Retailers bypassing malls for open-air shopping centers

JLL predicts that U.S. indoor mall vacancy rates will grow to nine percent this year, higher than the 7.8 percent for outdoor shopping centers and seven percent for "power centers." Many of these non-mall locations are found in suburbs. Conor Flynn, CEO of Kimco Realty, which owns nearly 400 open-air shopping centers based around grocery stores, said his companies are benefitting from a migration to the suburbs." He said he is "cautiously optimistic that the lion's share of what we've experienced is sticky."