Malls' Foot Traffic Flows Depend on Many Factors

Many malls are facing long-standing challenges but how is that affecting shoppers’ visits this year? Placer.ai took an in-depth look at the three main mall categories: Class A Indoor malls, Open-Air Lifestyle Centers and Outlet Malls, and what it found is that patterns differ according to a number of factors including by region. Mall location in a suburb or urban area and different times of the day and seasonality also come into play. And each type tends to serve a different consumer group. Here are more key findings:

Changes in visits. This past year may have put a kibosh on many shoppers’ interest in venturing out to a mall for different reasons. Yet, all three mall types experienced some growth in January 2023, helped by comparisons to the prior year’s wave of the latest virus. Foot traffic to Indoor Malls and Outlet Malls stayed on track with 2022 levels and visits to Open-Air Lifestyle Centers actually increased. But there were also see-saw or up-and-down results of note. Visits dipped in the middle of the year but then rose again in June as consumer confidence improved and then dropped again in July and August due to concerns over savings. But overall, Open-Air Lifestyle Centers have fared fairly consistently and were ahead of the other two mall formats, possibly because of their higher-income visitors, the report suggested.

Higher-income shoppers’ dominance. Higher-income visitors are heading to all three types of malls with Open-Air Lifestyle Centers attracting the most affluent shoppers, but the other two types not being left in the dust. They both are still seeing shoppers with significant disposable income. The median household income (HHI) in the potential markets of the three formats was higher than the nationwide median for last year. The report also found that many of the top performing malls are located within relatively affluent communities and attract the higher-income shoppers from those areas. Of the three mall types, Outlet Malls had the lowest median HHI. The report also concluded that this type of mall may be more accessible to a wider visitor base and its audience may be more affected by inflation. 

Variations by region. All three types of malls have seen the strongest 2023 year-over-year visit trends in the West where the median HHI in states like California, Washington and Utah is higher than the nationwide numbers. The mall sector in the relatively affluent Northeast also fared well with visits between January and August 2023 up 0.3%, relative to the prior year. The Midwest has fewer high-income states than are found on each coast but more than in the South, which saw mall visits dip 1.9% YoY.

Shopping according to the season. Visits tend to drop in the winter months and rise in the summer across all three mall formats but there are still variations. Outlet Malls, which generally have outdoor layouts and fewer indoor experiential offerings such as movie theaters or bars, see the biggest drop in winter and largest boost come summer. Open-Air Lifestyle Centers, also mostly open, often include some enclosed retail, which brings forth shoppers even in winter since they can head indoors to those spots. Indoor Malls not surprisingly show the smallest seasonal fluctuations between January and August and experience an increase in visits when it’s warmer as a way for shoppers to escape the heat. 

Dwell time differs too. Each state has its own seasonal pattern when it comes to median dwell time. Shoppers in Florida and Texas spend more time in malls on average than those in Michigan or New York. That’s not surprising since states that are hotter such as California, Georgia, Florida and Texas see an increase in time spent in hot July and August. But results may also indicate, the report says, that those in colder climates of New York and Michigan may prefer to enjoy the summer sun and not waste time shopping, especially indoors. But when there’s year-round sunshine, consumers may prefer longer visits in the peak of summer to beat the heat and enjoy air conditioning.

Urban versus suburban variations. Shopping in urban areas didn’t die due to Covid as some expected would happen but revealed great resilience. Between January and August of this year visits to urban shopping centers grew by 3%. Suburban visits experienced fewer visits than last year, but core customers continued to go, just less frequently. When shoppers hit the stores also varies by location. Urban shopping centers see more late-night shoppers, and many come from shorter distances since the malls may be located close to where they live and work. Suburban malls tend to visit more on weekends, come from farther away and turn their mall visits into an outing.