Malls are outperforming outdoor centers in shopper dwell time

During the first week of September, traffic at outdoor shopping centers was 24.6% lower than a year ago. Malls performed more poorly, down 37.2%. But malls drew customers from a trade area that was 78.6% larger than those shopping outdoor centers and their visits were 11.1% longer, according to a study conducted by Placer.ai.

“Indoor malls were still showing signs of their unique strengths--the ability to drive visits from farther distances and to keep those visitors in their locations longer,” said Placer.ai’s VP of marketing Ethan Chernofsky.

While retail traffic was far off 2019 levels because of the pandemic, it grew throughout the summer. In early June, Placer.ai had outdoor centers at a 37.2% deficit and malls down 42.1%. But during the week beginning Aug. 17, when back-to-school sales started, traffic at both retail sectors was off only 17%.

Outdoor centers have weathered the COVID-19 storm far better than malls, which were shut down by government order from April into the summer. Los Angeles County just allowed malls to re-open last week.  As a result, longtime mall anchors like Macy’s are creating outdoor center formats.

But Chernofsky said the opposite could happen, too.

“Outdoor-oriented retailers could come indoors because there are features that the traditional mall can provide that other centers simply can’t,” he said. “From marketing reach, to cross-shopping potential, to access to different types of customers, malls have a clear value that they bring to the retail sector.”