By George Anderson
New numbers from the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) and anecdotal information from mall operators and retailers suggest that Americans are going back to the mall to shop.
According to the ICSC, shopping centers experienced a 4.2 percent increase in sales per square foot last year. It was the biggest jump using sales per square foot as a benchmark in 11 years.
ICSC spokesperson, Patrice Duker, said, "This shows consumers have successfully broken out of that conservative shopping pattern. For a couple years, it seemed like people weren't going to malls as much. Now it looks like it's a format people are returning to."
According to the ISCS, the numbers show that shopping centers in the Western U.S. did particularly well, with a 7.1 percent increase in sales per square foot in 2004. Malls in the South saw sales per foot increase by 5 percent, the Northeast 3 percent and those in the Midwest were up 2.1 percent.
Janet LaFevre, director of marketing at the Glendale Galleria in Southern California, told the L.A. Daily News the facility there saw sales per square foot increase nearly 10 percent last year. "We absolutely had a banner year in 2004," she said.
Moderator's Comment: Are consumers going back to the mall to shop? What must malls do to achieve continued success? - George Anderson - Moderator