Death of the American Mall
by Reality finally catches up to our wallets.
The obituaries are being drafted throughout the country.
The indoor mall – born 1950s – passing on in the late 2000s. The mall experienced great prosperity in the heydey of credit card use. The mall experienced a disease, called the Recession, starting in 2008. The Wall Street Journal reports some chain stores have suffered through a 17% loss in income per square feet (Dillards, 2001 – 2008). In the 12 months ended March 31, U.S. malls collectively posted a 6.5% decline in tenants’ same-store sales, according to Green Street Advisors Inc., a real-estate research firm. The final burial plans for America’s indoor malls are pending the outcome of the current recession.
The reality that wasn’t addressed in the WSJ article was how the current troubling delimma the stores have found themselves came to be. No matter how attractive you make a shopping mall, American’s can no longer afford to pay full price for shopping in designer stores. The Christmas 2008 season might have been our last burst of spending in the mall’s overpriced stores.
I have never been a big crowd kind of guy – except for the occasional big games. Shopping in the malls forced me to stay home and read a good book. One of the last times I was in the mall was for my daughter’s tryout to sing the National Anthem at a minor league baseball ballpark. I shopped for some Superbowl Championship displays. The customer service of one small non-chain store was great, they had a Superbowl Terrible Towel costs $10.00. In another big chain store, with extra staff and care less attitudes, that same towel costs $12.00. The same Terrible Towel was $7.95 online on the Steelers.com website. That is with a click of the mouse, no crowd, and a thank you for your service e-mail.
The obituary for our nation’s shopping malls may be closer than we all realize. So, on a closing note to mall all mall retailiers — find a more way to serve customers better or pack up your goods.
Sadly, times are changing and we can all wave at the shopping mall as they leave the building.
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