Back-to-School Shopping Appears to Boost Malls’ Foot Traffic

Online shopping is certainly still in fashion, but it seems more and more people are returning to malls to get their errands done in person as the school year approaches.

In July 2024, visits to indoor malls and open-air shopping centers were up 2.5 and 2.4 percent, respectively, compared to the same period last year, according to data from location analytics company Placer.ai. Outlet malls saw a slight 0.4 percent decline in mall visits compared to July 2023.

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A spokesperson for Placer.ai did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Fourth of July attracted a high number of mall-goers, with outlet malls drawing a 13.7 percent increase in visits during the week of July 1 — with a major traffic spike on July 4 itself. Indoor malls and open-air shopping centers did not attract as many visitors on the holiday, according to the report, which analyzed foot traffic at 100 indoor malls, 100 open-air shopping centers and 100 outlet malls around the country.

But all three mall segments — especially outlet malls — saw visits begin to surge during the last two weeks of July, driven largely by back-to-school shopping, in which sales typically run from the end of July through mid-September.

“I suspect the shift from high-traffic outlet numbers in the early part of July to modestly higher numbers for malls in the last two weeks of July has multiple genesis stories,” Kate Newlin, a retail brand consultant and president of Kate Newlin Consulting, said in an email to Commercial Observer. “Outlet malls tend to require more of a schlepp, so ‘one and done’ may be the mantra: a little bit of an outing around the July 4 period, scope out any serious deals, and then wait until back-to-school (price promotion) begins in earnest.”

On July 4, visits to outlet malls shot up 50.7 percent compared to an average Thursday, while foot traffic to indoor malls and open-air shopping centers remained below average for that day, according to Placer.ai.

The trend may showcase consumers’ desire for budget shopping ahead of the new school year, and it may predict a similar trend in August as school goes back into session in many districts and students head to major stores like Target for sales on supplies.

Newlin also pointed out that consumers may feel more confident heading back to malls now that the pandemic is over and “the economy has steadied.”

“There is probably a confidence lift as consumers get used to modestly higher hourly wages and/or confidence that the economy has steadied,” Newlin said. “We’re not going back to COVID sheltering times, we’re not in the recession many feared, mortgage rates are coming down … It may be safe to go back to the mall.”

Isabelle Durso can be reached at idurso@commercialobserver.com.