. Traffic at top-tier malls – those with luxury retailers such as Gucci and newer direct-to-consumer brands (such as Untuckit) and more affluent customers – was up 12% on average in 2022 over pre-pandemic 2019 levels, while traffic was up 10% at non-top-tier malls (those with an empty anchor retailer, declining sales).
Forever 21:Stores could offer Shein clothing after fast-fashion retailers strike a deal
Overall, traffic reported at indoor malls has continued to rise in August with more than 40% of U.S. adults reported visiting a mall within the past two weeks, up from 35% at the beginning of June and 30% in the beginning of April, according to Coresight’s ongoing consumer survey of 1,600.
Not only is traffic level up, but so is “the amount of time people are spending in retail,” Weinswig said.Also, those avoiding malls due to COVID concerns has fallen below 15% since the beginning of July, Coresight found. Those avoiding malls had been at 20% or higher most of the spring.
“The death of the mall is wildly…
Read the full article here
