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Thursday, April 18, 2019

Malls see tsunami of store closures, falling traffic

It's only April, but already this year more store closures — nearly 6,000 — have been announced than in all of 2018.

That surely isn't helping mall owners.

Foot traffic at some of the best shopping centers across the country peaked around August 2018 and has since started to fall, after rebounding for much of last year, according to a new report from data analytics firm Thasos, which uses more than 100 million mobile phones to track when consumers enter and leave certain trade areas.

The good news for a lot of malls was that many retailers made a "comeback" and were able to draw in more shoppers by using promotions in 2018, John Collins, Thasos co-founder and chief product officer, said. "But if you're selling merchandise at a loss, you can only do that for so long."

As retailers are now starting to talk about pulling back on discounting, this could be one reason why traffic is dropping at malls, he said, in addition to the fact that some purchases are moving online. Another issue is landlords have been hoping that offering shoppers new experiences would make it more exciting to go to the mall, but the early evidence isn't showing a boost in activity.

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[Tell us, readers-- why is mall traffic down?]

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

Joe did you see how POLICE ARRESTED 107 fugitives in wicomWic last week why so many fugitives walking Around ???

Anonymous said...

As far as Salisbury goes it seems we get all the leftover stuff no one in the cities or the rest of the country wants.Have to go to Annapolis to find want you want.Also specialty stores are too high priced probably because rent is so high.

Anonymous said...

what is the point of the mall? as long as you have the ability to shop online, the only reason you'd visit anywhere is to see what you're ordering before you buy it or don't want to wait for it to be delivered. I stopped going to the mall once walmart showed up. then i stopped going to walmart as much once i could buy more stuff on amazon. Now I travel to walmart and let them load my groceries in my car for me and get the rest from amazon, walmart, or various other online stores. The only thing I actually enjoy going out for when I see them are those roadside fruit & vegetable stands. It's nice not dealing with people at the mall who are there for social status reasons instead of getting in and getting out with what you came for. sbynews is as social as i get, except for my neighbors, they're better than family most of the time.

Anonymous said...

Mall traffic is down because of Capitalism, and consumers vote with their wallets.

They can get their goods and services at a better price and more conveniently elsewhere.

A better business model, outperforms or replaces the old business model.

Anonymous said...

...because amazon and walmart.
duh

Anonymous said...

So with grubhub,takeout taxi and the like no more fast food stores or restaurants are needed just somewhere to fix the food.

Anonymous said...

My brother and I counted 7 places to buy sneakers !

Anonymous said...

Why buy something in the Mall for $75 when you shop around and get the same thing for $50 somewhere else. With money tight and getting tighter with government taking more for taxes etc. you have to shop around or the regular people do just to survive. Also the security at Malls are substandard.

Anonymous said...

After the arrest of 107 thugs,the mall will be empty.

Anonymous said...

I noticed that stores do not carry many items. You have to go to their website.

Anonymous said...

catalogs, online shopping, yard sales, consignment stores, marketplace and many other sites on facebook, and so much more...DON'T have to put up with thugs...

Anonymous said...

Why pay $100 there, when you can sit home, pay $50 and get it in a few days with free shipping? The department store's rent is the reason why prices are so high.

Anonymous said...

There is a mall in Salisbury?
Wow

The town seems like the worst place on earth, according to this blog. I’ve never been there

Anonymous said...

More stores boarded up than there are open. Bunch of high dollar specialty store catering to the very young. When I go to the mall, I go no farther than Boscov's. In at Boscov's......out at Boscov's. It's the best store in the mall in my opinion. Burlington is like a rummage sale............sizes all mixed up together. You have to sort through everything trying to find the size you're looking for. They are a real disappointment.