Mall visits were down in August after a consistent run of year-over-year growth, in yet another sign that rising inflation and gas prices are constraining consumer spending.

According to Placer.ai data analyzing foot traffic for last month, both the indoor mall and open-air lifestyle centers sectors saw increases in the visit gap year-over-year, with the former posting an uptick of 1.1% between July and August and open-air lifestyle centers increasing by 0.9% in the same period.

"This shows the ongoing effects of wider economic headwinds and the limitations they have placed on retail visits, but also the unique strength of the brick and mortar retail environment in 2021 that serves as the comparison," Placer.ai's Ethan Chernofsky says. Another bright spot: the year-over-year visit gap for outlet malls declined by 1.1%, marking the first positive movement for this segment since April.