SHOPPERS BACK IN MALLS?

In March, foot traffic in 52 shopping malls monitored by research firm Placer.ai was 86 percent greater than a year before.
Although that figure is still 24 percent below that of March 2019, mall owners expressed relief when interviewed by the Wall Street Journal.
“There’s no question things are better,” William Taubman, president of Michigan-based mall operator Taubman Co., said. “Sales are also better than anticipated four months ago.”
Share prices of Simon Property Group, which recently bought Taubman, have grown 45 percent this year, more than triple the growth of the S&P 500.
“Our [rent] collection rates are above 90 percent,” Ami Ziff, real estate director at mall owner Time Equities, told the WSJ. “That’s really good news.”
The firm has been attracting new tenants by offering bargain rents, a tactic shared among many mall owners who hope to lock in tenants now and then raise rates later as the economic recovery continues and shoppers return in greater numbers, the WSJ said.
Although malls’ revival has roughly paced this year’s vaccine distribution, the industry’s recovery remains uneven.
Shoppers are spending on jewelry, casual clothing, and accessories, analysts report, while sales of business and formal wear lag.
TREND FORECAST: We consider this article a puff piece promoted by the owners. The pall on the malls, which we have long forecast, will continue. Malls that did well before the COVID War will remain profitable. Another hit to the malls will be ones where large cinemas were attached since we forecast that fewer people, especially Generation Z, will be going to the movies.