design:retail - July/August 2019 - 6

FROM THE EDITOR

DESIGN:RETAIL

JULY/AUGUST 2019

Mallrats of the
21st Century

ECENTLY, I BINGE-WATCHED season three
of "Stranger Things" on Netflix
over the course of a few uptoo-late nights (don't worry, no
spoilers here!). In this latest season,
the small town of Hawkins, Ind.,
gets a shiny new shopping center,
dubbed the Starcourt Mall, reflecting the mall construction boom of the '80s. The mall has been immortalized as THE place to be in countless movies
and TV shows (think "Mallrats," "Clueless," "Mean
Girls," the list goes on) through the early-2000s. It
was the epicenter of socializing and shopping.
But today's shopping malls tell a different story,
many reporting record numbers of vacancies
and empty anchors. The headlines of the "death
of the mall" and "the fall of the mall" splatter our
newsfeeds. The golden era of the shopping mall is
officially over...or is it?
A recent study-conducted by the International
Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC)-polling about
1,000 13- to 19-year-olds in the United States just
might change your mind. The results of the study
(see page 27) paint an interesting picture of Gen Z's
love of physical retail and, specifically, the mall. In
the study, three-quarters of Gen Z said shopping in
physical stores provides a better experience compared with shopping online-and a majority of
Gen Z-ers make most apparel, electronics, personal care items, food and beverage, and novelty
purchases in-store. Even when they're shopping
online, nearly two-thirds of Gen Z said it's important for a retailer to have a store nearby.
Gen Z's driving factors for going to stores?
Socializing (58 percent), physically seeing items
(58 percent) and getting those items immediately (53 percent). Large shares of Gen Z visit those
physical stores in malls-in the three months prior
to the survey, Gen Z made an average of 8.6 trips to
malls, where they predominantly shop, eat/drink,
socialize with friends and see movies. While
most Gen Z-ers visit malls often, there are several

JESSIE DOWD
EDITOR IN CHIEF
DESIGN:RETAIL
JESSIE.DOWD@EMERALDEXPO.COM

"Three-quarters
of Gen Z said
shopping in
physical stores
provides a better
experience
compared with
shopping online."

features, they said, that could make those destinations even more attractive. The study reported the
following additions at the top of Gen Z's list: more
entertainment (think trampoline parks, indoor
skydiving experiences or laser tag), newer F&B
concepts, and retail that differs from the current
mix and includes unique brands. Additionally,
they are looking for the continued integration of
technology to make shopping more convenient
and fun.
A host of smart companies have taken note.
Mall owner, operator and developer Macerich has
introduced BrandBox-an incubator concept that
simultaneously reinvigorates the mall while offering a turnkey approach for digitally native brands
to open and operate stores that complement their
e-commerce presence and reach a new audience.
We dive into BrandBox and explore other innovative incubator spaces across the country that
support the ease of the transition from digital
to physical on page 30. Some of these concepts
are taking place inside malls that are ripe for reinvention, while others are located in mixed-use
centers and are taking advantage of becoming part
of neighborhood cultural hubs.
Incubator spaces are focused on offering IRL
access to up-and-coming brands-something
shoppers, particularly Gen Z, crave. And shopping
malls realizing this are one step closer to evolving
the mall experience in a way that connects with
today's consumers. The concept of the mall as a
social hub lives on, but what that will look like remains to be uncovered. Hopefully it won't involve
a Sci-Fi monster .

design:retail - July/August 2019

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