Malls See Plenty of Action, but Less of It Is Shopping By STEPHANIE ROSENBLOOM
Published: July 10, 2009
Despite the recession, James Morrell is at the mall four or five times a week.
That might sound like good news for retailers, but Mr. Morrell does not walk out with shopping bags.
He walks out with a sweat.
“Four laps,” he said as he jogged right past Dick’s Sporting Goods on a recent morning at Roosevelt Field on Long Island, “which I think is about two miles.”
For more than a decade, malls have donned the trappings of community centers. Mall owners installed free or low-cost amenities like jogging routes, restaurants, movie theaters and merry-go-rounds to lure consumers and keep them shopping longer.
But now, in a recession that has consumers sitting on their wallets, those ancillary attractions suddenly seem more popular than the stores. The sideshow is now the big top.
“The consumer’s not avoiding the mall,” said Marshal Cohen, chief industry analyst for the NPD Group, a retailing consultancy. “The consumer’s just avoiding spending the money.” ........(more)
The complete piece is at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/12/nyregion/12mall.html?_r=1&hpw