Maytal Cohen

About the Mall Index: The Index analyzes data from 100 top-tier indoor malls, 100 open-air shopping centers (not including outlet malls) and 100 outlet malls across the country, in both urban and suburban areas. Placer.ai leverages a panel of tens of millions of devices and utilizes machine learning to make estimations for visits to locations across the country. 

Key Takeaways: 

• In May 2024, indoor malls, outlet malls, and open-air shopping centers all saw significant year-over-year (YoY) visit increases – providing further evidence that April’s slowdown was due to an Easter holiday calendar shift, rather than any real category weakness. 
• Both Mother’s Day and Memorial Day drove substantial visit spikes across mall types – with foot traffic outperforming last year’s levels. 
• Outlet malls experienced more pronounced visit bumps on Easter weekend and Memorial Day, while open-air shopping centers drew bigger spikes on Mother’s Day. 

May Sees a Strong Rebound in Mall Visits

After a brief calendar-driven slowdown in April, May saw a resurgence in foot traffic to malls. Indoor malls led the way with an 8.6% YoY increase, followed by open-air shopping centers and outlet malls, which experienced YoY jumps of 6.2% and 5.7%, respectively.

This uptick is likely due to a variety of factors – from warmer weather to rising consumer confidence amidst slowly easing inflation. And malls’ particularly strong showing on two of May’s most important retail milestones – Mother’s day and Memorial day also helped propel the segment forward. 

Category Strength Boosted and Showcased by Holiday Visit Spikes

Taking a closer look at visit patterns to the three mall types on Mother’s Day and Memorial Day shows how significant these special days were for mall foot traffic. On Mother’s Day (May 12th), indoor malls, open-air shopping centers, and outlet malls saw respective visit spikes of 15.8%, 26.0%, and 11.4%, compared to an average year-to-date (YTD) Sunday. And Mother’s Day visits were up significantly YoY as well – further highlighting the category’s robust positioning.

All three mall types also saw impressive visit bumps on Memorial Day – this time compared to an average YTD Monday. The relative spikes were bigger across the board, since malls tend to be less busy on Mondays than on Sundays. But for outlet malls, Memorial Day visits really hit it out of the park – with foot traffic up by a whopping 123.3%. As a day off work featuring plenty of markdowns, Memorial Day is an ideal time to make the longer trip to an outlet mall and hunt for bargains. 

And in another promising sign for the category, Memorial Day visits to all three mall types increased YoY – showing that despite continued headwinds, malls are still on the rise. 

Which Mall Kings Rule Special Calendar Days? 

Comparing weekly mall visits to an early January baseline also shows the varying impact of different holidays on the three mall types. 

On Easter, and even more so on Memorial Day – an extended weekend very much focused on savings – outlet malls won the day. On these holidays, shoppers may be more likely to have the time and state of mind to make a day of their shopping trip and lean into the treasure-hunting experience. 

But on Mother’s Day, more upscale open-air shopping centers took the lead, as consumers embraced a more unique and luxurious shopping experience. Still, all three mall types drew increased traffic on the different special days – showing that each can benefit from a variety of calendar highlights. 

Looking Ahead

Malls’ strong May performance – especially on the holidays – shows that shopping centers are on the upswing once again. This could be an encouraging sign for the category heading into the summer, and may hint at a promising shopping season during the warm months ahead. 

For more data-driven retail insights, visit our blog at Placer.ai. 

About the Mall Index: The Index analyzes data from 100 top-tier indoor malls, 100 open-air shopping centers (not including outlet malls) and 100 outlet malls across the country, in both urban and suburban areas. Placer.ai leverages a panel of tens of millions of devices and utilizes machine learning to make estimations for visits to locations across the country. 

April Foot Traffic Trends: A Mall Visit Slowdown 

In April 2024, YoY mall visits slowed following two months of positive visit growth. For Indoor Malls, the decline was marginal – and Open-Air Shopping Centers saw visits remain on par with last year’s levels. But Outlet Malls saw a significant drop of 6.5% in visits. 

Although at first glance this slowdown may suggest a resurgence of the retail challenges that plagued much of 2022 and 2023, a deeper dive into weekly visit trends paints a much rosier picture.

April Weekly Visits Show: Mall Foot Traffic Remains Strong

Indoor Malls and Open-Air Shopping Centers experienced robust YoY visit increases every week of April 2024 and into May, with the sole exception of the week of April 8th. This isolated drop appears to be due to a calendar discrepancy: In 2023, Easter fell on April 9th, while in 2024, the holiday fell on March 31st. So the week of April 8th, 2024 is being compared to the week immediately after the holiday (including Easter Monday) when malls likely experienced heightened activity due to gift returns and pent-up demand following holiday store closures. Though Easter Monday isn’t an official holiday in the U.S., many people likely take the day off – giving them more time to hit the stores.

Outlet Malls, which saw a steeper decline during the week of April 8th, appear to have been particularly impacted by the Easter calendar difference – shoppers may be especially likely to make the trek to an outlet mall on a holiday weekend, or on Easter Monday. But Outlet Malls also saw their positive momentum quickly recover. 

The continued rise in weekly YoY mall visits signals continued retail strength into the spring of 2024.

Post-Easter Monday Visits Peak

Holiday retail foot traffic is typically characterized by two main spikes: a pre-holiday visit spike evident in the days preceding the holiday, and a post-holiday uptick driven largely by gift returns and pent-up demand after stores reopen. The Monday after Easter follows this pattern – and comparing this year’s post-Easter visit spike to the one observed in 2023 provides further evidence of the category’s resilience.

On Monday, April 1st, 2024 – the day after Easter – Indoor Malls, Open-Air Shopping Centers, and Outlet Malls all drew significantly more visits than on an average Monday. And this year’s post-Easter visit spikes – ranging from 22.5% to 27.8% – were even more impressive than last year’s. Outlet Malls, which may be more likely to draw visitors on the day after Easter, saw the biggest post-Easter visit spikes.

All three mall types also saw more absolute visits this year on the day after Easter than they did in 2023 – with April 1st, 2024 foot traffic to Indoor Malls, Open-Air Shopping Centers, and Outlet Malls up 8.7%, 12.3%, and 6.7%, respectively, compared to April 10th, 2023. 

Looking Ahead

Weekly YoY visit data and post-Easter foot traffic trends show that malls remain on an upward trajectory. As inflation continues to ease, malls may regain some leverage and can potentially attract crowds more readily than they did in 2023.

For more data-driven retail insights, visit our blog at placer.ai. 

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