Posted on: Saturday, December 4, 2004
Americans' love affair with malls may be ending
By Nell Luter Floyd
Gannett News Service
Lack of land and a different approach to attracting shoppers are curtailing the growth of a mainstay in American merchandising — the mall.
• An average visit to a mall lasts 82.2 minutes. • Shoppers ages 14-17 frequent malls most often: 12.4 times in any three-month period, but shoppers 65 and older spend the longest time there: 92.8 minutes.
• Men visit malls more often than women, which might surprise some. Men visit on average 9.7 times during any three-month period compared with 9.3 times for women. Women stay in the mall on average 11.7 minutes longer than men.
• Browsers spend more time (92.2 minutes) compared with shoppers with a purpose (75.8 minutes).
• The average amount spent at mall shops is $42.40. The average amount spent at mall restaurants is $5.90. • Middle-age shoppers spend the most at malls — $100.40 for those ages 35-44 and $101.20 for those ages 45-54. Source: International Council of Shopping Centers Lifestyle centers feature an "open air" design, with shops and restaurants opening to the outdoors, whereas malls traditionally enclose shops, restaurants and entertainment under one roof.
More than 100 lifestyle centers operate nationwide — and that's expected to double in the next few years — compared with 1,130 super regional malls, according to the International Council of Shopping Centers.
Nine malls are expected to open next year, down from an all-time high of 19 openings in 1990, according to the council.
"It's getting very difficult to find a suitable location for a million square feet for a super regional mall — and a market not already filled," Hill said. "Most major cities already have several regional malls."
Also contributing to fewer malls being built are real estate investment trusts that own nearly 48 percent of malls — and their discovery of lifestyle centers as a different and profitable way to package retailing. "The (trusts) have to deliver a return for their investors," Hill said.
Real estate investment trusts own or have an interest in 538 of the 1,130 regional and super regional malls in the country, according to the council.
But the concept of enclosed malls shouldn't be written off, said Patrice Duker, spokeswoman for the council. "We feel it's very viable," she said.
Southdale Center in Edina, Minn., built in 1956, is the oldest mall in the nation. It competes with the Mall of America, the world's biggest mall, Duker said. "They've renovated, made sure the tenant mix is right and people still want to go there," she said of Southdale Center.
Malls remain viable because they're located in high-traffic suburban areas and offer year-round shopping regardless of weather, she said. Malls are able to adapt to consumer trends, and kiosks and carts at malls have proved successful as incubators for small retail ventures, she said.
Mall shoppers make an average of 38 trips to the mall per year, the same number as in 1996, she said. The average spending by a consumer per trip increased from $28.40 in 1996 to $42.20 last year, she said.
Nationwide, malls have decreased their dependency on department stores as anchor tenants, Duker said.
About 20 percent of all mall anchors are now department stores, she said.
Lee Brumfield, an investor in Singing River Mall in Gautier, Miss., said a tenant's desire to expand sometimes drives a mall's renovation.
A mix of national and local retailers and appealing to various age groups keep a mall fresh.
"If a landlord cared only about having the highest rent, you would find a mall of only jewelry stores," he said. "They take very little square footage and the margins tend to be good, but the mall would attract only people interested in buying jewelry."
"I've got 20 years worth of experience in both the retail and mall business, and currently the buzz in the industry is lifestyle centers," said Joel Hill, manager of Northpark Mall in Ridgeland, Miss. "I still think there's strong support for regional malls. However, I do see lifestyle centers as continuing to put pressure on malls."
The profile of a mall shopper
