The common narrative around malls has painted a bleak picture. For years malls have been considered anachronistic — a retail format that consumers no longer find appealing.
But when you dig into current data, it tells a vastly different story. Top-tier malls are not just surviving; they’re staging a stunning comeback, outperforming nearly every other retail format, and they appear poised for more growth.
Class A malls are not only holding steady, they are excelling. The data show many malls are well located and well capitalized, have strong occupancy, and are posting steady visitor numbers — all factors helping drive sales. What’s more, many are expertly managed and showing significant evolution through the addition of new types of tenants, technology integration and a lot of experiential programming, all designed to engage today’s consumer.
The core finding is pretty striking: Over the past year, class A malls have emerged as one of the highest-perfor
