The Path to Shopping Mall Traffic Recovery

June 29, 2021

Even before the coronavirus pandemic, mall culture was shifting. Mall enthusiasts used to spend hours browsing their favorite stores before grabbing a bite to eat and seeing a movie. Now, the convenience of online shopping and the development of new discount shopping centers have changed shoppers’ relationships with local malls. Two of the biggest challenges for malls today are 1) how to bring customers back and 2) which brands should be tapped to fill empty storefronts. To better understand how malls are performing, we compared mall traffic to shopping center foot traffic in Q2 2021 (so far).

In June, foot traffic to outlet malls was 28% lower than in April. While traditional malls weren’t as impacted, they also saw lower foot traffic in June (-16%). Outlet malls are known for name-brand stores that sell items at discounted prices and usually attract consumers looking for a good deal. It’s interesting that consumers aren’t showing as much enthusiasm for outlet malls, considering that value shopping has become a big trend in the wake of COVID-19. Of the three categories examined, shopping centers were the least impacted (-5%). Consumers may still be hesitant to visit malls due to crowds, and instead seek the convenience of a quick stop at a stand-alone store in a shopping center.

The Path to Shopping Mall Recovery

This doesn’t mean that consumers aren’t interested in returning to malls, however. Mall operators will need to use data to develop a new strategy to attract consumers back to malls. To illustrate how malls can use data to shift their strategy, let’s take a look at a real-world example.

Chart of Foot Traffic Trends and % of Change in Shopping

A Real-World Example: Mall of America

While malls might be seeing less consumer foot traffic, this doesn’t mean that they aren’t going to recover. Data from our most recent case study on Mall of America showed that the mall should invest in regional (or even local) advertising campaigns and adjust campaign targeting to reach interested consumer groups, like discount shoppers. However, this data isn’t just for ad targeting.

Real-world data can also be used to inform ad creative and campaign messaging. For example, Mall of America might want its ads to emphasize some of the brand name retailers offering discounted goods. In addition, the mall could also conduct a competitive analysis of foot traffic to nearby malls, and perhaps create a conquesting campaign to encourage people who go to those malls to visit Mall of America instead.

It can be a challenge for malls to determine which stores they should include (and which ones they shouldn’t). Location intelligence can be used by Mall of America to find out where shoppers go and to select stores and amenities based on what their visitors are already looking for. Beyond retail stores, food is another big part of mall culture. The mall can use this real-world data to discover which restaurants their visitors love and work to bring those restaurants to the property.

While some malls are still taking a break from live events, this shouldn’t stop Mall of America from planning future events. Mall of America can also use location data to determine what types of events their visitors enjoy and make a plan to schedule similar events in the future. Using location intelligence, the Mall of America can adapt to these and other changes in consumer behavior and make better business decisions that ultimately accelerate foot traffic recovery.

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