Placer.ai: August mall traffic flat year over year
Mall traffic was muted in the month of August as consumers remained cautious of their spending.
According to the latest Placer.ai Mall Index for August 2025, visits to indoor malls increased 0.08% compared to the previous year, while open-air mall visits decreased 0.07% and trips to outlet malls were flat (0.0%). Despite the lack of annual growth, visits to malls rebounded from June and July after a strong April and May.
[READ MORE: Placer.ai: Indoor mall rise in July; how Boise Towne Square beat the average]
A soft Labor Day weekend capped off the slower summer, according to Placer.ai, with slight dips in visits across all three mall formats compared to Labor Day weekend 2024. Outlet malls saw the biggest drop (-3.9%), with indoor (-1.4%) and open-air (-1.5%) shopping centers seeing visits fall year over year at roughly the same pace.
The decline in average mall visit length offers another indicator of softening consumer sentiment and a cutting back on discretionary purchases, according to the August index. While visit length dipped over the COVID-19 pandemic as consumers tried to limit their time spent in enclosed spaces, the average visit duration to malls rose in 2023 and again in 2024.
In August, visitors at indoor malls (71.9 minutes) and outlet malls (71.1 minutes) spent a similar amount of time shopping on average, while open-air center visitors spent an average of 66.5 minutes shopping. Placer.ai says the drop possibly reflects “heightened consumer caution” and a renewed focus on efficiency and essentials.
“The upcoming holiday season offers malls a chance to regain momentum and recapture consumer attention,” said Shira Petrack, head of content at Placer.ai. “While recent trends highlight caution and shorter visit durations, they also underscore consumers’ growing appetite for value and convenience – dynamics that indoor and outlet malls are uniquely positioned to meet. By pairing value-driven promotions with engaging experiences and festive activations, malls can reassert their role as destinations not just for shopping, but for leisure and community during the holidays."
