It occurred to me the other day how rarely I visit a mall.
If I go now, it’s usually to visit Target, or less frequently a department store, such as Macy’s. On a rainy day, I may take my kids to the play place. Or if I have a coupon for Bath & Body Works I may head to that particular store. But gone are the days of wandering the mall’s wings, scouring stores for the perfect pair of jeans or gift for mom’s birthday.
My husband and I – on a whim after missing our freeway exit – decided to visit a mall neither of us had been to in years. It was on a weekend. The place was dead. We were discussing this again last night and it occurred to me that a couple key things have changed since my mall shopping days. Here are my thoughts, and I’m curious to hear yours, too.
Amazon. Not just Amazon per se, but online retail in general. Making purchases online can be smart for many reasons. It’s convenient, you get a good variety of products, you can price compare, and in most cases, it’s extremely secure. With the rise of cash back sites such as Ebates and coupon sites such as Retailmenot, you can still take advantage of discounts.
Recession. With many people out of work and finances tight, retailers – particularly small ones – have been hit hard. Who wants to shop when you’re struggling to pay a mortgage?
Target. My husband smartly pointed out that one-stop box stores such as Target (and that other store I don’t talk about here!) have likely shifted consumer shopping trends. Think about it: instead of going to store after store, you can get everything from clothing, toys, food, and personal items from one place.
I decided to do a little Googling to see if my theory had any basis in truth.
A Wall Street Journal article from last year confirms that many malls are in trouble. In fact, they point out that overall, US malls have seen declines in consumer spending and tenant rents over the past few years. However, these changes have been occurring gradually over time. So you can’t up and blame it entirely on the recession. The article also offered this perspective:
For towns and cities that are home to dying malls, the fallout can be devastating. Malls hire hundreds of workers and are significant contributors to the local tax base. In suburbs and small towns, malls often are the only major public spaces and the safest venues for teenagers to shop, hang out and seek part-time work.
Last week, Bloomberg reported that shopping center vacancies are at their all time highs. Not a good sign for retailers. And maybe a sign it’s time to shift their approach in reaching the next generation of shoppers.
What do you think? Is the American Mall a Ghost Town (or on its way to becoming one)? Has your mall shopping changed at all? What do you think malls need to do to stay relevant (if anything)?Photo credit Kimberlee Kessler
{ 9 comments… read them below or add one }
I don’t do much mall shopping anymore. I seem to be able to find almost anything at either Target or Costco. The only time I do hit the Tacoma mall would be to visit Old Navy for kids/adult clothes, or Nordstrom when they are having a shoe sale. Otherwise, I don’t really see a need to visit the mall. I would guess that in a years time I may visit the mall four times. I’m sure that malls will stay relevant with teens, I still see lots of them all over the mall and in the food court. If I were a parent of a teenager I would prefer them walking around a mall, rather than traveling some busy street.
I was just at the mall today. It wasn’t overly crowded but peole definetly were buying. Since couponing I have changed my ways in regards to shopping at the mall. For Christmas I received enough money to buy a air of uggs I have wanted for years. I bought them and after a couple of days returned them. It didn’t make sense to me to try to save money in one area of my life and blow money in another. So instead of paying $200 for a pair of boots I got a comparable pair at American Eagle for $35. Granted I love ae’s clothing but won’t pay full price. I have been shopping their amazing clearance sale and have scored some great deals!
My mom works at see’s candy at the mall and she says people are still buying. She says you wouldn’t believe the amount of people charging candy on their credit cards!
Sometimes I have my debit card run as a credit card…but the money is coming directly from my checking. Are you sure this is NOT what’s going on?
My apologies. I thought about that after I posted. I do the same with my debit card b/c I have a rewards program through Chase. I am sure most are doing it that way. Regardless of the method of payment sales are up for over priced candy. I think a single piece of candy is 60 cents. Imagine how much candy a couponer can get with that in the grocery store. =)
Or there are those of us who use our credit cards like a debit card to earn points or cash… but pay it off every month because it is just like a debit card and is paid directly from checking. We do that so we can fly and see my brother each year for free or much less! Granted, I don’t buy candy… but we do put most everything on that credit card for the sake of the points.
We charge everything and pay off the cards each month– i get points gift cards, gap store credit and flying miles. We use them for treats, an expensive building for the kids’ train table, ipods, dinners and things like that. We are thinking of selling our house so we will probably get some gift cards for lowes and home depot to save on materials to spruce the place up. We will even do things like charge our bills on them, might as well get 500 points for the insurance bill and them just send them the checks.
I would say it is the opposite when it comes to the Alderwood Mall. Whenever they say we are in a “recession” I personally I am always shocked at how busy it is and how many people are buying bags and bags of stuff. But then again I HARDLY ever go unless I feel the need to have Red Mango. I would much rather go to Nordstroms Rack or a Garage Sale
I am also not an online shopper because I dislike the fact that you have to spend a certain amount of $$ to get free shipping most of the time. OR you have the incentive to get cash back so you will spend more knowing you can get money back. But most importantly I like trying stuff on
And the more I blog the more I recognized that there are great deals online so I may just change my ways…you never know.
Here’s another thought: Black Friday.
Last year I spent – or should I say wasted? – hours, HOURS scouring Black Friday ads. While some folks poured into Target, Sears, and Best Buy for what they believed to be the “hottest” deals, the smarter set did their shopping at Amazon where shipping was free and prices were being dropped in “real time.”
This year, I will not devote the ridiculous time I did on Black Friday last year!
Again…some of these are just my observations. Not all malls struggle…but some do. Did you read the WSJ link? Over 100 malls were expected to fail last year…and one of the largest mall-based companies was facing bankruptcy.
Sales need not drop drastically for the bottom line to get pinched.
I miss my local mall, it was flooded a few months back and is just starting to reopen this week. I miss going at night for the clearance sales. I love old navy, jc penny and target for the kids clothes. We do have another local target that i go to but the other stores are at a mall that is in the middle of a busy traffic area and not overly stroller friendly(multiple stories) I just recently ordered a shower gift online vs driving up there. Between parking and bringing two little people(2 1/2 and 9mths) paying $5.99 to have it show up at my door was worth it. I did just go to kohls a bunch last week for clearance sale, but ours aren’t really in mall structures.