Placer.ai: Mall visits — led by open-air centers — see gains in September
Labor Day weekend helped increase visits to malls in September to cap off a strong summer.
Placer.ai’s September 2026 Mall Index found that all three mall formats saw year-over-year visit growth in September. Open-air shopping centers led the pack once again with visits up 5.6%, continuing a positive streak that has held all year.
Indoor malls were close behind at 5.5%, narrowing the gap with open-air centers to its smallest margin of 2026. Outlet malls bounced back from August's decline to post a 4.1% year-over-year increase, which marked the sector’s strongest increase in visits since February.
September’s mall visit growth was aided by when Labor Day fell this year. Labor Day was on Sept. 7 this year, placing the full three-day holiday weekend in September. In 2025, the Saturday and Sunday fell in August.
Outlet visits were the biggest winners of the holiday weekend. On the Saturday and Sunday before Labor Day, visits in the sector were 29.1% higher than the average for other September Saturdays and Sundays, compared with lifts of just 8.2% and 6.9%, respectively, at indoor malls and open-air centers.
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September’s mall success came in the face of strong headwinds, as consumers continued to visit retail centers as gas prices rose and consumer sentiment fell.
“Calendar assist aside, September's data points to a mall sector that is holding up well against substantial headwinds,” said Lila Margalit, content manager at Placer.ai. “Open-air centers and indoor malls both grew year over year for the month and drew more Labor Day visitors than last year, a healthy sign as retailers prepare for the holiday season. Outlet malls' holiday lag, meanwhile, is a reminder that destination formats remain more exposed to what happens at the pump.”
