Holiday decorations can havea significant impact on retail spending activity. According to anew report from CBRE, West Coast malls spend anaverage of $0.27 per square foot on holiday decorations, andSouthern California retail owners spent $15.2 million on holidaydecorations and events beyond Santa photo centers. These eventsinclude tree-lighting events, carolers, simulated sleigh rides, petphotos, crafts, free food and drink, AR scavenger hunts, artificialsnow and skating rinks. While the investment sounds significant, ithas proven to have a big impact on retail sales volumes.

“In years past, foot traffic at malls would diminish right afterthe Black Friday rush and then pick up again during the last weekbefore Christmas,” Daniel Hunker, research analystat CBRE, tells GlobeSt.com. “This year, malls have been reportingsteady activity post Black Friday and the sentiment among mallowners is that investing time, money, and creativity into turningthese massive centers into experiential destinations can keeprevenue flowing throughout the entire month of December.”

It isn't surprising to hear the holiday decorations have such abig impact on retail spending, considering the gravitation towardmore experiential retail in general. Shoppers go to malls for aholiday experience. “We are definitely seeing landlords puttingmore effort into bringing experiential retail along with seasonaldecorations into their malls,” adds Hunker. “Putting up decorationsand playing Christmas tunes may put shoppers in a festive mood, butit does very little to engage them. Mall owners are starting to seethat coming to a mall needs to feel more like an event instead ofjust another stop to buy presents. Valet, concierge services, andpersonal assistants take a lot of stress off the consumers' mind,while events such as indoor skating rinks, live music, and fakesnow are a great way to keep excitable kids entertained.”