On a typical weekend, millions of Americans
visit the nation’s shopping malls. Some are
there to browse; others are hunting for a
specific item. All want to have an enjoyable
experience.
They arrive with high expectations – that
they’ll find the perfect outfit, buy the
anti-wrinkle cream that will make them look 10
years younger or enjoy a relaxing bite to eat
with friends. But it turns out a majority of
those shoppers are not having as much fun as
they’d anticipated. They complain that there is
nothing new or unique at the mall, and they
gripe about the limited variety of restaurants.
Other gripes ranking near the top of the list,
according to a study conducted by the Baker
Retailing Initiative at the University of
Pennsylvania’s Wharton School and Toronto-based
market research consultancy Verde Group, include
too many stores carrying the same products and
difficulty finding a parking space. Overall, it
reveals an undercurrent of dissatisfaction among
shoppers that overshadows problems they may have
with individual stores.
“What we refer to as discovery – or the ‘what’s
around the corner’ factor – seems to be
missing,” says Stephen J. Hoch, faculty director
of Wharton’s Jay H. Baker Retailing Initiative.
“Roughly half of the problems we heard about can
be summed up by saying that malls are becoming
mundane.
“In this economic climate, malls can’t afford to
be mundane,” he says. “A real opportunity exists
for developers to be more creative and to ramp
up the level of discovery for shoppers.”
Verde Group president Paula Courtney
acknowledges that telling mall developers that
they need to make changes when finances are
tight, vacancy rates are climbing and traffic
has slowed is a tough sell. But, she asks,
“What’s the alternative? Everyone is fighting
for traffic. Malls continue to attract shoppers,
but they have to find ways to sustain the
attention of this captive audience and avoid
anything that might be putting it at risk.”
Courtney, who along with Hoch will present
detailed findings of the study at NRF’s 98th
Annual Convention & EXPO later this month,
believes the research provides mall operators
with a prescription for reinvention.
“One of the biggest problems, particularly among
shoppers in the 25- to 40-year-old age bracket,
is a lack of restaurants,” she says. “In most
instances, malls are not around the corner. If a
customer travels an hour or more to get there,
it makes sense to provide more restaurant
choices.
“The mall needs to be a destination,” she says.
“That means plenty of great food and
entertainment options – not just an aggregation
of shops.”
Courtney also recommends that shopping center
developers pay closer attention to the mix of
shoppers at each center and to unique steps that
can be taken to shape the experience. If a mall
attracts a high percentage of young families
concerned about the environment, making changes
to be more in sync with their values can
cultivate loyalty – and could open the door to
new store concepts, too.
Research compiled by other sources confirms a
decline in mall traffic. Through its monthly
Consumer Intentions and Actions surveys,
BIGresearch finds that shopping at enclosed
malls has slipped, though not appreciably (see
chart on page 30). In November 2007, 13 percent
of adults indicated they were shopping less at
enclosed shopping malls and more at
free-standing stores. A year later, that figure
was 15.6 percent.
ShopperTrak, a Chicago firm that analyzes the
movement of shoppers in retail environments,
also has seen a decline in foot traffic through
2008, with a sharp drop recorded during the
fourth quarter. When all the figures are
tallied, co-founder Bill Martin expects
year-over-year mall traffic will have slipped by
2 to 3 percent in 2008.
“Given today’s wildly volatile economy, the fact
that traffic is off by single digits is not too
bad,” Martin says. “Still, it means it that
retailers and mall developers are going to have
to work harder to entice shoppers.”
There is some good news: Though consumers may be
making fewer visits to malls, when they do
venture out to their shopping mecca of choice
they’re staying longer, visiting more stores and
spending more money, Martin says.
Industry experts contend that regional malls
would very likely benefit from reinvention, and
“in a down market there are always opportunities
for those who are willing to take chances,” says
Michael Brown, retail strategist with Kurt
Salmon Associates. “There are plenty of centers
sitting with vacancies. Now is the time to be
creative.”
Tick, tick, tick
Brown does not count himself among the analysts
and observers forecasting the demise of regional
shopping malls, but he does feel “that the clock
is ticking for non-descript malls that exist as
shopping-only destinations. Shopping malls are
no different from retailers and they’re no
different from other businesses: they have to
constantly reinvent themselves to stay in step
with the consumer.”
Mary Brett Whitfield, senior vice president and
director of the Retail Forward Intelligence
System at TNS Retail Forward, is not sure any
amount of reinvention will lift mall traffic in
the next nine to 12 months.
