Whether they are found in the open air or in the midst of a busy shopping center, malls mean consumers. Perhaps not year over year so as compared to 2019 but there are signs of returning to pre pandemic levels of foot traffic.
We asked our data science team to look at mall foot traffic between August 2020 and July 2022 across four popular brands commonly located in indoor malls, outlet malls, lifestyle centers, or some other kind of shopping center: Jockey, Jos A. Bank, Land's End & Lane Bryant.
The selected timeline is reflective of several developing influences on mall foot traffic, including the Covid-19 pandemic, supply chain woes, and significant fluctuations in real estate, gas prices, and costs at the grocery store.
This was an interesting exercise that revealed a lot about the people who are loyal to these brands, and the extent to which that loyalty is being tested in 2022.
Jockey
Jockey had a total foot traffic of 7,791,950 patrons during the examined time frame of 08/02/2020 – 07/30/2022; with each store averaging 875 patrons per week. Jockey is the dominant brand with respect to mall foot traffic in 3 states: New York, Vermont and New Hampshire.
Though foot traffic for Jockey is declining, there was a significant increase in traffic the week of April 17, 2022, reaching an annual high of 151K patrons. The high traffic this week was second only to the week of December 27, 2020, where traffic reached a two year high of 172K.
When taking a closer look at Jockey’s core customer demographics, we find that ~20% of their patrons are between the ages of 18 and 29. Interestingly, of the four brands we analyzed, Jockey had the highest percentage of 60-79 year old patrons.
Of the patrons that visit Jockey stores, 22% of the visitors had income in the $50,000-$75,000 range. In comparison, Jockey had the highest percentage of customers in the $75,000-$100,000 range with 13% of patrons falling that income bracket. Jockey was in line with all mall traffic for gender breakdown with the patrons being 51.5% female.
Jos A. Bank
Jos A. Bank had a total foot traffic of 41,762,100 patrons during the examined time frame of 08/02/2020 – 07/30/2022; with each store averaging 2,075 patrons per week. Jos A. Bank is the dominant brand with respect to mall foot traffic in 16 states, predominantly focused in the northeast. However, the store in Midland TX, had the highest foot traffic of all Jos A. Bank stores in the United States with an average of 11,750 customers per week.
Of the brands examined, only Jos A. Bank is experiencing steady growth in total foot traffic.
The overall foot traffic pattern holds with expected retail patterns, having highs around the Christmas holiday; there was a significant increase in traffic the week of June 26, 2022, reaching a two year high of 574K patrons.
When taking a closer look at Jos A. Bank’s core customer demographics, we find that ~20% of their patrons are between the ages of 18 and 29. Of the four brands we analyzed, Jos A. Bank had the highest percentage of 40-49 year old patrons with ~18% of their customers falling in this range.
Of the patrons that visit Jos A. Bank stores, ~27% of the visitors had an income of $125,000 or more. Jos A. Bank was in line with all mall traffic for gender breakdown with the patrons being 52% female.
Land's End
Land’s End had a total foot traffic 1,198,575 patrons during the examined time frame of 08/02/2020 – 07/30/2022; with each store averaging 375 patrons per week. Land’s End is the dominant brand with respect to mall foot traffic in Hawaii. However, the store in Bergen, NJ, had the highest foot traffic of all Land’s End stores in the United States with an average of 1,650 customers per week.
Of the brands examined, Land’s End is experiencing the sharpest decline in foot traffic losing approximately 12% of total foot traffic quarter over quarter.
When taking a closer look at Land’s End core customer demographics, we find that ~20% of their patrons are between the ages of 18 and 29. Of the four brands we analyzed, Land’s End had the highest percentage of 50-59 year old patrons with ~19% of their customers falling in this range.
Of the patrons that visit Land’s End stores, ~29% of the visitors had an income of $125,000 or more. In comparison to the other brands analyzed, Land’s End had the highest percentage of customers (39%) with an income higher than $100K. Land’ End was in line with all mall traffic for gender breakdown with the patrons being 51.6% female.
Lane Bryant
Lane Bryant had a total foot traffic of 44,193,550 patrons during the examined time frame of 08/02/2020 – 07/30/2022; with each store averaging 950 patrons per week. Lane Bryant is the dominant brand with respect to mall foot traffic in 28 states, constituting the bulk of the mid-west and western states.
Though the foot traffic for Lane Bryant is declining, there was a significant increase in traffic the week of April 17, 2022, reaching a two year high of 913K patrons.
Additionally, the highest trafficked Lane Bryant store, the Washtenaw WI location, is experiencing an increase in traffic, currently averaging 5,475 patrons per week.
When taking a closer look at Lane Bryant’s core customer demographics, we find that ~21% of their patrons are between the ages of 18 and 29. Interestingly, of the four brands we analyzed, Lane Bryant had the highest percentage of 19-39 year old with ~40% of their customers falling in this age range.
Of the patrons that visit Lane Bryant stores, 22% of the visitors had income in the $50,000-$75,000 range. In fact, ~60% of Lane Bryant’s customers make $75,000 or less. Lane Bryant was in line with all mall traffic for gender breakdown with the patrons being 52% female.
