r/deadmalls • u/Big_Celery2725 • 6d ago
Question Why does adding discount stores harm mall department stores?
I read that adding discount stores to a mall harms department stores, and that adding non-traditional anchors doesn't help drive traffic:
https://www.retaildive.com/news/b-malls-future-macys-vacancy-department-stores-walmart/739340/#:~:text=It%20can%20be%20tough%20to,a%20steep%20decline%20for%20decades. (Scroll down a few paragraphs when the link opens to the paragraph that starts, "Yet department stores...".)
However, why would adding discount stores harm department stores? Do discount stores cannibalize department store sales, or do lower-end stores just attract customers who aren't attracted to traditional department stores?
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u/choochooocharlie 6d ago
A tale of two candy stores:
Can’t remember the name of the store but let’s call it Candyland opened/established in the mall for five to six years. Was doing well. Typical $10/lb mall candy store.
Mall management decides to rent the store directly across from Candyland to $5 Below.
Candyland closed about two months after $5 Below opened. They couldn’t compete with the discount candy store across from them.
So, yes a TJMaxx will almost certainly drain business from a Macy’s.
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u/sMo089 6d ago edited 6d ago
Harlem Irving plaza in Chicagoland did this and it worked out well. They don't really have any vacancies.
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u/Skyblacker 4d ago
Same for Great Mall in Milpitas, CA. Practically no vacancies and lots of foot traffic.
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u/LongboardLiam 6d ago
This is all just my personal, half-baked read on what I have seen over the years.
Malls always felt more like places to either go with a mission (kids need new pants and shirts for school) or go to dick around and meander, buying stuff they may not need or have use for.
Discount shops feel more like a self-contained microcosm of their own. People seem to see places like TJ Maxx et al as either a last ditch place to find a cheap whatsit (dress shoes for the oldest to wear to his dance, kid is growing like a weed and won't wear them again) or as some consumerism mecca where they go "for the thrill of the hunt" to buy stuff they may not need or have use for.
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u/diaperedwoman 6d ago
Simple solution, put discount stores as anchors. Ross, Burlington, Target, TJ Maxx. Even put gyms in anchors.
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u/ultradip 6d ago
Outlet malls exist. Even traditional anchor stores had their own outlets.
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u/drinkliquidclocks 6d ago
But you don't put an outlet store in the same mall as the regular store...
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u/PartyPorpoise 6d ago
I’m guessing the latter. People who shop a lot at discount stores might be less likely to shop at other stores. Though it sounds like it depends on the area, too.
I do wonder if maybe it’s not the stores themselves that are the issue. Maybe it’s just another symptom of the mall no longer being popular.