2024's Top 10 Retail Center Experiences: No. 1 Mall of America

Early last year, Mall of America’s five-person activation team learned that British pop star Ed Sheeran was about to embark on his “Mathematics” tour and would appear at Minneapolis’s U.S. Bank Stadium. They had a hope that Sheeran — whose “Lego House” was a hit single in 2011, and who himself was an avid Lego constructor — might make an appearance at The Lego Store at the mall prior to his show. They got no reply.

Then, the week before the U.S. Bank show, they got a call from the Sheeran p.r. crew asking, ”Hey, would you like to have Ed Sheeran make an appearance at The Lego Store?”

“Umm, of course!” was their reply.

Sheeran spent a good part of the day at MOA, donning the yellow apron and blue T-shirt (“Ed” embroidered on the chest) worn by The Lego Store staff. He signed purchases for scores of fans who attended the event and banged out a rendition of “Lego House” in front of the store. His appearance got national coverage from USA Today, Rolling Stone, CBS News, and thousands of Instagram posts.

“It was a surprise appearance, and the social media it got was fantastic,” said Jill Renslow, MOA’s chief business development and marketing officer. “We get the opportunity for a lot of these surprise celebrity appearances. We’ve established a reputation for being able to create valuable content for them.”

• In April, big-time DJ Marshmello promoted his pop-up shop at MOA by doing a show at the mall. It drew 5,000 fans. “The whole place was shaking,” said Renslow
• In March, when Olivio Rodrigo was appearing at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul on her GUTS tour, her bus stopped at the mall to give fans an immersive experience and sell merchandise.
• In June, Hulk Hogan made a surprise call to MOA, asking to appear to promote the launch of his Real American beer brand.
• Taylor Swift herself didn’t appear at the mall prior to her 2023 appearance in Minneapolis,, but thousands of her fans did to attend pre-show parties and take shuttle buses to U.S. Bank Stadium for her performance.

Meanwhile, the 5.6 million-sq.-ft. Mall of America — home to more than 500 stores and 60 dining options — doggedly works at re-curating its retail lineup to keep in tune with current wants and needs. Over the past five years, it has signed nearly 130 new tenants. Among them are Marine Layer, Mugsy Jeans, True Classic, Little Words Project, and Wilson Sporting Goods.

MOA strives to expand its experiential lineup with breakthrough brands. One of them is a concept conceived by the co-founder of Blue Man Group called Wink World in which guests move through a sequence of rooms filled with art, color displays, and music. Its newest addition to this category is Great Big Game Show, which challenges visitors to compete head-to-head as contestants in popular TV game shows.