I always think of big malls during the holiday season, filled with tinsel and all kinds of sales. And Travel & Leisure just came out with a list of the most-visited malls in the country.
Included in the list are the Del Amo Fashion Center in Torrance, Calif. and the King of Prussia Mall in King of Prussia, Penn. Number one is — perhaps no surprise — is the Mall of America, with an estimated 40 million visitors per year.
But in today’s Mid-day Extra, we ask: are malls still a big deal this holiday season?
We went to Faith Hope Consolo, chairman of the retail group at Prudential Douglas Elliman (and shopping expert) for answers.
According to her, malls are increasingly adding new features and attractions to keep the foot traffic up — from restaurants to wedding chapels and everything in between.
But while some malls are struggling, and the Internet presents some competition, the era of the mall is far from over. She says many consumers use the web to comparison shop, but still head down to their local mall for the actual purchase — and experience of shopping.
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