The Shopping Mall is Making a Comeback – Connect CRE

The first U.S. mall opened in 1956, and at the height of the retail format’s prevalence, there were about 4,500 malls nationwide. However, the pandemic hastened ongoing shifts in how people shopped, and four years ago the mall was considered to be on the verge of extinction. 

However, Placer.ai says in a new white paper, “although malls were hit hard over the past few years as lockdowns and rising costs contributed to a significant drop in foot traffic, shopping centers have proven resilient. Leading players in the space have consistently reinvented themselves and explored alternate ways to draw in crowds – and as inflation cools, malls are bouncing back as well.” 

Titled The Comeback of the Mall in 2024, the white paper explores the state of malls in 2024 by analyzing trends driving mall traffic and seeing where consumer behavior is changing and where it remains the same. Among other topics, it discusses shifts in daily and hourly mall visitation patterns and the ways in which pop-ups can drive traffic spikes.