High-rise commercial buildings

Sub Markets

Property Sectors

Topics

National CRE News In Your Inbox.

Sign up for Connect emails to stay informed with CRE stories that are 150 words or less.

National  + Retail  | 

The Shopping Mall is Making a Comeback

The first U.S. mall opened in 1956, and at the height of the retail format’s prevalence, there were about 4,500 malls nationwide. However, the pandemic hastened ongoing shifts in how people shopped, and four years ago the mall was considered to be on the verge of extinction. 

However, Placer.ai says in a new white paper, “although malls were hit hard over the past few years as lockdowns and rising costs contributed to a significant drop in foot traffic, shopping centers have proven resilient. Leading players in the space have consistently reinvented themselves and explored alternate ways to draw in crowds – and as inflation cools, malls are bouncing back as well.” 

Titled The Comeback of the Mall in 2024, the white paper explores the state of malls in 2024 by analyzing trends driving mall traffic and seeing where consumer behavior is changing and where it remains the same. Among other topics, it discusses shifts in daily and hourly mall visitation patterns and the ways in which pop-ups can drive traffic spikes.

Connect

Inside The Story

Read the Full Report

About Paul Bubny

Paul Bubny serves as Senior Content Director for Connect Commercial Real Estate, a role to which he brings 16-plus years’ experience covering the commercial real estate industry and 30-plus years in business-to-business journalism. In this capacity, he oversees daily operations while also reporting on both local/regional markets and national trends, covering individual transactions across all property types, as well as delving into broader subject matter. He produces 7-10 daily news stories per day and works with the Connect team and clients to develop longer-form content, ranging from Q&As to thought-leadership pieces. Prior to joining Connect, Paul was Managing Editor for both Real Estate Forum and GlobeSt.com at American Lawyer Media, where he oversaw operations at both publications while also producing daily news and feature-length articles. His tenure in B2B publishing stretches back into the print era, and he has served as Editor in Chief on four national trade publications. Since 1999, Paul has volunteered as the newsletter editor of passenger rail advocacy groups (one national, one local).

  • ◦Lease
  • ◦Economy