America’s Changing Shopping Centers: Part 2—Coronavirus Crisis Could Trigger Long-Delayed Mall Consolidation

What's Inside

As US states relax stay-at-home restrictions, several property owners are reopening malls in a phased manner. This report is the second in our America’s Changing Shopping Centers series.

We discuss the challenges that the coronavirus crisis has created for shopping malls:

• In the short to medium term—including reduced foot traffic, falling rental rates and the role of experiential retail
• In the medium to long term—including the impact of department-store chain bankruptcies and store closures on mall occupancy and property cash flows, and the curbside-pickup trend

We also consider how mall operators will fill vacant space left by anchor tenants in the wake of the coronavirus crisis—such as by repurposing space to dark stores and onboarding grocers and health-care centers.

Click here to read the first report in our America’s Changing Shopping Centers series, which explores long-term trends that are driving shifts in the US mall landscape.