Foot Traffic Better Than Expected for Malls Last Month
YoY foot traffic disappointed in July, but not nearly as much as anticipated, Placer.ai reported.
Declines in mall traffic were all but inevitable for July, according to Placer.ai, but the drops proved better than expected according to the company’s newly issued report.
Placer.ai’s analyst Ethan Chernofsky said he expects YoY gaps to improve in August “as the comparison shifts from the powerful heights hit in July 2021 to an August 2021 that was limited by the spread of the Delta variant” and the decreases being seen in gas prices lately.
He said outlet malls stand to improve the most given their merchandise’s mostly value prices in this challenging economy.
Outlet Malls’ MoM Gets Big Boost
July saw year-over-year (YoY) visit gaps for top-tier indoor malls, open-air lifestyle centers (not including outlet malls) and outlet malls – the first time this year that all three showed declines
Indoor malls, open-air lifestyle centers, and outlet malls also saw substantial month-over-month (MoM) traffic increases with outlet malls seeing a massive 23.4% jump, according to the report.
GlobeSt.com last week reported that Simon Property Group had strong leasing activity in its malls in the second quarter and said 40% of its deals were made with new businesses that are lining up to fill mall space at its properties.
The REIT, which is the nation’s largest mall owner, had record retailer sales of $746 per square feet at its malls and outlets combined in Q2, a 26% increase from last year. Malls alone notched a 29% increase to $674.