One of the largest victims of the retailpocalypse has been the shopping mall.
With more consumers heading online for their shopping needs, brick-and-mortar stores are shutting their doors (800 so far this year), leaving shopping malls empty. Many of these establishments are transforming their premises for residential and commercial purposes.
Just how bad is it for shopping malls?
According to The Wall Street Journal, the vacancy rate at malls across the U.S. touched 8.6 percent, the highest it has been since the end of the recession in 2011 when it was 9.4 percent.
This comes as ecommerce sales jumped to 9.5 percent in the first quarter of 2018, from 9.5 percent in the previous quarter.
When the shopping mall inevitably becomes a thing of the past, where will the mall rats go?
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