Macerich dishes on its leasing and holiday shopping strategies

Historically, when thinking about shopping for the holidays, the mall was the first place that came to mind. Now, you have to make sure your last-minute online orders will make it in time to gift.

But this shift doesn’t mean brick and mortar isn’t a vital component of the shopping experience. Last week, we reported that Black Friday weekend spending was up, thanks largely to  historic e-commerce sales that carried through Cyber Monday as well. Foot traffic across shopping malls, outlets, and open-air lifestyle centers was down slightly YoY, but this wasn’t the case with its properties, Macerich says.

• The mall-centric real estate investment fund says it saw a 7.7% YoY increase in traffic during the early hours of Black Friday.
• Sales across Macerich’s properties were up 5% YoY, and 13% over 2019 pre-pandemic levels, according to the company.

“There’s never been a better symbiotic relationship between digital platforms and brick and mortar,” Michael Guerin, EVP of leasing at Macerich, told Retail Brew. “We love where we sit with respect to the quality of our portfolio, and the brick-and-mortar experiences that we offer the customer.”

Guerin said that the aftermath of the pandemic and several once-popular retail storefronts closing their doors and/or filing for bankruptcy has forced the company to shift its thinking around the tenants they bring into their buildings—which he expects to pay dividends through the rest of the holiday season.

• Over the past few years, Macerich has increased its exposure to up-and-coming athleisure brands such as Alo, Vuori, and Fabletics.
• And Guerin said Macerich is keen on including other offerings that will bring more exposure to retailers like co-working spaces, gyms, and fitness centers, elevated food and beverage retailers, and luxury, which he mentioned is typically more resilient in an economic downturn.

“We look at [our properties] as town centers—live, work, play,” Guerin said. “If you take out Sears, that was doing no business, and then you repurpose it with dominant fitness retail like Dick’s and do the other half of the box with experiential like Dave & Buster’s…that’s an amazing redo of a box that wasn’t working.”