Report: Center traffic in U.S. has risen 55% in 2021

Mall traffic is rebounding. 

Nationwide, the traffic flowing into stores, restaurants, and entertainment centers has risen by 55% since the start of the year. Visits in two severely shut-down northern markets increased by nearly 300%.

That’s the score tallied by data scientists at Zenreach, an omnichannel ad platform that determines sales attribution by measuring online conversions and store visits.  Zenreach determined that returns to retail by consumers rose sharply in the first quarter and then moved up by 12% in the last two months.

The greatest increases since Jan. 1 occurred in Pittsburgh, where retail centers experienced a 297% rise, and in Detroit, where traffic surged by 288%.

Rounding out the top five were the Western markets of San Jose (182%), San Diego (164%), and Denver (156%).

“It would not surprise me if nationwide foot traffic reaches a more than 65% lift within the next three months,” said Zenreach VP of marketing Megan Wintersteen.

The top 15 increases: