DMM Retail Industry e-News Issue #222

Data Points to Comeback for Malls
Post-Pandemic

Malls, as we know, count on foot traffic. Few know that as well as those retailers that sell products designed for the foot. The same with the folks at Footwear News, which recently jumped in on the prediction bandwagon to see what would be in store for malls in 2022. According to the data they analyzed, malls are on the path for a comeback, post-pandemic. “The mall is going to change to become not only a place where you go to shop, but it has to become more of a place of discovery, creation, and community gathering,” Berkeley Research Group managing director Keith Jelinek told FN in an interview. We here at ShoppingCenters.com, of course, love the focus on data, as you can see here.

NRF22: Do Folks Want In-Store Shopping?
I Hear Hangers Clacking at the Superhero T-Shirt Rack!

Is it the clack-clack-clack as hanger after hanger knocks against the other as shoppers look for that shirt in just the right size? Is it the random craving for a pretzel or ice cream cone? Maybe it’s the chance meeting of an old friend, or someone new to spark the interest in an indoor, in-person shopping experience. Whatever the reason, there is a seemingly new-found optimism across the larger world (outside of our shopping center industry confines) that people want to shop off-line, but they want a more rewarding experience. Fair enough. The National Retail Federation earlier this month held their Big Show at the Javits Center in NYC. BizTech magazine looked at data from a report by Intel, which examined shoppers’ desires since the pandemic, and they found that people want to buy goods in the real world. And the data that can be collected from any consumer’s in-store visit can be invaluable. Perhaps a store might let consumers use their cellphones, when they opt-in to that kind of service, to scan and pay for items as they walk through. That, the article notes, can provide a whole host of answers to a retailer’s questions. “Now you’re starting to unlock information about that customer journey in the store by providing them a service that they find valuable,” said David Dobson, the global industry director for retail, hospitality and consumer goods, Intel. Check out how ShoppingCenters.com’s mobile device data and virtual spatial boundaries help you identify consumer shopping trends and patterns in specific shopping centers or malls.

Case Study –
Myrtle Beach: Same Planet, Different World

It’s the story of two malls: Myrtle Beach Mall and Myrtle Beach Tanger Outlets in South Carolina. MBM: empty. MBTO: thriving. Why? An article posted on MyrtleBeachOnline.com this past holiday season examined the two properties, basically across the street from each other, to see what made one tick and the other, well, not tick. “Myrtle Beach Mall is dying, waiting to be torn down and replaced with something new. Tanger Outlets is thriving, busy and seeking its next reinvention.” One retail analyst told the site that traditional malls are “being surrounded by all of these discount centers,” which are “sucking the life” out of them. At the same time, some speculate, Tanger benefitted during COVID as an outdoor shopping center. Check out the article for a more thorough look back and into the future of these and other area properties.