Young people are returning to their rightful stomping grounds: The mall

Shopping malls were once the center of the universe for suburban teens, until the internet made it easier to shop and socialize from right at home.

But Gen Z is rejecting the online obsessions of Gen X and millennials by returning to the once-forsaken halls of shopping malls.

It’s part of…

… a general trend of shopping in person, rather than online, which has also contributed to the revival of bookstores.

The mall revival is a different beast, though. 

• Gen Z shoppers want items quicker, to spend time with their friends, and to share their shopping adventures on social media.
• Nearly 63% of Gen Zers plan to shop at physical stores this holiday season, per CNBC, while only ~50% plan to use retailers’ apps and websites.

Take mall staple Abercrombie & Fitch: 60% of sales for its millennial-skewing mainline brand come digitally, but only 30% of sales for its Gen Z-friendly Hollister label are online.

Malls are courting these shoppers with more experiential offerings (mini golf, Instagram photo ops, etc.), plus hotter retailers that attract more attention than dying anchor stores.

Too online as it is

Gen Z was raised on the internet, even before covid killed a lot of in-person bonding experiences. Roberta Katz, a Stanford University researcher who studies Gen Z, suggests they want to embrace the real world’s advantages.

They have also become jaded by the digital retailers that supposedly “killed” malls the last time around.

• Thirty-nine percent of Gen Z shoppers are “tired of hearing about Amazon,” per data from research firm Mintel.
• 60% of Gen Z shoppers believe Amazon is “too powerful.”
• Nearly 50% of Gen Z shoppers try to actively avoid Amazon, compared to 20% of boomers and 40% of millennials.

After growing up with the toothless smile on Amazon boxes and the cold sterility of Zoom classrooms, Gen Z seems happy to touch the proverbial grass.