By George Anderson
Reuters reported on Friday that consumer purchases in stores located within malls are half of what they were in 1995. Mall stores represent 19 percent of retail sales in 2002 compared to 38 percent in 1995.
Craig Johnson, president of Customer Growth Partners, a consulting firm, said, "Consumers today have neither the time nor the patience to battle the parking space, teen-age crowd and in-store navigation hassles so typical of traditional malls and department stores." Mr. Johnson called department stores, "dinosaurs, as out of step with today's consumers as rotary-dial telephones and vinyl record albums."
Moderator's Comment: Is the shopping mall concept out of touch with today's consumer?
If yes, what needs to be done to change that? Malls have their place. It is online. [George Anderson - Moderator]