Placer.ai: Traffic was up at indoor malls in March, but visits were shorter
Published Wednesday, April 16, 2025 11:00 am
by Al Urbanski

This is a summary

"Open-air centers in Placer.ai’s Mall Index have posted consistently higher visitation levels than indoor malls and outlet centers, but enclosed centers turned the tables last month.

Indoor mall visits in March were 1.8% higher than they were in March of last year, while traffic dipped at open-air and outlet centers by 1.1% and 0.7% respectively. Despite the March rebound, overall mall visitation in the first quarter of 2025 remains below pre-pandemic levels from the first quarter of 2019, with shorter visit durations across all formats, indicating a lingering impact of COVID-19."

Read the original on Chain Store Age

Placer.ai: Traffic was up at indoor malls in March, but visits were shorter | Chain Store Age

Image credit to mostafa meraji on Unsplash

Placer.ai: Traffic was up at indoor malls in March, but visits were shorter | Chain Store Age

Go back | Show other stories | Send this page to a friend
Recent News

Study: Movie theater visits decreased 10% in 2025

U.S. movie theater visits fell by at least 10% year-over-year in 2025 when comparing second and third quarter data from 2024 with the same periods in 2025, according to location intelligence provider Kalibrate. Major cinema chains experienced steeper declines with average visit volumes down approximately 15%, including Regal Cinemas declining 12.2% and Century Theatres dropping 20.3%, while independent theaters showed greater resilience with only an 8.6% decrease. Households earning over $100,000 annually showed signs of pulling back more than other income groups, notable since moviegoing has historically skewed toward those with more disposable income. Highly urbanized areas experienced the largest year-over-year declines with visits down 18%, while rural and exurban areas saw a much smaller decline of just 5%, and several Western states including Idaho, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming posted increases of more than 5%.

Global brands shut Middle East stores as conflict causes chaos

Major retail brands have closed stores across Middle Eastern shopping hubs including Dubai as escalating regional conflict disrupts business operations and travel, with many locations operating with skeleton staff or shuttered entirely.  Chalhoub Group, operating 900 stores for brands including Versace, Jimmy Choo, and Sephora, closed all Bahrain locations while making staff attendance voluntary in UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Jordan markets. Luxury conglomerate Kering temporarily closed stores in UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain, and Qatar, while Amazon shuttered Abu Dhabi fulfillment operations and suspended regional deliveries. Apple's Dubai stores remained closed, H&M shut Bahrain and Israel locations, and consumer goods group Reckitt closed its Bahrain manufacturing site while instructing all Middle East employees to work from home. Luxury stocks LVMH, Hermès, and Richemont declined 4% to 6.5% as investors assessed the impact on a region that represented luxury's strongest growth market in recent years, accounting for 5% to 10% of global luxury spending. 

Senate Advances Sweeping Housing Bill, Includes Ban On Institutional Buyers Of Single-Family Homes

The Senate advanced the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act with an 84-6 bipartisan vote, combining affordability and housing production measures with a Trump administration proposal to ban institutional investment in single-family homes. The bill defines institutional investors as companies owning 350 or more homes and includes exemptions for homes built to rent, with the White House indicating President Trump would sign it if passed as written.  Key provisions include simplifying National Environmental Protection Act review processes to reduce construction delays, increasing Federal Housing Administration multifamily loan limits, changing manufactured housing definitions to spur construction, and supporting housing development in opportunity zones and Community Development Block Grant jurisdictions. The legislation, authored by Senators Tim Scott and Elizabeth Warren, still requires a final Senate vote and must be reconciled with the House bill before reaching the president's desk.