Shopping malls have taken a beating over the past few years with major retailers such as Sears and Macy’s pulling out of prime anchor spots. While the average vacancy rate at the nation’s malls was 92.7 percent in 2014, 25 of the nation’s nearly 1,000 shopping malls have closed since 2010 and another 60 are headed to extinction, according to respective data from the International Council of Shopping Centers, an industry trade group, and real estate research firm Green Street Advisors.
Shopping has clearly evolved based on the generation of the shopper, said Ann Hambly, CEO and founder of 1st Service Solutions, a Grapevine, Texas-based commercial real estate servicing firm. Most baby boomers prefer walking the malls while Generation X and Y tend to opt for online shopping.