Article

Top 100: 10. The future of the shopping mall

June 17, 2010

Once the Mecca of the shopping experience, the shopping mall has lost its prominence as both a cultural force and a practical necessity. In October of 2008, the Wall Street Journal reported that U.S. mall vacancy rates were at their highest level since 1994. General Growth, the nation’s second-largest mall owner, filed for bankruptcy in April with a whopping $27 billion in debt on the books.

Part of it is certainly social. Teenagers, the stereotypical "rat" of the mall, now socialize through their cell phones just as much as through the food court. And part of it is simple supply and demand, as big-box retailers offer busy families everything they need in a single location, without the need to walk up and down the length of a mall for kids’ clothing at one store, dad’s dress shirts at another.

Retail experience consultant Mike Wittenstein sees shopping malls becoming more like "doing malls" in the coming years, with activities of various kinds joining shopping as the reason people pay a visit.

"As retail suffers, real estate suffers," he said. "As the recovery begins and there’s more available space, I believe that non-department store anchor tenants — churches, fitness centers, business incubators — will affect the tenant mix. The reason for the shopping mall to be a destination will change, which will mean opportunities — and challenge — for the remaining retailers."

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