Earlier this month, for the second time in seven years, Claire’s filed for bankruptcy. The retailer will avoid complete collapse by selling most of its North American business to private equity firm Ames Watson, but its ongoing struggles serve as a cautionary tale. Marketing tactics alone cannot keep a brand afloat without a cohesive strategy—one that unites product, customer experience, and cultural relevance.

On today’s podcast episode, we discuss what malls are doing well (and why), the reasons folks have been skipping the mall, and why IKEA and Walmart bought one each. Listen to the conversation with our Senior Analyst Sara Lebow as she hosts Analysts Emmy Liederman and Rachel Wolff.

Half a decade out from the pandemic, retail has firmly established its “new normal,” one where consumers seek spaces they can relax, people return to the office, and wellness remains a focus. Here are four trends illustrating where consumers are spending their time and how those changes impact retail.

Consumers plan to return to malls this holiday season, shop more in-person: Mall visits are expected to rise 18%, which is good news for department stores—although Amazon, Walmart, and Target remain top destinations.

Retail foot traffic is bouncing back, especially in malls, thanks to diverse tenant mixes and engaging experiences that attract shoppers, Ethan Chernofsky, senior vice president of marketing at Placer.ai, said during a recent EMARKETER webinar. The pandemic’s lasting influence has also changed how we shop, with more people visiting multiple grocery stores for the best deals and quality, while small-format stores are helping retailers meet local needs.

Mall foot traffic is returning to pre-COVID-19 levels. In 2023, visits to indoor shopping malls were down 5.8% from 2019 levels, an improvement from the 15.3% decrease in 2021, per Placer.ai’s The Comeback of the Mall in 2024 report.

Sometimes, consumers don’t behave how we expect. Despite their digital-native status, Gen Zers still shop in-store, while baby boomers are all about new-kid-on-the-block Temu. And though they’re still mostly children, Gen Alphas are making their mark on the retail landscape.

Malls are struggling to stay profitable as consumer behaviors change and shopping moves even more online. While foot traffic and occupancy rates are down, there are some opportunities for growth. By changing up their retail mix and mastering the omnichannel experience, malls can regain relevance among shoppers.

Consumers spent $211.7 billion online over the 2022 holiday season (from November 1 to December 31), growing 3.5% year over year, per Adobe Analytics.

Malls are becoming less relevant to the overall retail landscape: While top players like Simon continue to thrive, other developers struggle to stay alive.

Malls need to change: As department stores right-size and shift to smaller formats, mall operators need new types of businesses to drive people to their shopping centers.

Macy’s, Nordstrom bet on smaller stores as shoppers move away from malls: Department stores are taking a localized approach to reach more consumers and speed up fulfillment.

Starbucks invests in more frictionless customer experiences: More fast-food brands are building up their drive-thru and on-the-go ordering capabilities, meeting changing consumer behavior in the process.

Improved foot traffic shows that good malls still draw a crowd: While they may not have the trajectory of ecommerce, traditional retail is recovering, even amid ongoing delta variant concerns.

On today's episode, we discuss Amazon's Q2 performance of its retail business, some takeaways from its Prime offering, and where it stands on its physical stores strategy. We then talk about capitalizing on the subscription box trend, how buy-now-pay-later users are different from credit card users, and if malls really are within striking distance of 2019 traffic levels. Tune in to the discussion with eMarketer director of forecasting at Insider Intelligence Cindy Liu.

"Do You Have a Second?" is a pint-sized, daily podcast that highlights three new data releases and offers some context--all in five minutes. Here are this week's episodes, packed together for easy listening.