This past year’s holiday shopping levels at indoor malls and open-air shopping centers exceeded 2023 levels, according to Placer.ai’s “Mall December 2024 Index.” This index measures 100 indoor malls, 100 open-air shopping centers and 100 outlet malls across the United States.
Despite the exponential uptick in online shopping in recent years, malls performed well in 2024. Indoor malls saw increases in foot traffic of 1.5 percent and open-air shopping centers saw a 1.7 percent increase in traffic performance. However, outlet malls experienced a slight decline in visits of 0.4 percent.
When compared to 2023, visits to all three mall formats dropped in December, but Placer.ai credits this to one fewer Saturday in December 2024 than 2023. Despite this, each format is in a healthy position when entering 2025.
Income levels of the mall format’s visitor base may be correlated to 2024 traffic performance. Open-air shopping centers saw the largest increase from
