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Are American malls back from the brink?

Aug 22, 2023
While the "malls are dying" narrative has has been prevalent for a while, foot traffic is up at shopping centers serving more affluent consumers.
Malls in more affluent, suburban settings are thriving, thanks in part to an influx of luxury brands.
Scott Heins/Getty Images

Shopping mall fills empty stores with indie shops and pop-ups

Nov 15, 2022
Lloyd Center in Portland, Oregon, is leasing to local small businesses to keep up foot traffic.
Dozens of vendors participate in the pop-up art market at Lloyd Center.
Melanie Sevcenko

How teen mall hot spot Claire’s went from bankruptcy to IPO filing

Aug 5, 2022
The chain has benefited from '90s fashion trends, a good supply chain and looking outside of malls, says Elizabeth Segran of Fast Company.
Claire's has a team of "trend spotters" who travel the world looking for the next popular thing, says Elizabeth Segran of Fast Company. 
David McNew/Getty Images

Macy's is expanding investment in strip malls with smaller stores

Aug 1, 2022
Outdoor shopping centers have become more popular as consumers look for convenience.
Macy's is building out its smaller-footprint concepts like Macy’s Backstage. They'll be located in strip malls, where consumers can make quicker shopping trips.
Eugene Gologursky/Getty Images for Macy's, Inc.

Rumors of the death of the American mall may have been greatly exaggerated

Jun 27, 2022
In a new book, design critic Alexandra Lange describes how design played a major role in the shopping mall’s successes and failures.
Older malls that are dead or dying may offer communities and cities the chance to rethink the use of public space.
H. Armstrong Roberts/Retrofile via Getty Images

Mall-to-medicine transitions make health care more convenient for suburban patients

Apr 13, 2022
With abundant parking and layouts that are easy to navigate, one-time shopping malls are attractive to some medical facilities looking to expand.
More than a decade ago, Vanderbilt University Medical Center moved 22 specialty clinics to a former mall, now taking up 440,000 square feet of One Hundred Oaks in Nashville.
Blake Farmer/WPLN News

Mall economics: How to get consumers in China to shop in stores

Sep 22, 2021
More people are purchasing online but one mall in Shanghai is able to pull young consumers back into stores.
Yolanda Yu (left) and Yilina Li are willing to take a trip to TX Huaihai mall just for a particular bubble tea brand that appeared in singer Jay Chou's music video.
Charles Zhang/Marketplace

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California wants to make it easier to turn empty malls into affordable housing

Jun 2, 2021
But cities, who don't want to give up sales tax revenue, and stores may not be quick to give up mall space.
The mall-to-housing flip can be harder than it sounds.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

What’s next for struggling shopping malls?

Oct 19, 2020
Mall real estate is facing a crisis with department store sales down and bankruptcies up.
A nearly empty mall in Bloomington, Minnesota, in June.
Kerem Yucel/AFP via Getty Images

Thanksgiving won't launch Black Friday shopping at some of the biggest retailers

Jul 29, 2020
Walmart, Target and Best Buy won't open on the holiday this year to jump-start the traditional extreme-shopping weekend.
A Macy's Black Friday sale in 2018 in New York. Store traffic on Thanksgiving is just a small part of Black Friday weekend.
Stephanie Keith/Getty Images